How many cricket players have hit six sixes in an over?

The most recent player to hit six sixes in an over is Kieron Pollard, who pulled off that feat against Sri Lanka in March 2021.

There have only been 10 players so far who have hit 6 sixes in an over in international and domestic cricket.

Players who have hit six sixes in an over

Hitting six sixes in an over is equivalent to scoring the perfect hat trick in football, getting the bull’s eye in archery, and similar feats in various other sports.

Interestingly, the batsman who has hit the most sixes in cricket history, Chris Gayle, don’t feature in this unique list of batsmen.

The first cricketer ever to attain this feat was West Indies’ Sir Garfield Sobers, while the most recent name on this elite list is USA cricketer Jaskaran Malhotra.

Sir Garfield Sobers: First Player to hit six sixes in an over

Given the talent and temperament that the West Indies cricketer was known for, it was only fair that he became the first player to hit six sixes in an over. However, more than hitting six consecutive sixes, the dramatic ending made it all the more memorable.

Playing the County Championship for Nottinghamshire, Garfield Sobers was facing Glamorgan’s unfortunate bowler Malcolm Nash on August 31, 1968, at St. Helen’s when he achieved the feat. The slow pace on Nash’s deliveries and little to no turn on the pitch meant that the batsman was going after everything thrown at him. Sobers smashed five consecutive sixes in the first five balls before he was caught on the boundary. However, upon close inspection, it was found that Glamorgan fielder Roger Davis carried the ball over the rope with the shot resulting in six sixes in that over.

Ravi Shastri enters the elite club

It took 17 years for another cricketer to replicate Sobers’ feat of hitting six sixes in an over, and it was none other than India’s Ravi Shastri. The second cricketer to enter the “36-run” club, Shastri had attained it while playing for Bombay (Mumbai) against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy on January 19, 1985. Shastri had hit Baroda’s left-arm spinner, Tilak Raj, for 6 sixes in an over to make it to the history books. Shastri had remained unbeaten at 200 in 113 minutes that game, which is also the fastest-ever double century in the history of First-Class cricket.

Herschelle Gibbs hits six sixes in an over in ODI cricket

While Shastri and Sobers were the first two batsmen to reach the milestone, former South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs was the first to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. Known for his destructive batting style, the Proteas opener couldn’t have gotten to it on a bigger stage. South Africa were playing the Netherland in the 2007 World Cup when Gibbs decided to take on bowler Van Bunge to the stands six times in an over. Gibbs entered the record books as the first batsman to have achieved the feat in a World Cup and remained the only man to have hit six sixes in an over in a 50-over game until 2021.

Yuvraj Singh fires up Durban in T20 World Cup

What had made Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off England’s Stuart Broad even more enthralling was the relentless heated arguments between the Indian and England’s Andrew Flintoff. After former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s theatrics at the Lords during the Natwest Series, India and England have often been at loggerheads during cricketing contests and Yuvraj Singh’s knock had kept the bragging rights with India for years. The Indian southpaw held the record of scoring six sixes in an over against a pace bowler for almost 14 years before USA’s Jaskaran Malhotra achieved the feat in 2021.

The year 2007 saw two cricketers hitting six sixes in an over, which revolutionized the way cricket was played. Furthermore, the emergence of the T20 format in professional cricket around this time saw cricket teams changing their approach towards white-ball cricket.

The next batsman to attain this milestone was Ross Whitely in 2014 in a T20 Blast match. Playing for English club Worcestershire Rapids, Whitely took on Yorkshire Vikings spinner Karl Carver at the famous Headingley and hit him for six sixes.

2018 and 2020 also saw this milestone achieved at the domestic level, first by Afghanistan batsman Hazratullah Zazai and then by Leo Carter in Super Smash. Kabul Zwanan opener Zazai had hit six sixes against a hapless Abdullah Mazari of Balkh Legends while playing in the Afghanistan Premier League in 2018.

On the other hand, Carter pulled it off while playing in New Zealand’s Super Smash in 2020. Playing for Canterbury Kings, Carter hit six sixes against Northern Knights left-arm spinner Anton Devcich to score an astonishing 29-balls-70 as his team ran to a seven-wicket victory.

Kieron Pollard rains sixes in international cricket

Mumbai Indians hard-hitter Kieron Pollard had brought back the festival of sixes after a lull period following the pandemic when Sri Lanka were facing the Windies in the first T20I of a three-match series. Pollard pulled it off against Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya, who had interestingly also taken a hat-trick in the same match. Chasing 132 runs, the hosts won with four wickets to spare.

Pollard was followed by Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera, who hit six sixes at his country’s domestic Major Clubs Limited Over List A tournament. Perera was playing for Sri Lanka Army CC against Bloomfield and Athletic Club.

Jaskaran Malhotra becomes the fourth batsman to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket

Born in India’s Chandigarh, Jaskaran Malhotra plays for the USA cricket team and became the first American cricketer to slam six sixes in any form of professional cricket. Facing Papua New Guinea, Malhotra took pacer Gaudi Toka to the stands six times in an over to score an unbeaten knock of 173 runs in 124 balls. In the process, he became the fourth batsman to hit six sixes, equalling Gibbs’ record of hitting six sixes in the 50-over format.