The Hundred League just ended on 18th August 2024, in which we saw Oval Invincibles slay it till the end of the tournament and win the title of the tournament. The tournament was a roller coaster ride where we saw so many potentially rich, talented players among all the teams. 

Here in this article, we will disclose our best playing eleven from the tournament that would have made it nearly impossible for any team to win against. Although we all know cricket is a team game, more than just the talent and skill set, you also need to endure that unity in the team by using the strengths of the players to the advantage of the team and seeking victory rather than individual milestones. 

Sam Curran 

The bowling all-rounder who did wonders in the tournament this year broke the record for giving out the best performance in a single game, where he smashed a century and took a five-wicket haul in the same game.

He would provide the team of best 11 with a greater depth in all the departments, as his strength was his versatility to bat and bowl in any situation, not just specific areas of the department, which could be his USP too, further for the auction next year. He was the third-highest wicket-taker of the Hundred League this year, totaling up to 17 wickets, and the 8th-highest run scorer. 

Ben Stokes 

The captain of the England team who led a great series recently against the West Indies and won it with a greater gap. He could lead the team of the best 11 efficiently, as he has the much-needed experience to lead a team. Being an all-format player, he can allocate the roles of the players pretty well.

He himself provides the team with a better balance by being a versatile player who can bat or bowl anywhere and anytime when needed for the team. He played for the Northern Superchargers this season but got an early exit from the Hundred League due to his hamstring injury, which also raised concerns about him being available for the national duties as well.

Nicholas Pooran 

The hard-hitter from the West Indies, Nicholas Pooran, played for the Northern Superchargers this season, in which he ended up being the 4th highest scorer of the tournament. He managed to make a total of 227 runs with an impressive average of 45.40 in the Hundred League. He could be used as an opener for the best 11 to begin destruction from the start. 

Adam Zampa 

The spinning wizard from Australia ended up as the highest wicket-taker of the Hundred League with 19 wickets in his pocket. He was a part of the Oval Invincibles and was one of the crucial reasons for contributing to the victory of the team and taking wickets in such a fast-paced format where bowler’s nightmares are seen often; he performed exceptionally well.  

Tymal Mills 

The England-born left-arm pacer who made the ball swing crazily for the batsman and gave us a taste of test match bowling by showing off his skills in the Hundred League. He took the same amount of wickets as Adam Zampa i.e. 19 but with a slightly higher economy than Zampa of 9.30 whereas Zampa had an economy of 7.33 in the tournament. He could be utilized for bowling from the new ball in the best 11, as his left-arm pacing action can create a problem for the openers of the opposition. 

Chris Jordan 

He played a major part in some of the victories of the Southern Brave in the Hundred League. He recently played for England in the T20 World Cup and has represented England in various international matches. His experience with international players can be useful for the best 11 and choke the opposition from scoring runs. 

Jofra Archer

The right-arm pacer is known for his windmill bowling action, which gives him the strength to get the bowl near to the wickets or batsman sooner than he can predict, and he usually gets a wicket out of his terror of bowling onto the body of the batsman.

Though in this season of the Hundred League, his performance did not really come out well, after he came back from his injury and its recovery, he has been finding his right speed and pitching. 

Akeal Hosein

The slow left-arm magician from the West Indies who played for Souther Brave in the Hundred League. He is known for bowling the first over from white ball cricket, mainly because his variations are extravagant.

He can spin and swing the ball in both directions simultaneously, which makes it harder for the batsman to pick and hit. He could be the great potential spinner for the best 11 to add as a surprise element for the opposition. 

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An experienced county cricket player who led the team of the Southern Brave in the Hundred League. He ended up as the highest scorer of the tournament, totaling up to 424 runs, and even managed to make his team reach the finals, where he made 24 runs but unfortunately could not score more and lost it. His experience in county cricket and playing on those grounds could help the team’s best 11 in planning and execution. 

