Rohit Sharma surpassed West Indian icon Chris Gayle to hit the most sixes in international cricket on Wednesday during India’s 2023 World Cup match against Afghanistan in Delhi.
Before the match, the Indian skipper had 551 sixes in 452 innings. He smacked two sixes in successive overs from left-arm bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, then followed it up with a booming 85-meter six against Naveen-ul-Haq in the ninth over to surpass Gayle’s 553 sixes. It arrived via his favorite shot, a perfectly placed draw.
Gayle attained the milestone in 2021 after 551 innings over 22 years. In his 16th year of international cricket, Rohit Sharma crossed him in just his 473rd innings. The two explosive openers are the only ones in the sport with more than 500 sixes.
Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (476) and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum (398) and Martin Guptill (383) trail.
Following his duck in the last match against Australia, Rohit Sharma got off to a blazing start in Delhi, reaching his half-century in just 30 balls.
Australia has taken the brunt of his six-hitting prowess. Against the Men in Yellow, he hit 121 sixes across all forms. That’s over a quarter of his total. Against the Kangaroos, he averages more over 1.5 sixes per match. West Indies (88), Sri Lanka (78), and New Zealand (68) follow in terms of overall numbers.
Rohit Sharma Becomes the Quickest Indian to Score 1000 Runs in Men’s ODI World Cups
The first six also helped him set another enormous record: he became the first person to score 1,000 runs in a World Cup in only his 19th innings. He tied David Warner for the joint-fastest time to the milestone and became the fastest-ever Indian, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 20 innings.