The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a happy hunting ground for power hitters, who have shown their penchant for hitting boundaries at their will.
Hitting boundaries elegantly requires perfect timing and efficient strokeplay. Banking on these traits, a few notable batters have slammed 6 fours in 6 consecutive balls in the league.
On that note, let’s look at the batters who have hit 6 fours in an over in the IPL.
1. Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals)
Ajinkya Rahane became the first batter to smash 6 fours in 6 consecutive balls in the IPL. He achieved the extraordinary feat in 2012 while playing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The opener was batting cautiously, with the Rajasthan Royals sitting at 82 for 1 at the end of the 13th over. RR needed someone to charge against RCB, and Rahane did just that with finesse.
Sreenath Aravind came to bowl the 14th over, and Rahane welcomed him with a straight four. The Mumbai batter treated the next ball in the same fashion, smashing it straight past the bowler.
On the third delivery, he fetched a boundary by scooping the ball behind the wicketkeeper. Rahane then pulled the fourth delivery over the midwicket to get a one-bounce four.
He pounced on the next delivery, smashing the full toss towards the cover boundary. He finished off the over with the sixth four, slicing the ball towards the third man boundary.
The Royals’ score raced past 100 and eventually, they posted 195 runs on the board. Rahane’s belligerent hitting also helped him get his hundred, scoring an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls.
Also Read | List: Batters to Hit 6 Sixes in an Over in International Cricket
2. Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals)
After almost 9 years, another opener, Prithvi Shaw, repeated Rahane’s feat of 6 fours in an over. Shaw was opening the innings against the Kolkata Knight Riders and got off to a rocking start in the first over itself.
The Delhi Capitals were out in the middle to chase the target of 155 runs. Even though the target wasn’t too big, Shaw couldn’t wait longer to get off the mark.
Shivam Mavi opened the bowling attack for KKR but had to deal with the onslaught of Shaw in the opening over. After he conceded a wide on the first delivery, Shaw hit him for a four over his head.
The right-hander then pinched the inswinger towards the mid-wicket boundary for his second four. Shaw guided the third and fourth towards cover point as Mavi struggled to find the right line and length.
The fifth delivery was short outside off, and Shaw slashed it towards the backward point to collect 5 fours in a row. He got another outside off delivery on the length, driving it over extra-cover region for 6 fours in 6 balls.
With that, Prithvi Shaw became only the second batter to smash 6 fours in an over in the IPL.
