Phil Salt produced a breathtaking spectacle in Manchester, smashing his way into the record books with the fastest century ever scored by an England batter in T20 internationals. The destructive opener, who represents RCB in the IPL, reached his milestone in just 39 deliveries, bettering Liam Livingstone’s 2021 effort of 42 balls against Pakistan. His innings propelled England to a mammoth 304/2 in the second T20I against South Africa, marking the highest-ever total by a full-member nation.
Salt, who eventually remained unbeaten on 141 off 60 balls with 15 fours and 8 sixes, crafted his spectacular knock through sheer power backed by clever placement. His century came in dominant fashion; a driven boundary through mid-on, a cheeky single off a free hit, and a neat dab from Jacob Bethell against Kagiso Rabada sealed the landmark.
This latest knock places Salt among the elites of international T20 batting. He now joins the list of fastest players to reach four centuries in this format, doing so in just 42 innings. Comparatively, India’s Suryakumar Yadav needed 57 innings to achieve the same feat. On the all-time tally of T20I tons, Salt stands alongside greats of the game with only Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma surpassing him at five centuries each.
DUO CARNAGE
His batting masterclass was set up by Jos Buttler’s fiery opening salvo. Buttler registered 83 from 30 balls, blasting an 18-ball half-century ; the third-fastest by an Englishman in T20Is, behind Moeen Ali’s 16-ball fifty and Livingstone’s 17-ball effort from 2021. In that context, Buttler even bettered Salt’s prior record of a 19-ball half-century, set against Pakistan.
Together, Salt and Buttler demolished the South African attack, posting 101 in just 6.1 overs. Buttler himself plundered 65 runs during the powerplay, while Salt raced to 52 off only 20. Kagiso Rabada leaked 27 in his first two overs, and Lizaad Williams went for 23 in a single over. By the tenth over, England had stormed to 166 for 1, a record for the side in this phase, surpassing several world-class benchmarks set by teams including India, Australia and Zimbabwe.
Salt carried on after Buttler’s dismissal, keeping the run rate blazing and ensuring his record-breaking innings powered England to an unforgettable total.
Highest Individual Scores in T20Is (Full-Member Teams)
172 Aaron Finch vs Zimbabwe
162* Hazratullah Zazai vs Ireland
156 Aaron Finch vs England
145* Glenn Maxwell vs Sri Lanka
141* Phil Salt vs South Africa*
Phil Salt after getting Player of the Match said, “That was really good fun. The personal milestone, but the fact that we got 300 and won by such a big margin, you can’t ask for much more. Sometimes, you know, I’ll pick days where I want to jump-start someone, just because the mood sort of takes me, so it’s a bit of a balancing act, it’s a double-edged sword. Everyone knows it’s a good wicket. Always knew powerplay was going to be important”.