Ben Duckett 

The top-order batsman from England played for Birmingham Phoenix in the tournament and made the 2nd most runs out of all the teams. His total runs were 269 with a huge average of 67.25 and a staggering strike rate of 171.33, which is ideal for this format. His striking ability to hit from the power play makes him an ideal pick for the best 11. 

Rashid Khan 

The face of Afghanistan Cricket, a leg spinner whose records are unmatchable at such an early age. He played for the Trent Rockets in this season of the Hundred League and managed to pick up nine wickets only.

Although his form was not great in the tournament and he also got back injury issues chasing him for a year, he is the best choice for providing the team with the support of stopping the flow of runs as he is among the top-rated players around the globe in T20 cricket. His whiteball performance is extraordinarily good for the best 11 to win and nail it. 

The Hundred League commenced in the last week of July and has reached near the quarterfinals stage now. Consisting of a total of 100 balls in each inning, this shorter format opened a new way of playing fast-paced cricket with a different strategy needed to be accustomed to other than all the other formats.

Many players got humbled in all the departments as per the demand of this format; for instance, Rashid Khan got hit for 5 consecutive by Kieron Pollard, who retired from IPL 2 years ago and still managed to hit these maximums against one of the greatest spin bowlers of the world.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas is a part of the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He used to bat at number 5 during the middle overs and was given the role of a finisher for the team. Pooran scored a total of 499 runs in 14 matches, just a couple of runs behind the captain KL Rahul in the IPL, with a destructive strike rate of 178.21 and an impressive average of 62.37. He was the 8th highest scorer in the IPL season 2024 and the only batsman to enter the top ten after batting at number 5.

In the Hundred League, Nicholas Pooran sits in the 3rd position for the highest runs in this league. He plays for the Northern Superchargers and recently came into the limelight for his blistering innings of 66* off 33 balls against the Manchester Originals. In that gigantic innings, he also hit a six of 113 meters on the 74th ball of the innings, and Scott Burrie bowled the ball on the leg, which was clobbered on the mid wicket region by Nicholas Pooran.

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Phil Salt

Salt played as a top-order batsman from the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. Phil made 435 runs in 12 matches with an average of over 40 and a lethal strike rate of 182. He opened with Sunil Narine, and both the batsmen combined gave a swashbuckling start for KKR. Salt and Narine combined made 559 runs in 12 innings, which was the third-best this season. The pair had six fifty-plus partnerships this season, the most by any pair.

In the Hundred League, he sits in the 4th position for the most runs scored list for the Manchester Originals. In 7 matches, he made 261 runs and averaged up to 30.85 with a satisfactory strike rate of 148.96.

Sam Curran

Sam played for Kings X1 Punjab in 2024; he is a bowling all-rounder who even opened for the team this season and played some clinical innings, which contributed to some victories for the team. This season for the Punjab Kings was not really good for the team, and a basic performance was given by Sam Curran. He made 246 runs this year with a satisfactory average of 26. Along with that, he took 16 wickets in the IPL 2024 season for the Punjab Kings in 13 matches, but had an expensive economy of around 10.15.

He plays for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred League and made 176 runs in 7 matches, which averages up around 26 and took 16 wickets, which is an impeccable record to sustain. He is the second highest wicket taker this year in the Hundred League. He became the first batsman to score a half-century and take five wickets in the same match in the Hundred.

Rashid Khan

He is considered one of the best bowlers of the T20 format around the world with astounding stats. He played for the Gujarat Titans this season (2024) and played 12 matches. Unfortunately, this season he was in his recovery phase after his back injury, due to which he bowled fewer overs and comparatively had a normal stat this season, taking only 10 wickets in 12 matches with an economy of 8.40. Along with that, he made 110 runs with the bat averaging up to 20.40.

In the Hundred League, he played for the Trent Rockets and took 9 wickets out of 5 matches. This season he became famous for getting hit for 5 sixes by Kieron Pollard from the Southern Braves; unfortunately, just after that match, Rashid Khan was unavailable to play the remainder matches and replaced by Chris Green. Due to injuries occurring this year, Rashid Khan suffered from not being able to give the best out of his performance.

