Seven Batsmen Who Hit Six Sixes In A Single Over In Professional Cricket

A batsman hitting six sixes in an over is one of the most unforgettable moments in the sport. There exists plenty of instances of a bowler taking hattricks or batsmen playing some match-winning knocks. However, a double hattrick of maximums or six sixes in a single over, which doesn’t happen more often, gets etched into the minds of cricketing fraternity and fans.

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India’s Yuvraj Singh is one of the most recent batsmen to have achieved the feat and who delivered at the grandest stage. The left-handed batsman scored six sixes in a single over against England’s Stuart Broad in Durban during the 2007 ICC World T20. During the process, he reached his half-century in only 12 deliveries. However, surprisingly he is not the only batsman to do so.

We take a look at six batsmen, who struck six sixes in an over in professional cricket:

Sir Garfield Sobers:

One of the greatest all-rounders to have graced the game, Sir Garfield Sobers was the first batsman to achieve the feat of hitting six sixes in a single over. It came for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash during a county match in 1968 as a captain. Don Bradman declared Sobers as a ‘five in one cricketer’ due to his all-round abilities.

As far as his playing days for West Indies are concerned, the Barbados-born featured in 93 Tests. Across that many games in red-ball cricket, he scored 8032 runs at an imposing average of 57.38. His best score of 365 came against Pakistan, which was also a record score at that time. With the ball, Sobers picked up 235 scalps at 34.03.

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Ravi Shastri:

It took 16 years for a cricketer to replicate the feat achieved by Gary Sobers. Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri was the batsman to do it for the second time. The elusive moment came off left-arm spinner Thilak Raj when Shastri mustered six sixes for Mumbai against Baroda in 1985.

In the process, the all-rounder went on to score the fastest double-hundred in the first-class arena. The Mumbai-born would go on to serve as the coach of the Indian team and is the current one at that. The 57-year old featured in 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India between 1981 and 1992.

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Herschelle Gibbs:

South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs became the first to clatter six sixes in an over in One-day international and till date remains the only one. It was also the first time that a batsman went to such lengths. The incident transpired in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Netherlands’ Daan van Bunge was the bowler at the receiving end of the forgettable feat at the Warner Park in St. Kitts. Gibbs went on to smash 72 off 40 deliveries, which included seven sixes and four fours. Proteas finished with 353 off their allotted overs before they won by 221 runs.

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Yuvraj Singh:

Yuvraj Singh successfully clearing the ropes off Stuart Broad every single time in that over became one of the most breath-taking moments of the last to last decade. It was reported that English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff goaded the southpaw that made him do it to the young speedster.

Yuvraj got to his half-century in only 12 balls, which remains the record for the fastest fifty in T20Is till date. The men in blue amassed 218 in their 20 overs. England did bat well too, but the target was too steep to chase for them. India also went on to win that tournament under their new captain, MS Dhoni.

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Hazratullah Zazai:

Yet another player to have the milestone is Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai. It occurred in the 2018 edition of Afghanistan Premier League, who was already incandescent in the tournament. Zazai, who was playing for Kabul Zwanan, mercilessly smashed debutant spinner Abdullah Mazari for six sixes. It proved as a nightmarish first outing for him.

Zazai was also central to Afghanistan’s record-breaking total of 278, which they achieved against Ireland in a T20I in February 2019. The southpaw’s unbeaten 162 off 62 balls contained 11 fours and 16 sixes that proved as an ungettable score for the Irishmen.

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Ross Whiteley:

Ross Whiteley touched the territory back in 2017 during the Natwest T20 blast for Worcestershire. Even though Whiteley played a defiant and a breezy knock, it wasn’t enough to prevent a defeat to Yorkshire by 37 runs. But it managed to steal the spotlight from David Willey, who scored 118 in the first innings to guide Yorkshire to 233.

Rookie spinner Karl Carver became the victim of the southpaw as he went on to concede 47 runs off his two overs. The six sixes came in the 16th over, which also contained a wide. Eventual man of the match, David Willey ended his blistering knock of 65 off 26 balls in the 18th over.

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Leo Carter:

Leo Carter is the most recent batsman to have gone where only a few players have in the Super Smash edition of 2020. In early January this year, Carter hammered left-arm spinner Anton Devcich for 36 runs (six sixes) in the 16th over of a T20 game at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. That made him the first player from New Zealand to do so.

More importantly, the southpaw did that when chasing a score. With Canterbury chasing 221 to win against the Northern Districts, the 25-year old came to the crease at the exit of Stephen Murdock. He hit an unbeaten 70 off 29 balls with seven sixes and three fours as his side made a mockery of the mammoth total with more than an over to spare.

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