Six Sixes in An Over: Know the Complete list
Here we covered all the moments in brief.
Hitting a cricket ball over the ropes requires a lot of skill alongside power. Not many players can smash maximums at will either. However, with the advent of shorter formats, shortened boundaries, and thick bats, we often see the galore of sixes in cricket matches.
It doesn’t matter how easy it has become to hit sixes, hitting a maximum of every delivery of an over is still an out-of-this-word. There have only been several players in the history of the game to achieve the feat. Meanwhile, only four batters have been able to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket.
Players who have hit six sixes in an over:
| No. | Player | Team | Opponent | Tournament | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Gary Sobers | Nottinghamshire | Glamorgan | County Championship | 1968 |
| 2 | Ravi Shastri | Bombay | Baroda | Ranji Trophy | 1985 |
| 3 | Herschelle Gibbs | South Africa | Netherlands | T20 World Cup | 2007 |
| 4 | Yuvraj Singh | India | England | T20 World Cup | 2007 |
| 5 | Ross Whitely | Worcestershire Rapid | Yorkshire Vikings | T20 Blast | 2017 |
| 6 | Hazratullah Zazai | Kabul Zwanan | Balkh Legends | Afghanistan Premier League | 2018 |
| 7 | Leo Carter | Canterbury Kings | Northern Knights | Super Smash | 2020 |
| 8 | Kieron Pollard | West Indies | Sri Lanka | T20I series | 2021 |
| 9 | Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka Army Sports CC | Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club | Major Clubs Limited Over List A Tournament | 2021 |
| 10 | Jaskaran Malhotra | USA | Papua New Guinea | ODI Series | 2021 |
Sir Garry Sobers: The first batter to hit six sixes in an over
A true great of the game, the legendary West Indies all-rounder Sir Garry Sobers was the first man to hit six sixes in an over. The first instance of such a memorable came straight out of a Bollywood movie courtesy of the ending the incident had.
Playing the County Championship game for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan on 31st August 1968, Sir Garry Sobers smashed Malcolm Nash for six consecutive sixes in an over.
The West Indies all-rounder took Nash to the cleaners and hit five sixes in the first five deliveries. But he was caught at the boundary while trying to achieve a perfect six. However, upon checking closely, it was found that the fielder Roger Davis touched the boundary while taking the catch. Hence, it resulted in another maximum and the history books were re-written.
Ravi Shastri: The all-rounder smashes Baroda
Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri became the second man to score six sixes in an over. He achieved the feat while playing the Ranji Trophy 1984-85 game for Mumbai against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium.
In Mumbai’s 2nd innings, Ravi Shastri came out to bat at number six and took the bowlers of Baroda to the cleaners. The all-rounder smashed his way to an explosive double hundred off just 123 deliveries. To date, it is the fastest double-century in first-class cricket.
During the record-breaking knock, Ravi Shastri blasted left-arm spinner Tilak Raj for six consecutive sixes in an over to equal Sir Gay Sobers’ record.
Herschelle Gibbs: The first man to score six sixes in an international match
Legendary South African opener Herschelle Gibbs became the first man ever to smash six maximums in an over in an international game. He achieved the feat on 16th March 2007, during the ODI World Cup game against the Netherlands in Basseterre, West Indies.
In the 30th over of South Africa’s innings, Herschelle Gibbs went after Daan van Bunge. The right-handed batter charged down the wicket on the first ball and hit that over long on for six. Meanwhile, he smashed the second and third deliveries over the long-off.
Herschelle Gibbs deposited the 4th delivery from the leggie over the deep midwicket fence, before sending the fifth delivery over wide long off for yet another maximum. Gibbs finally created history by smoking the sixth six over deep midwicket.
Yuvraj Singh: The first man to hit six sixes in an over in T20I
On 19th September 2007, India squared off against England in a must-win game of the super-eight stage of the T20 World Cup in Durban. India were batting first and Yuvraj Singh walked out to bat towards the end of the Indian innings.
After his arrival, English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff had a heated exchange with the Indian superstar and what followed next was absolute mayhem. The right-handed pacer Stuart Broad came to bowl the 19th over the innings but Yuvraj Singh made a mockery of his bowling by smashing six maximums in the pacer’s over.
In the process, Yuvraj Singh also smoked a 12-ball fifty, the fastest-ever in international cricket across formats. He also became the first player ever to score six sixes in an over in T20I cricket and the second player to achieve the feat in international cricket.
Ross Whitely, Hazratullah Zazai, and Leo Carter: the next ones to achieve the feat
England batter Ross Whitely was the next batter to smash six sixes in an over. He attained the milestone while playing for Worcestershire Rapids against Yorkshire Vikings in the 2014 T20 Blast. Whitely took on the spinner Karl Carver to play a record-breaking knock at Headingley.
In 2018, the Afghanistan batter Hazratullah Zazai also carved his name in history by scoring six consecutive sixes in an over. During a game between Kabul Zwanan and Balkh Legends in the Afghanistan Premier League 2018, Zazai tonked Abdullah Mazari for six sixes in an over.
New Zealand batter Leo Carter was the next batter to smash six sixes in an over. The batter achieved the feat while playing for Canterbury Kings against the Northern Knights. Leo Carter smoked left-arm spinner Anton Devcich for six sixes in an over during his explosive knock of 70 runs off 29 deliveries.
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Kieron Pollard: Second man to score six sixes in an over in T20Is
The explosive West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard smoked six sixes in an over against Sri Lanka. During the first T20I game of the three-match series between Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Interestingly, Kieron Pollard smashed six sixes off Akila Dananjaya, who also picked up a hat-trick in the same game. The all-rounder was in full flow as he hit the conventional off-spinner for six sixes in an over.
In the process, Kieron Pollard also became only the third player in international cricket to achieve the feat. The former West Indies skipper brought his team back to the game as West Indies registered a 4-wicket win.
Thisara Perera: The Sri Lankan enters the ’36-run club’ in a List A game
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera became the first Sri Lankan batter to hit six sixes in an over in a List A competition. The left-handed southpaw was leading the Sri Lanka Army in a group match against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club.
Thisara Perera exploded on the day during his unbeaten knock of 52 runs off 13 deliveries. He took the linking of part-time off-spinner Dilhan Cooray as the veteran all-rounder went berserk.
Thisara Perera became the 9th player in the history of professional cricket to smash six sixes in an over.
Jaskaran Malhotra: Fourth batter to tonk six sixes in an over in international cricket
Born in Chandigarh, Jaskaran Malhotra plays international cricket for the USA cricket team. In the game against Papua New Guinea, he became the first-ever USA player and the 4th batter in international cricket to smash six maximums in an over.
In an ODI game against Papua New Guinea, Jaskaran Malhotra was batting unbeaten after smashing a century when he faced Toka in the final over of the innings.
The right-handed batter smoked the pacer for six consecutive sixes to provide an explosive finish to the USA’s innings, while he remained unbeaten on 173 runs off 124 deliveries. The USA batter joined Herschelle Gibbs in the elite club of batters with six sixes in ODI cricket.
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