Hitting them big: Top five batsmen with most sixes in T20I cricket
Everyone loves watching the shortest format of the game. Irrespective of what a few cricket pundits feel about this format, it manages to generate a lot of viewership and guarantees you entertainment. T20Is have often favoured the batsmen more than the bowlers.
It is often said that hitting sixes is an important component in this format of the game as you need to have a big total in order to stand a chance to win a T20I match. This has lead to teams picking clean strikers in any T20I game, irrespective of the pitch conditions. Every team needs a six-hitter in this format of the game.
The beauty of a flat-six that is well-hit is that the crowd goes berserk, it helps accelerate the scoring rate while also pinching the bowler’s confidence. In this article, we will take a look at the top 5 batsmen with the most sixes in T20I cricket.
5) Chris Gayle:
Often termed as the “Universe Boss” of cricket, Chris Gayle has been the synonym of “sixes” for a really long time. No one has really made six-hitting look so easy and effortless as he has. Despite playing only 54 innings, he finds himself on this list, this should speak volumes of his ability to clear the ropes.
Chris Gayle has hit 105 sixes in his T20I career. He has been one of the faces of T20I cricket. It would be safe to say that he has been one of those individuals who has popularized this format among the masses.
He has an average and strike rate of 32.54 and 142.84 respectively. Despite being 40 he still has a lot more to offer, one shouldn’t be surprised if he plays a few more T20I matches for West Indies, if he does do that then he’d definitely want to jump up on this list and hit a few more sixes.
4) Colin Munro:
Colin Munro is one of the most aggressive T20I players going on right now. It would be safe to say that hitting sixes is one of his major strengths, his ability to hit the ball a long way makes him a deadly T20I batsman.
Colin Munro has hit 107 sixes in 62 innings. His T20I strike rate is 156, which happens to be the highest for any batsman on this list. He was also the first player to score 3 hundreds in T20I cricket.
Munro scored his first T20 International century against Bangladesh in 2017 and became the third from his country to do so. With his second T20I century against India, he became the fourth batsman to score two T20I centuries and the first batsman to score two in a year. After his century against West Indies in 2018, he became the first player to score three centuries in T20I cricket.
3) Eoin Morgan:
England’s ODI and T20I captain Eoin Morgan has hit the third most number of sixes by any individual in this format of the game. Having hit so many sixes despite being a middle-order batsman is no ordinary feat. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in this format.
Morgan has hit 113 sixes in 94 T20I innings. Since his T20I debut in 2009, he has always been an aggressive batsman, hitting the big shots has always been one of his strengths. He has an average of 30.37 and a healthy strike rate of 138.98 in this format of the game.
Morgan will undoubtedly go down in the history books as one of the greatest English players in the shortest format of the game. He still has a lot more to offer and doesn’t seem in any mood to slow down. Let’s hope that he continues to entertain all of us for a longer period of time.
2) Rohit Sharma:
Rohit has been nicknamed “Hitman” for a reason. India’s star opener has hit the second most number of sixes in the history of T20I cricket. The Mumbai Indians skipper has a knack for hitting sixes for fun.
Rohit Sharma has hit 127 sixes in this format of the game, it gets scarier when you realize that he didn’t start his career as an opener and despite that, finds himself second on the list. He made his T20I debut in 2007 and has played 100 T20I innings as of now.
Rohit Sharma also holds the record for hitting the most number of centuries in this format of the game, he also holds the record for the fastest T20I century ever. He had equalled David Miller’s record when he smashed a 100 in 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017. It safe to say that T20I is one of Rohit’s favourite formats and he loves hitting sixes. It would be interesting to see how many more sixes can he hit in his T20I career.
1) Martin Guptill:
It is safe to say that Martin Guptill has been one of the greatest stroke makers New Zealand has ever seen. The New Zealand opener made his T20I debut in 2009 and has never looked back since then. He has hit the most number of sixes in the history of T20I cricket.
He is one of the leading run-scorers in the history of T20I cricket as well, Guptill has scored 2718 runs in 92 T20I innings and has hit 132 sixes in this format. As a matter of fact, Martin Guptill crossed Rohit Sharma’s tally of sixes in the recently concluded T20I match between New Zealand and Australia.
Guptill has even scored two hundreds in this format of the game, which shows how good he is in the shortest format of the game. Guptill has a batting average of 31.97 and a strike rate of 135.90 in T20I cricket. It would be exciting to see if Guptill can be first on this list for a longer period of time.