Hopefully soon after the recovery he will make a comeback, as this year he made history by becoming one of the youngest captains of Afghanistan to lead in the T20 World Cup, and for the first time Afghanistan qualified for the semi finals, which were played against England.

ALSO READ: Batsman With Most Consecutive Sixes Against Rashid Khan

West Indies’ star batter Nicholas Pooran scripted history by scoring 36 runs in just one over during the T20 World Cup 2024 Group Group C match against Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet.

Nicholas Pooran impressed one and all with his stunning batting display as he smashed the Afghan bowlers to all the corners of the ground and powered his side to a 104-run win.

Notably, Pooran achieved this historic feat with the help of five wides, four leg byes, and a no-ball bowled by Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai in the fourth over of the Windies’ innings.

Afganistan’s Omarzai started his over with a full and wide delivery, which Pooran smashed for a six over the third man. In the next ball, Omarzai overstepped and it was hit for a boundary. Things kept getting bad to worse for Omarzai as his next ball went for five wides.

Yes, you read that right. It was an attempted bouncer that flew over the keeper’s head. The free hit stayed, making it more difficult for Omarzai, however, Nicholas Poora failed to make the best of it.

Luck was truly against the Afghans as the third legitimate delivery of the over clipped Pooran’s pads and went for four leg byes, beating the keeper. Pooran smashed a four and two sixes off the remaining three balls of the over to etch his name on the history books.

Meanwhile, several records were broken during the West Indies vs Afghanistan match at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet.

List Of All The Records Broken During West Indies’ Sensational Innings vs Afghanistan

Nicholas Scored the most number of runs in an over in T20Is

This was only the fifth time in the history of T20 cricket when 36 runs were scored in an over.

Most runs in an over in T20Is

36 – Yuvraj Singh (IND) vs Stuart Broad (ENG), Durban, 2007
36 – Kieron Pollard (WI) vs Akila Dananjaya (SL), Coolidge, 2021
36 – Rohit Sharma & Rinku Singh (IND) vs Karim Janat (AFG), Bengaluru, 2024
36 – Dipendra Singh Airee (NEP) vs Kamran Khan (QAT), Al Amerat, 2024
36 – Nicholas Pooran & Johnson Charles (WI) vs Azmatullah Omarzai (AFG), St. Lucia, 2024

Nicholas Pooran broke Chris Gayle’s record:

Nicholas Pooran surpassed Chris Gayle for the most sixes by a West Indies player in Men’s T20I history. Pooran smashed 8 sixes against Afghanistan, taking his tally to 128 sixes in T20I cricket and surpassing the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle’s tally of 124 sixes.

Most T20I sixes by West Indies men’s players

Pooran became the joint-top six-hitter of the T20 World Cup 2024:

Nicholas Pooran’s stunning knock of 98 runs was laced with 14 fours and eight sixes. This knock pushed him right to the top of the six-hitters table of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Most sixes in T20 World Cup 2024

Highest Total for West Indies in T20I World Cup history:

The score of 218/5 by the West Indies was the highest total that they have managed to score in any edition of the T20 World Cup 2024. Their past best total was 205/6 against South Arica in Johannesburg in 2007.

West Indies’ highest totals at Men’s T20 World Cups:

Highest Powerplay scores in T20Is

West Indies scored 92 runs during the Powerplay in the game, beating the previous best Powerplay score of 91 runs by the Netherlands against Ireland at the T20I World Cup 2014.

Top-4 Highest Powerplay Scores in T20Is

Most runs conceded in one over:

Omarzai equaled the infamous record of most runs conceded in one over in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cup. Azmatullah Omarzai conceded a total of 36 runs in one over during the Powerplay.

Pooran smashed 3 sixes and 2 fours during Omarzai’s second over, with some wayward bowling, thanks to which, Yuvraj Singh’s long-standing record for most runs in one over was equaled.

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