The shortest format of cricket is considered the most exciting one not just because it takes just around four hours to result but also because it brings in a lot of enjoyment along with nail-biting finishes as well.
2021 saw a good number of T20 matches being played between the top teams of women’s cricket- India-Australia, England- New Zealand, West Indies-Pakistan, India-South Africa with some of them giving us those last over thrillers.
However, do you know who occupies the first two spots of the run-scorer list for 2021 in this format?
You may be surprised to know, It isn’t a player from these top teams, then who is it? Check out below:
1. Andrea-Mae Zepeda:
Austria’s Andrea-Mae Zepeda is the leading T20I run-scorer for 2021 with 361 runs at 51.57 in 8 matches. Coming into the national side two years back with the role of the captain from the very first match she played as it was the first-ever T20I for Austria too, Zepeda finished as the leading run-scorer (125) in the T20I quadrangular series which involved France and Jersey as well. In September this year hosting Belgium for a three-match series, Zepeda recorded the first century in T20I by an Austria woman in the first match while made 50+ scores: 65 and 84* in the next two matches respectively and thus, was adjudged as the player of the match in all the three matches.
2. Gaby Lewis:
The youngster from Ireland finds herself in the second spot with 325 runs in 10 matches at 40.62. The 20 years old smashed the first T20I century by an Irish woman in August this year during the 2021 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier scoring an unbeaten 105 against Germany and also was a part of Southern Brave in The Hundred (as a replacement for Smriti Mandhana) and Southern Vipers for the last few matches of the 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
3. Tammy Beaumont:
Here comes the experienced English cricketer Tammy Beaumont with 303 runs at the third position. Scoring three 50+ scores in 9 matches, Beaumont’s highest this year was three runs short of a century which came against New Zealand in September. The player of the month for February, Beaumont represented London Spirit in The Hundred and aggregated 139 runs in 6 matches while she made a total of 209 runs in 15 innings/ 16 matches for Sydney Thunder in WBBL|07
4. Fatuma Kibasu:
The all-rounder from Tanzania, Fatuma Kibasu is yet another surprising name in the top 5. In just her 7 matches this year, Kibasu has made enough runs (280) to take her to the fourth spot. Smashing a century scoring an unbeaten 127 against Eswatini in September, Kibasu who made her debut in 2019 and has played just 17 T20Is in her international career, already has two centuries to her name. The first one coming back in 2019.
5. Smriti Mandhana:
This girl from India has been a player to watch out for throughout the year. Leading the T20I run-scorer tally for her country for yet another year scoring a total of 255 runs in just 9 matches at 31.87, Mandhana is the fifth highest in the overall T20I runs tally for the year. With 167 runs in 7 matches she played for the Southern Brave in The Hundred followed by an exceptional performance for Sydney Thunder in WBBL, smashing the equal highest individual score in the history of WBBL (114*) making 377 runs in the league, Mandhana has not just shown her potential for the national side but also for the teams she represented in different leagues.
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