Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmed smashes 6 sixes in one over in PSL exhibition match
ANI
Islamabad, February 5
Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmed made history and smashed six sixes in an over on Sunday.
Ahmed accomplished this feat during his side Quetta Gladiators’ Pakistan Super League (PSL) exhibition match against Peshawar Zalmi.
In the final over of the Gladiators’ inning bowled by former Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz, Iftikhar went berserk and smashed the veteran for 6,6,6,6,6,6.
At the start of the final over, Iftikhar was at 58 off 44 balls. But at the end of the final over, his score was 94 off just 50 balls.
Iftikhar’s heroics helped his side add plenty of valuable runs to the scoreboard. At the start of the final over, Quetta was 148/5 and they reached 184/5 in 20 overs.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also acknowledged his heroics on their Twitter.
Iftikhar is a pretty accomplished batter in the shorter format. In 204 matches and 186 innings in T20 cricket, he has scored 3,956 runs at an average of 29.08 and a strike rate of 127.24. He has one century and 25 fifties to his name in the format, with the best score of 100*.
Before him, ten players have accomplished the feat of hitting six sixes in an over.
West Indies all-rounder Gary Sobers was the first-ever batter to accomplish this feat, during a County Championship match in 1968 for his side Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.
17 years later in a Ranji Trophy match for Bombay against Baroda, Ravi Shastri replicated this feat for Bombay.
South African batter Herschelle Gibbs (against the Netherlands in 2007 Cricket World Cup) and Indian all-rounder legend Yuvraj Singh (against England in T20 World Cup 2007) were the first two players to hit six sixes in an over internationally.
England’s Ross Whitley (For Worcestershire Rapid in T20 Blast 2017) and Afghanistan batter Hazratullah Zazai (For Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends in Afghanistan Premier League 2018) repeated the feat in late 2010s.
In 2020s, New Zealand batter Leo Carter (For Canterbury Kings against Northern Knights in Super Smash 2020) once again hit sixes at the club level.
In 2021, West Indies legend Kieron Pollard became the third batter to smash six sixes in an over, during a T20I match against Sri Lanka.
In the same year, while playing for Sri Lanka Army Sports CC, SL batter Thisara Perera smashed six sixes in an over against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club during the Major Clubs Limited Over List A Tournament.
USA’s Jaskaran Malhotra became the fourth international player to smash six sixes in an over against Papua New Guinea in 2021.