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Tim David has become a top T20 player, excelling for Australia and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 265 runs in four innings for Australia this year, averaging 88.33.
Australia’s Tim David against West Indies (X)
As Australia faces South Africa in the T20I decider in Cairns, all eyes will be on the powerful batting of Aussie middle-order hitter Tim David. This year, David has emerged as one of the world’s best T20 players. His performances, whether hitting fours and sixes for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win or rebuilding Australia’s innings with his fearless sixes, demonstrate a commendable balance of destruction and maturity. Each hit showcases his ability to combine audacity with calculated risks.
David was a crucial part of RCB’s batting lineup, especially during the death overs. He contributed significantly to the team’s success, scoring 187 valuable runs in nine innings at an average of 62.33 and an impressive strike rate of 185.14. A standout performance was his unbeaten 50 off 26 balls, including five fours and three sixes, in a rain-affected match at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite RCB being reduced to 95/9, David’s efforts kept them competitive.
How Has Tim David Reinvented Himself?
In the death overs, David scored 126 runs from 62 balls at a strike rate of 203.22, with nine fours and eleven sixes. His boundary ratio was 3.1 balls per boundary, and he played just 21 dot balls, maintaining an average of 42.00. This year, he has been exceptional for Australia, scoring 265 runs in four innings at an average of 88.33 and a strike rate of 212.00, including a century and two fifties. Within 125 balls, he smashed 15 fours and 27 sixes for the Aussies.
Since switching from Singapore to Australian colours in 2022, David has primarily batted at number six, scoring 544 runs in 27 innings with an average of 28.63 and a strike rate of over 172, including two fifties and a top score of 64*. This year, his promotion to the upper middle-order has produced impressive numbers, with all his T20I runs coming from batting at number five (three times) and four (once).
Against the West Indies, David was promoted to number five in the fourth T20I to help chase 215. With Australia at 61/3 near the end of the powerplay, David didn’t falter even when Cameron Green fell at 87. He raced to a 16-ball fifty and then scored his first T20 century in just 37 balls, including six fours and eleven sixes at a strike rate of 275.67, making it Australia’s fastest T20I century. David’s aggressive batting helped Australia achieve a clean sweep by chasing 174 runs in the final T20I, where he scored 30 from 12 balls.
In the home series against South Africa, David faced a challenging situation with Australia at 30/3. He counter-attacked, scoring 40 runs in 16 balls with Cameron Green, providing a crucial boost. Despite Australia slipping to 75/6, David’s 52-ball 83, including four boundaries and eight sixes, ensured a fighting total of 178, leading to a 17-run victory.
In the second T20I against South Africa, chasing 219, David was promoted to number four. He scored a 24-ball 50, pushing Australia past 100 runs before falling in the 10th over. Though Australia fell short by 53 runs, David’s performance set a platform for the remaining players.
David’s prowess as a death-overs finisher is well-known. Since 2020, he has scored 1,954 runs in 121 innings at an average of 28.74 and a strike rate of over 197, the most runs in death overs (17-20) by any batter in this period. This year, he ranks among the world’s elite, having played 29 T20s, scoring 699 runs at an average of 53.76 and a strike rate of 183.76, with a century and five fifties.
He joins an exclusive group of four other stars with similar achievements this year: Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan, South Africa’s Dewald Brevis, Jos Buttler, and India’s Suryakumar Yadav. David has the second-best average and strike rate among them.
In fact, he is only the third player in T20 history to score over 500 runs in a calendar year with an average of 50-plus and a strike rate of 180-plus, alongside Kieron Pollard and Cameron White. With 5,604 career runs in 286 matches and 257 innings at an average of 31.13 and a strike rate of 162.62, Tim David continues to be a major force in T20 leagues worldwide.
Will we witness more of David’s brilliance this year?
(With inputs from ANI)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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