Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad created history when he smashed seven sixes in one over against left-arm spinner Shiva Singh in a recent Vijay Hazare Trophy game. While talking about this crazy feat, the Maharashtra batter admitted that he wanted to join Yuvraj Singh on the list of batters to have hit six sixes in an over.
Maharashtra was playing its Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad, here the Chennai Super Kings batter hit Singh for seven sixes as Maharashtra scored 43 runs off a single over. This also levelled the record for the most expensive over in the history of List A cricket.
While talking to the BCCI website, Gaikwad went back to Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in the 2007 T20 World Cup against England. The Pune-born batter revealed how as a kid he saw Yuvi achieve this magnificent feat and hence he wanted to join Singh on this list. He said, “After the fifth six, one person that crossed my mind was Yuvraj Singh."
“I had seen him hit six sixes in an over when I was really young back then in the World Cup. So, obviously, I wanted to be alongside him and that’s why I wanted to go for the sixth one. I never thought in any day or any dream, I would be hitting six sixes in an over,” Gaikwad added.
The Maharashtra opener ended the game at a score of 220 in 159 balls. His incredible innings included 10 fours and 16 sixes, helping his team set up a competitive total of 330/5 in 50 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad also broke the record for the most number of sixes in an over in all forms of cricket which was held by a former Blackcaps wicket-keeper batter, Lee Germon, who smashed eight sixes in an over which included 17 no-balls and cost 77 runs, in a first-class game.
Gaikwad's 43-run over also became the joint-most expensive over in the history of List A cricket. This feat was previously achieved by Northern Districts' Brett Hampton and Joe Carter in New Zealand's domestic One-Day game in 2018.