Top 5 Indian batsmen with most number of ODI sixes

From perseverance to dominance to talent in abundance to execution in magnificence, the Indian ODI team has now got it all. The outset of the 21st century saw India instill belief and enormous grit in themselves in overseas conditions under the Sourav Ganguly era.

In the ODI circuit, it was a new beginning regardless of their success in the past. Despite not being the original inventors of the game, India boasts a robust history. And talking about ODI cricket, the two-time World Cup winners possess a long list of players who could strike it clean and colossal.

However, let us look at the five players who have have struck the most number of sixes in the history of Indian ODI cricket:

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5. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj's big-hitter ability could change the course of any game

He is a maverick in the history of ODI cricket for India. Yuvraj Singh's contribution to the team in the World Cup of 2011 is enormous. The southpaw has not only struck over 150 sixes but the way he has timed most of them highlights his ability to strike it crisply.

The only Indian to have hit 6 sixes in an over, the tall batsman on his day was capable of destructing any opposition.

Yuvraj has batted primarily in the No.4 and No.5 position in the batting order but has also donned the role of a finisher in sporadic occasions. In a career that spread over 304 matches, Yuvraj Singh has 155 sixes to his name with a strike rate of 87.67.

4.Rohit Sharma

Once he gets going, there is literally no stopping him

The 'Hit-man' as he is fondly referred to, has a colossal presence at the top of the order. The talismanic Mumbai batsman started batting in the middle order but since he started to open the innings, he has been a marvelous revelation.

A flabbergasting 3 double hundreds in the ODI format along with the highest-ever ODI score of 264 to his bag, Sharma has already consolidated a position in the list of ODI greats. Although Sharma has adopted a cautious approach in the earlier phases of the ODI, his heroics in the later stages is regarded highly by the experts and the fans.

Sharma boasts a total of 169 sixes in ODI format along with a unique record of smashing 16 sixes in an innings en route to his maiden double hundred against Australia. It is only a matter of time before he scampers past 200 sixes given his prolific attacking prowess.

3.Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly made the most of the field restrictions while he opened the batting

The 'Bengal Tiger' is still debated to be the best Indian skipper. Such was the impact of the attacking mindset he instilled in his team. Ganguly himself was technically gifted and predominantly aggressive.

Albeit being infamous for his exploits through the cover regions, Ganguly who mostly opened the innings for India, dealt mighty blows all around the park irrespective of the match situation.

With over 300 ODI caps and 11363 runs, is it safe to underline that he is one of India's greatest limited-overs cricketer with a massive 190 sixes throughout his ODI career.

2.Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar's six off Andrew Caddick's bowling is unforgettable.

Here comes the demi-god of the Indian cricket. Tendulkar is undoubtedly the most celebrated ODI cricketers in the history of the game.

Let's begin with his numbers that are probably unsurpassable; A massive 463 ODI matches, 18426 runs, an average of 44.83 and the long list goes on and on about the Master Blaster who also boasts the record for becoming the first player to score 200 in ODI.

Focusing on striking big, Tendulkar was one of the most aggressive batsmen the world had witnessed in the 1990s. He is the only batsmen to score over 2000 boundaries in ODI cricket and when it comes to the maximums, Tendulkar has a huge 195 sixes. Unarguably a vast majority of them have come from elegant timing.

1.Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Powerful players like Dhoni make the art of six-hitting extremely simple.

For the number one slot, there just couldn't be any other name you could think of, could you? MS Dhoni has the most number of sixes in the history of Indian ODI cricket.

He is probably the most powerful smasher of the cricket ball India has ever seen. The power at which Dhoni strikes a cricket ball is absolutely fearsome. Apart from possessing a healthy strike rate of 88.40, Dhoni is currently only 33 runs short of 10000 ODI runs.

Often dubbed as 'The Finisher', Dhoni has a humongous 217 maximums under his belt which have come from a wide variety of shots including his trademark 'Helicopter Shot'.

However, 217 is a massive number for any Indian to match in the future and moreover, Dhoni isn't finished yet in the ODI format of the game as well.