Cairns [Australia], August 16 (ANI): As Australia plays the T20I decider against South Africa at Cairns, the brutish strength and bat swing of Aussie middle-order hitter Tim David will be something plenty will have eyeballs on.

This year, David has emerged as one of the finest T20 players in the world. Between tonking fours and sixes towards the end for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win and launching deliveries into the roof, rebuilding the innings six-by-six unfazed by wickets falling all around him for Australia, David has struck a commendable balance between being destructive and mature. With each hit, he shows that audacity and calculated risks can exist in the same innings.

David was for the most part, the final piece of RCB batting that would detonate during the death overs. He was instrumental in the team's win, contributing 187 runs worth their weight in gold in nine innings at an average of 62.33, with a strike rate of 185.14. The standout was a chanceless 50* in 26 balls (five fours and three sixes) for the Red and Gold side in a rain-hit match at a damp outfield at Chinnaswammy, which reduced RCB to 95/9. RCB lost the match despite a brave fight put up by the bowlers in a 14-overs-per-side match.

126 of these runs came in the death overs, at a strike rate of 203.22 in just 62 balls, with nine fours and 11 fours. His balls per boundary ratio was 3.1, and he played just 21 dots, averaging a total of 42.00 at a stage of the match where batters do not put the prize on their wicket but would rather cherish a cameo of even a three-ball 15 as long as it helps the team win.

This year, David has been exceptional for Australia, scoring 265 runs in four innings at an average of 88.33, with a strike rate of 212.00, with a century and two fifties. Within a matter of 125 balls, he smashed 15 fours and 27 sixes for the Aussies.

Upon switching from Singapore to Aussie colours back in 2022, David batted predominantly at number six, scoring 544 runs in 27 innings, and stayed unbeaten eight times to get a batting average of 28.63 and a strike rate of over 172, with two fifties and a best score of 64*.

His shift to upper middle-order has paid handsome dividends and produced some mind-boggling numbers. All of his T20I numbers for this year have come playing at number five (three times) and four (one time).

During the series against West Indies, David was handed a promotion and sent at number five to help chase down 215 set by the hosts in the 4th T20I. With Aussies having already lost three wickets for 61 near the powerplay end, David did not flinch when Cameron Green became the fourth casualty at score of 87. First, he raced to a 16-ball fifty, then registered his first T20 century in just 37 balls, with six fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 275.67. This was Australia's fastest T20I ton. David in a way, 'dropped' the anchor role from his list and unleashed his big levers against a potent WI line-up.

In the final T20I, Aussies managed to complete a clean sweep by chasing down 174 runs, with David scoring 30 in 12 balls, with a four and four sixes coming in at number five again when Aussies were three down for 25, taking them to 60 before he fell to Shamar Joseph.

In the home series against Proteas, David faced his toughest assignment with Aussies at 30/3 after being put to bat first. As pointed out on commentary, the tall Aussie showed no 'respect' to a red-hot Kagiso Rabada, who had started things off well by wrapping up the opening pair of skipper Mitch Marsh and Travis Head quickly, launching him for a straight six on the second ball he faced from him. His counter-attacking stand of 40 in 16 balls with Cameron Green (35 in 13 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) gave Aussies a run-boost, taking them to 71 at powerplay end.

Despite Aussies slipping to 75/6, it was Tim who did not relent as he made sure to give the stadium's roof a reminder of the power he could generate and heights he could reach. He occupied the crease for majority of his half-century partnership with Ben Dwarshius, a capable lower-order hitter himself. With his 52-ball 83 consisting of four boundaries and eight sixes, he took Australia to a fighting 178 all out, falling to Kwena Maphaka in the 19th over. His knock ensured a 17-run win for Aussies and all the fight, all the entertainment and all the neck pain from watching Tim tonk sixes was worth it as all parts of the ground got a tangible glimpse of David's power.

In the second T20I, he was promoted to number four in attempt to chase 219 set by SA on the back of a 56-ball 125* from Dewald Brevis. His side was struggling at 29/2 in 3.3 overs. By the time he fell for a 24-ball 50 (four boundaries and four sixes) in the 10th over, Australia had went past 100 runs and provided the all-rounders Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen and wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey a platform to shave off the remaining runs. However, a late comeback by pacers left Aussies 53 runs short.

David's prowess as a death-overs finisher is no secret. Since 2020, David 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 overs) by any batter in this time frame, showcasing his elite finishing abilities and consistency. Nailing the finisher's role is a high-risk, high-reward task and is no joke.

However this year, David is amongst the world's most elite. He is company of four other stars who have played 20 or more innings this year, averaged 40 or above, while striking at 150-plus in T20s. In 29 T20s and 23 innings, he has smashed 699 runs at an average of 53.76, strike rate of 183.76, with a century and five fifties.

The four other stars in this aforementioned category are: Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan (1,283 runs in 25 matches and innings at an average of 55.78, strike rate of 166.19, with four centuries and eight fifties and top run-getter in T20s this year), South Africa's Dewald Brevis (942 runs in 33 matches and 29 innings at an average of 42.81, at a strike rate of 185.43, with a century and five fifties), Jos Buttler (1,213 runs in 33 matches and 32 innings at an average of 43.32, with a strike rate of 151.62 with 11 fifties, second-highest T20 run-getter of 2025) and Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav (745 runs in 21 matches and innings at an average of 46.56, with a strike rate of 165.18 and five half-centuries).

Amongst these aforementioned players, David has the second-best average (next to Farhan) and second-best strike rate (next to Brevis).

Infact, he is the only third player in T20 history to smash 500-plus runs in a calendar year at an average of 50-plus and strike rate of 180-plus, alongside West Indies icon Kieron Pollard (643 runs in 35 matches at an average of 53.58, strike rate of 199.07 in 2020) and Australia's Cameron White (502 runs in 11 innings at an average of 62.75, with strike rate of 180.57 in 2006).

With 5,604 career runs in 286 matches and 257 innings at an average of 31.13, a strike rate of 162.62, a century and 20 fifties, Tim is one of the biggest guns-for-hire in T20 leagues worldwide.

Will the world get to see more of David's greatness this year? (ANI)