Cricket boasts some of the rarest records the sport has seen in its glorified history. Among those records, hitting 6 fours in an over is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
A handful of batters have entered the record books by smashing bowlers for 6 fours in a single over in international cricket. Here we’ll list the batters who have achieved this feat on the global stage.
1. Sandeep Patil (India) vs Bob Willis (England) | 1982
Everyone knows Yuvraj Singh was the first Indian batter to smash 6 sixes in an over in international cricket. But a few know that Sandeep Patil was the first batter to hit 6 fours in an over back in 1982.
It was the second Test between England and India in Manchester, which was hit by bad weather. India were out batting on the fourth day, struggling on 136 for 5.
Then came Sandeep Patil, who stitched crucial partnerships with Syed Kirmani, Kapil Dev, and Madan Lal to avoid the follow-on. In one of the overs after England took a new ball, Patil took Bob Willis to the cleaners.
The right-hand batter welcomed Willis with a four towards the extra cover region. He lifted the next ball over the bowler’s head.
Patil got a four off the third ball, which was a no ball. The third legal ball was a dot, but he cut away the fourth delivery for a four towards the point.
Patil brought up his hundred with a boundary towards square on the fifth ball. He treated the last ball for four with a hook shot to create a record in international cricket.
Watch Sandeep Patil’s knock here.
2. Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs Matthew Hoggard (England) | 2004
After a gap of 22 years, Chris Gayle became the second batter to score 6 fours in an over in Tests. Gayle needs no introduction for his hitting in T20s. And he was no different in Tests, which he showcased against England in 2004.
In the fourth Test match at the Oval, England imposed a follow-on on the West Indies, as they had a lead of 318 runs. Despite the Windies trailing by a huge margin, Gayle didn’t take any pressure and did what he does best — SMASH.
In only the third over of the Windies’ second innings, Gayle hammered Matthew Hoggard for 6 consecutive fours. He punched the first four towards the midwicket region.
The next 3 balls were hit on off-side, with the second travelling towards deep cover, the third to long-off, and the fourth to cover.
Gayle played the short-pitched ball for the fifth four. He rounded off the over with the sixth four through cover and long-off.
Watch Gayle’s smashing here.
3. Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies) vs Munaf Patel (India) | 2006
Ramnaresh Sarwan, who saw Gayle hit 6 fours from the pavilion, repeated the feat himself 2 years down the line. Munaf Patel was the unlucky bowler to face Sarwan’s thrashing.
In the third Test at Basseterre, Patel came to bowl the 84th over of the Windies’ first innings. But little did he know what was going to hit him.
Sarwan opened the over with a boundary through covers. He hooked the next delivery to square leg.
The third ball found the ropes towards deep cover. Sarwan found himself lucky as an inside edge raced towards the fine leg to make it 4 in 4.
The right-hander cut the fifth ball towards the third man. The next delivery was a no ball, but anyway, Sarwan cut it towards the point, making it 6 consecutive fours.
Patel had a sigh of relief as the sixth legal ball didn’t fetch any run or a boundary to make matters worse.
Watch Ramnaresh Sarwan’s smacking here.
Also Read | List: Batters to Hit 6 Fours in an Over in IPL
4. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) vs James Anderson (England) | 2007
A year later, Sanath Jayasuriya found himself in the record books by pulling away James Anderson for 6 consecutive fours. It was the first Test match in Kandy.
England had managed to take a first-innings lead of 93 runs. To reduce the deficit, Jayasuriya was providing a good start to Sri Lanka.
In the 19th over, he took it a notch higher as Anderson came steaming in with the ball. Jayasuriya started with a four over extra cover. On the next ball, the left-hander got a lifeline as Ian Bell dropped his catch in the slips, with the ball racing behind the wickets.
Jayasuriya dashed the third four with a square drive. He pulled the fourth delivery for another four towards square leg.
Jayasuriya brought up his fifty with the fifth four over extra cover. He completed the streak with a four towards the third-man area.
Watch Jayasuriya’s ODI blitz in Tests here.
5. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) vs Mitchell Johnson (Australia) | 2015
So far, Tillakaratne Dilshan is the only batter to smash 6 consecutive fours in an over in ODI cricket. What makes his achievement special is he pulled off the feat in the 2015 ODI World Cup.
While chasing the target of 377 runs, Dilshan was batting cautiously, having lost Lahiru Thirimanne early on. But in the sixth over, he took on Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson.
Dilshan drove the first ball for a boundary through the long off, while the next delivery went past Mitchell towards the ropes. He sent the third ball towards the deep midwicket boundary.
The right-hander pulled the fourth ball over the backward square to fetch the fourth boundary. Dilshan found the fifth four through the covers and made it 6 fours in a row as he played the sixth ball towards the extra cover area.
Watch Dlishan’s elegant strokes here.
6. Harry Brook (England) vs Saud Shakeel (Pakistan) | 2022
After a long layoff, Harry Brook achieved this feat against Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel in 2022. Brook feasted on Pakistan’s bowlers on a flat Rawalpindi pitch that saw 4 England batters score hundreds in a day, including himself.
On the return of England to Pakistan for a Test series after 17 years, the hosts had a forgettable outing with the ball in the first innings. To rub salt on that, Brook smacked 6 consecutive fours in the 68th over.
Brook hit the first four over long-on, with the second coming through the covers. The right-hander slammed the third ball down the ground to make it 3 in 3.
He pulled away the fourth ball for a boundary. The fifth ball raced towards the boundary through the covers. Brook made it 6 fours in 6 balls by lashing the last delivery towards wide long-on.
Watch Brook’s rampage here.
