Top 5 six-hitters in international cricket

A few days back a video featuring former India opener Virender Sehwag had gone viral where the flamboyant batsman is shown hitting a six while singing on a microphone attached to him. Such is the audacity of the batsmen these days. Earlier coaches would tell budding cricketers to “keep it along the ground” but such days are long gone. And hitting sixes are quite a huge part of the game now.

What has aided the batsmen is also the fact that the willows have got much fatter and bigger. So nowadays even mistimed shots or thick edges are flying into the stands. But that said you just cannot take it away from someone like an AB De Villiers who does it day in and day out in international cricket. The legendary South African has already hit a whopping 292 sixes in 383 matches so far. But he does not make it to the top five international six hitters. This list picks out the best five.

#1 Shahid Afridi

The world first sat up and noticed Afridi as a 16-year-old kid who blasted his way to a 37-ball hundred against a Sri Lankan side who were World Cup winners then. And thankfully he did not stop there. Every time Afridi used to walk out into the field after that innings people believed the man would hit them into the stands again and he seldom let them down.

Twenty years after that iconic knock he still remains as one of the most explosive batsmen in the game. He is even nicknamed ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi for his power-hitting. In total, the Pakistani all-rounder has hit a record-breaking 476 sixes and 1052 fours in his playing career till now. He has also featured in 523 international matches and scored 11185 runs.

#2 Chris Gayle

Gayle is well known for his six hitting abilities

How would you keep out Christopher Henry Gayle from a six hitting list? You just cannot. The burly Jamaican has been firing on all cylinders ever since he made his debut for West Indies in 1999. Be it in One-Dayers, T20s or even Test matches his aggressive batting is a delight to watch. He is not one of those batsmen who run like a hare between wickets but he surely makes it up with his boundary hitting capabilities.

For years now, he has been a player West Indies have looked up to every time they have been in trouble and he has kept hitting their way out of it. He has 17954 international runs from 422 matches with 434-montrous sixes to his credit. In the T20 era, Gayle is a batsman who has thrived like no other. Besides the whopping number of international sixes he has a huge amount in domestic games too.

3# Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum (left) ringing the historic bell at Lord’s

When in full flow, McCullum was brutal but brilliant to watch. He had the ability to demoralize the opposition bowling attack with his power hitting. And whenever he walked out to bat none could look away. He was instrumental in making the Indian Premier League the brand it is today as he got it to an electrifying start in 2008 with a 158. He then reprised the style in Test matches too and smashed his way to 12 hundreds. The last of which was the fastest century in Tests in his last game.

He was also the second batsman after Chris Gayle to get to a Twenty 20 hundred where he had tonked the likes of Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes to all parts of the park in Christchurch.In 432 international fixture McCullum had hit 398 sixes and 1552 boundaries. He also scored 14676 runs in those games.

4# Sanath Jayasuriya

Besides scoring over 20,000 runs Jayasuriya has 440 international wickets

It’s very hard to imagine Jayasuriya started off as a bowler who could bat a bit. But then he took a liking for the latter and practiced hard in the nets. Jayasuriya was first promoted to the opener slot in the year 1993 in the Hero Cup.

Three years later when the 1996 World Cup arrived Jayasuriya was an established top order batsman who would give a thumping start to the Sri Lankan innings. He was a key factor in Sri Lanka winning that year and also was quite instrumental in their 2007 World Cup campaign where they reached the finals. Jayasuriya also has 440 international wickets but he will always be remembered for the massive sixes he hit.The prolific run-getter has hit 352 sixes in international cricket at a time when there were no T20 internationals. He also has 22032 runs from 586 outings.

#5 MS Dhoni

Dhoni in action during a World T20 game

The whole world was glued to their television sets when Mahendra Singh Dhoni lofted Nuwan Kulasekara into the stands to lift the 2011 cricket World Cup for India. The great Sunil Gavaskar had said,” When I die, the last thing I want to see is the six that Dhoni hit in the 2011 World Cup final.”

It’s been five years since the incident and Dhoni continues to entertain. The Indian limited overs captain is still one of the best finishers around the globe even though the tag has come under a few questions over the last few months. He is one of those batsmen who like taking on challenges and smacking bowlers out of the ground. He can be ungainly at times but it is rest assured if Dhoni middles the ball it is going to be a catch for the crowd. He is quite well known for the helicopter shot which he started playing from his early days which involved tennis ball cricket.From 441 games Dhoni has hit 304 sixes and scored 14906 international runs.