Aaron Finch made 156 runs off just 63 balls
Playing for Australia against England, Finch unleashed a sensational knock of 156 runs off just 63 balls. His innings was filled with explosive boundaries and towering sixes that thrilled the crowd. It was not just a hundred, but a record-breaking display that redefined T20 batting brilliance.
One evening at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on August 29, 2013, England and Australia locked horns in a thrilling first T20 International. The match, with Australia, was fueled by Aaron Finch’s jaw-dropping 156, piling on a mammoth 248/6. England, led by Joe Root’s gritty, unbeaten 90, fought tooth and nail but finished at 209/6, falling 39 runs short in a contest that perfectly captured the heart-pounding magic of T20 cricket.
Australia’s batting was nothing short of a fireworks display, with Aaron Finch lighting up the night sky in a performance that left the Southampton crowd stunned. England, having won the toss, chose to bowl first, likely hoping the evening conditions would offer some swing or seam to their pacers. But Australia had other ideas, unleashing a brutal assault that turned England’s bowlers into spectators and sent fielders sprinting to every corner of the ground.
It started with a jolt when David Warner nicked one to Jos Buttler off Stuart Broad’s outswinger in just the second over, trudging back for a solitary run. That early wicket, though, was like poking a sleeping lion. In stepped Aaron Finch, and alongside Shaun Marsh, he built a rock-solid 114-run partnership for the second wicket that set the tone for Australia’s dominance. Marsh played the steadier hand, carving out 28 off 21 balls with a couple of crisp boundaries and a towering six that had fans ducking for cover in the stands. His stay ended in the 11th over when Danny Briggs tempted him into a lofted drive that sailed straight to a fielder in the deep.
Finch, though, was on a different planet. From the moment he took guard, he swung with a fearless swagger, treating every ball like an invitation to attack. Australia raced to 58/1 in the powerplay, those first six overs a blur of meaty drives and skyscraping sixes that had the crowd roaring. Finch brought up his fifty in just 26 balls, peppering the boundary with five fours and four sixes. By the ninth over, Australia had stormed past 100, and Finch was tearing England’s game plan to tatters. His hundred came off a blistering 47 balls, packed with nine fours and eight sixes, a knock that screamed dominance and etched itself among the fastest T20I centuries at the time.
The punishment didn’t let up. Shane Watson joined Finch, and together they plundered 101 runs for the third wicket in a whirlwind of boundaries. Watson, all swagger and style, smashed 37 off 16 balls, stroking four fours and two sixes with that effortless cool of his, until Jade Dernbach got him to miscue a lofted cover drive to the boundary in the 18th over. Finch kept swinging, reaching 150 off 60 balls and finishing with a mind-boggling 156 off 63, laced with 11 fours and 14 sixes. His strike rate of 247.61 wasn’t just a number. It was a statement, setting a new T20I record for the highest individual score and the most sixes in an innings. The crowd could only watch, mouths agape, as history unfolded.
Jade Dernbach was the pick, snagging 3 for 34 with some clever, slower balls that accounted for Finch, Watson, and Glenn Maxwell. Stuart Broad and Steven Finn each nabbed a wicket but got hammered, leaking 47 and 45 runs, respectively, as Finch feasted on anything loose. Danny Briggs grabbed one scalp but bled 51 runs, unable to find his rhythm. Joe Root’s one over of part-time spin was a nightmare, looted for 27 runs, while Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright’s occasional bowling got similar treatment, going at 15 and 13.50 runs an over. Australia’s middle and lower order didn’t let the momentum drop.
George Bailey scratched out 1 before Steven Finn’s inswinging yorker pinned him lbw, and Maxwell fell for 1 to Dernbach’s crafty slower ball. Matthew Wade, unbeaten on 15 off 7, and James Faulkner, unbeaten on 5 off 3, threw in a late flurry to push Australia to 248/6. Just four extras, two leg byes, two wides showed England’s fielders held their nerve, even if their bowlers didn’t. Australia’s run rate of 12.40 per over was a testament to their relentless aggression, with Finch’s epic the beating heart of their towering total.
Chasing 249 was always going to be a tall order, a chase that demanded something miraculous. Joe Root’s defiant, unbeaten 90 gave England hope, and with Ravi Bopara and Jos Buttler chipping in, they fought hard. But early blows and a runaway run rate left them stranded at 209/6, 39 runs shy.
England’s reply started with fire. Openers Michael Lumb and Alex Hales came out swinging, determined to take the attack to Australia. Lumb was electric, blazing 22 off 11 balls with three fours and a six that soared into the night, only for Mitchell Johnson to nail him lbw with a skidding yorker in the third over. Hales didn’t last much longer, nicking a Josh Hazlewood bouncer to the keeper for 8 off 9. Luke Wright’s cameo of 4 off 2 ended when Hazlewood induced a false shot caught in the slips. Eoin Morgan’s three-ball duck, snared by Glenn Maxwell off Johnson’s searing pace, left England reeling at 42/4 by the powerplay’s end. They scored 54 in those six overs, but losing four wickets was a gut punch.
Enter Joe Root at No. 5, cool as ice amid the wreckage. His unbeaten 90 off 49 balls, with 13 fours and a six, was a masterclass in grit and class under pressure. Root found a willing partner in Ravi Bopara, and their 95-run fifth-wicket stand breathed life back into England’s chase. Bopara played smart, scoring 45 off 29 with four fours and a six, until Shane Watson got him caught in the 14th over after a lofted drive went wrong. Their partnership pushed England to 100 in 10.1 overs, with Root hitting his fifty off 29 balls, picking gaps and timing boundaries with surgical precision.
But the run rate kept climbing, a relentless beast. England hit 150 in the 15th over, but the target loomed larger with every ball. Jos Buttler, at No. 6, brought some late thunder, smashing 27 off 17 with a four and two massive sixes. His 66-run stand with Root, including 50 runs in 29 balls, kept the dream flickering as England crossed 200 in the 19th over. But James Faulkner’s pinpoint yorker bowled Buttler in the final over, snuffing out hope. Stuart Broad, unbeaten on 4 off 2, couldn’t do much as England ended at 209/6, Root left stranded on 90.
Australia’s bowlers were clinical. Mitchell Johnson was a menace, grabbing 2 for 41 with his raw pace, while Josh Hazlewood matched him with 2 for 43, using bounce to deadly effect. James Faulkner and Shane Watson each took one wicket, conceding 39 and 42 runs, respectively, with tight, clever bowling. Fawad Ahmed, making his T20I debut, went wicketless but kept things tight, giving up 43 runs.
England’s run rate of 10.45 per over was gutsy, but it couldn’t match the 12.45 needed. They hit 50 in 5.5 overs, 100 in 10.1, and 200 in 19.2. Root’s 90 was heroic, a beacon of fight, but the early collapse and the sheer size of the target were too much. Australia’s bowlers sealed the deal, backing up Finch’s heroics. In the end, Finch’s 156 was the sledgehammer that broke England’s spirit. Root’s 90 was a valiant reply, but Australia’s total was a bridge too far.