One of the most memorable moments in cricket is when a batsman hits six sixes in an over. There have been several examples of bowlers taking hat-tricks or batsmen scoring match-winning runs. A double hattrick of maximums or six sixes in a single over, on the other hand, is seldom seen and is remembered by the cricketing community and spectators.
T20 cricket has radically changed the kind of batsmanship we see on the field, but smashing six sixes in a single over is still a rare occurrence. Despite this, numerous batsmen have achieved the ultimate goal throughout the history of the game.
Whether on a national or worldwide scale, these trailblazers climbed the highest peaks and encouraged others to do the same.
1. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh’s attack on the England cricket team and a helpless Stuart Broad during a World Cup T20 match in South Africa in spring 2007 will never be forgotten. He had gotten into a furious argument with Andrew Flintoff before Broad bowled the 19th over. Yuvraj Singh’s accomplishment in clearing the ropes from Stuart Broad every time in that match became one of the most thrilling moments of the previous decade.
Yuvraj reached his half-century in only 12 balls, which is still the fastest fifty in T20Is to this day. In their 20 overs, the men in blue accumulated 218 runs. England batted effectively as well, but the target was too big for them to reach. Under their new captain, MS Dhoni, India went on to win the tournament.
2. Leo Carter
Carter entered this select group in January 2020, when he surprised the Northern Knights with six maximums in an over in New Zealand’s Super Smash T20 league while playing for Canterbury Kings. Carter smashed left-arm spinner Anton Devcich for 36 runs (six sixes) in the 16th over of a T20 match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch in early January last year. He was the first player from New Zealand to achieve this feat. Carter struck six consecutive sixes on his route to 70-run unbeaten innings off just 29 balls, leading Canterbury Kings to a seven-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.
3. Sir Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield Sobers was the first batsman to knock six sixes in a single over, making him one of the greatest all-rounders in the game’s history. It happened while he was captaining Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash in a county match in 1968. Because of his all-around talents, Don Bradman dubbed Sobers a “five-in-one cricketer.” His highest score of 365 versus Pakistan was also a record at the time. Sobers has 235 scalps at 34.03 with the ball.
4. Ravi Shastri
The Indian team’s present coach Ravi Shastri was a terrific player. Gary Sobers’ achievement took 16 years to be duplicated by another cricketer. Ravi Shastri of India was the second batsman to achieve this feat. The elusive moment came when he smashed left-arm spinner, Tilak Raj, for 36 in six balls while playing for Bombay against Baroda.
5. Ross Whitely
Ross Whitely, a Worcestershire batsman, was added to the list in July 2017 when he smashed Yorkshire spinner Karl Carver for 36 runs in an over during a T20 Blast match at Headingley. Sadly for the Sheffield-born batsman, his efforts were futile as the Rapids were defeated, with David Willey, the man who ultimately sent him back to the dressing room, also hitting a match-winning 118 off 55 balls in a spectacular encounter.
6. Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa became the first batsman in One-Day International history to hit six sixes in a single over. He struck Daan van Bunge of the Netherlands for a full complement of six sixes in the over at the 2007 World Cup. Van Bunge’s deliveries were bludgeoned with breath-taking skill by the flamboyant right-hander, who struck them flat and high. Gibbs is the first player to achieve the feat in a 50-over World Cup match.
7. Hazratullah Zazai
Hazratullah Zazai of Afghanistan is another player who has reached the milestone. It happened in the 2018 edition of the Afghanistan Premier League. Zazai, who was playing for Kabul Zwanan, blasted Abdullah Mazari, a debutant spinner, for six sixes. It turned out to be a nightmare debut for him.
8. Thisara Perera
In a List-A match, all-rounder Perera was batting for Army Sports CC against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club. Perera’s dazzling performance saw him reach 52 from just 13 balls, the second-fastest half-century in List A cricket history. In any level of professional cricket, he also became the first Sri Lankan to knock six sixes in an over.
9. Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard did it for the West Indies against Sri Lanka in March 2021. Pollard became the first player since Yuvraj Singh in 2007 to knock six sixes in an international match, and he was just the third player in international cricket to accomplish it after Yuvraj and Herschelle Gibbs. Given that bowler Akila Dananjaya had just bagged a hat-trick in his previous over, Pollard’s performance was even more amazing.
