Men's T20WC postpe Greatest Moments: The search begins
There are countless iconic moments from the six Men’s T20 World Cups so far but we’ve managed to narrow it down to 32. It’s up to you to decide which is the best.
Over the next nine days, we’ll be revealing all the contenders across 16 knockout brackets, with your votes to determine which reach the second stage, quarter-finals, semis and so forth.
We start the action today with a clash between Carlos Brathwaite’s famous finish to the T20 World Cup 2016 and New Zealand’s nail-biting one-run win over Pakistan in 2010.
New Zealand’s one-run win over Pakistan – 2010
A match that proved a low-scoring T20I can be every bit as exciting as a high-scoring one.
Sent out to bat, New Zealand were held to just 133/7 and only managed that thanks to the efforts of captain Daniel Vettori. The bespectacled all-rounder, batting at No.5, top-scored with a fighting 38 off 34, with Brendon McCullum (33), Scott Styris (21) and Nathan McCullum (12*) the only other batters to reach double-digits.
That looked set to be more than enough as Pakistan slumped to 58/5 by the 10th over as Shane Bond, Kyle Mills and surprise selection Ian Butler cut a swathe through the reigning champions' top-order.
But all was not lost for Pakistan, with opening batter Salman Butt, who had made his way to an assured 29, finding a partner for the long haul in Abdul Razzaq.
New Zealand turned the screws from overs 11 through 14, leaking just 19 runs to leave Pakistan needing 56 from the final six overs.
Razzaq seemingly turned the match on its head again by taking Vettori for 16 runs in the 15th over and with him and Butt in the middle it seemed Pakistan would get home. The all-rounder perished in the 18th, and going into the 20th they need 11 runs to win.
The man on strike for Pakistan was Butt, on 59 at the time, and he would be taking on Butler, who was playing his first match of the tournament.
A boundary over third man on the second delivery reduced the chase to seven off four, and another through point two balls later left Pakistan needing just three runs off the final two balls. On the penultimate delivery, Butler came up with the goods, firing in a yorker that beat Butt outside off-stump, with Abdur Rehman calling him through for a bye.
With the field in and just a run separating the two sides, there was talk of a Super Over. Instead, Rehman blinked first, skewing a ball into the hands of the square leg to leave New Zealand celebrating a one-run win.
Remember the name
A moment that turned a man into a legend.
Carlos Brathwaite walked out to bat in the Final of the T20 World Cup 2016 with West Indies in trouble at 107/6 in the 16th over, still needing 49 runs to win. The required rate at that stage in the innings was 10.88 and the West Indies had only been travelling at 6.90.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Marlon Samuels, they managed to stay in the contest going into the final over but England were still firm favourites.
In their corner England had Ben Stokes to bowl at the death, with Brathwaite on strike, needing 19 to win. From the outside, that looked like a problem for the West Indies.
After all, the man they needed on strike was Samuels – Player of the Match in the 2012 Final and seemingly being guided by destiny on 85 not out. Brathwaite on the other hand was on 10 off six with just one boundary to his name, playing just his third innings of the tournament, with a campaign haul of 23 runs going into the match. In fact, this was just his fifth T20I innings ever.
Most players in his situation would have looked to find a single off the first ball. Get to the other end and watch the fireworks, ready to push for a quick two if needed to keep the man of the moment on strike.
Brathwaite, on that night, decided he wasn’t most players. The first ball from Stokes was a half-volley on leg stump and Brathwaite cashed in, smashing it away over backward square leg.
Thirteen off five – it’s anyone’s game now.
Full again from Stokes and it is back-to-back sixes for Brathwaite – this time creaming one over long-on to cue delirium in the crowd.
Seven off four – West Indies are in the driver’s seat and can stroll home from here.
Full again from Stokes and six more runs for Brathwaite over long-off.
Scores are tied and there are still three balls to go.
A single will do, but of course, Brathwaite finishes it with a fourth straight six, roaring into the night’s sky in celebration as Ian Bishop says the unforgettable words: “Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name.”
In 2016, Carlos Brathwaite hit England's Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to help the West Indies lift the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.