For these of an older classic who fell in love with cricket and its time-honoured traditions lengthy earlier than T20 grew to become an all-pervasive half of the sport, a six was a uncommon spectacle. An occasional prevalence that retained a tinge of novelty every time.
For the ball to sail into the stands, a batter needed to summon a truthful diploma of bodily energy and produce the blade’s thicker center into play. Even as the high quality of bats improved and the 50-over sport grew in recognition in the Nineties and early 2000s, six-hitting got here naturally to simply a handful.
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The abandoning of inhibition
And then T20 cricket got here alongside, altering the sport in some ways on and off the subject. Since the creation of the shortest format in England in 2003 and its subsequent blossoming round the globe, the largest cricketing shift has been the abandoning of inhibition by batters.
They have capitalised on the format’s inherent leaning in the direction of them and augmented their six-hitting expertise to an extent that couldn’t have been envisaged a couple of many years in the past. So a lot in order that the emphasis on pushing the sport ahead has filtered by to the ostensibly sacrosanct 5-day model as nicely.
Here are some numbers to chew over. From 1877 to 1999, the first 123 years of Test cricket, an estimate of the complete sixes hit was 4,585 throughout 1,480 matches. In the subsequent 25 years, there have been 8,293 maximums. In ODI cricket, the first 29 years (1971 to 1999) noticed 4,974 sixes over 1,531 matches. Since January 2000, 22,827 sixes have been smashed throughout 3,332 matches.
In the 3,152 T20Is held since 2005, there have been 28,456 hits past the boundary. That is roughly 9 sixes per sport.
The Indian Premier League, which has embraced maturity this yr, has performed a outstanding half in expediting the sport’s transformation. Over 18 seasons of the annual summer time extravaganza, the sight of a batter wielding that willow like a sledgehammer has been routine. The present common of 12 sixes per IPL match is simply rising.
Nobody has delivered extra humongous hits in the IPL than Chris Gayle. In 141 innings for 3 totally different franchises, the tall and burly Jamaican plundered 357 sixes.
| Photo Credit:
Akhilesh Kumar
Nobody has delivered extra humongous hits, of course, than Chris Gayle. In 141 innings for 3 totally different franchises, the Jamaican, tall, burly and dreadlocked, plundered 357 sixes. That there isn’t any imminent menace to his tally regardless of his final look being in 2021 is proof of his efficiency. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni are second, third and fourth on this exalted record.
No floor large enough
Gayle, together with his lengthy attain and large slab of muscle, encountered no floor large enough to include him. The similar could possibly be stated about two different West Indians with illustrious IPL careers.
Kieron Pollard was Mumbai Indians’ designated destructor in the loss of life overs for 13 straight seasons, bludgeoning 223 sixes in 189 matches with a bat that appeared like a toothpick in entrance of his thickset body. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Andre Russell has been simply as intimidating, hitting a six each seven balls on common. Even Gayle and Pollard, in truth, didn’t get pleasure from Russell’s six-hitting frequency.
“Russell was just born to hit sixes. Big, powerful individual. If I was going to make a T20 player, it would be Dre Russ in his pomp. He can clear the ropes easily,” says Englishman Julian Wood, a specialist energy-hitting coach who has labored with Punjab Kings.
Leading the charts this yr is one other West Indian in Nicholas Pooran. The 29-yr-previous from Trinidad has taken his sport to a increased aircraft for Lucknow Super Giants, mixing his six-hitting prowess with new-discovered consistency at No. 3. His tally of 31 sixes is much superior to his rivals, and he’s additionally in the race to complete as the season’s highest run-getter.
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Pooran isn’t bodily imposing. But when he extends his arms and brings that bat down from a excessive again-raise to make a sound connection, the ball invariably disappears into the sea of spectators. “I just try my best to get in good positions and if it’s there, just time the ball nicely,” Pooran stated. “I’ve never worked on my bat speed, I’m just blessed with incredible talent.”
Casting a eager eye on Pooran’s technique, Wood explains: “He has great fundamentals. He relies heavily on the rhythm and timing of his movements. When the rhythm and timing is right, it gets you to the right place at the right time. He is so clear in what he does. He knows if the ball is in his slot, it’s six.”
The likes of Jos Buttler, Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav work with comparable attributes. In the previous, AB de Villiers was one other of this ilk, combining malleable wrists, supersonic fingers and insane bat velocity.
Suryakumar Yadav’s hanging prowess is enhanced by his potential to make use of the angles and hit the ball to totally different locations.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
“The big guys can stay still and just muscle it. The smaller guys need to get the rhythm and timing of their movements right. And you can’t get too close to the ball. You need space,” Wood continues, “I call it clean space, for the hands and bat to come through. If you have too much space, you lose control of the bat. If you have too little space, you get restricted. What these guys are very good at is creating the optimum space that they want. Without it, you cannot accelerate your hands through the ball.”
Another dimension
Lending one other dimension to the skillset of these gamers is a 360-diploma repertoire. With ramps, scoops and sweeps of the standard and reverse selection in their locker, for a bowler to stem the movement of runs is to squeeze water from a stone. Even a yorker carries the danger of going all the approach as a result of of the creative photographs behind the wicket
Take the instance of Suryakumar. A decide-up shot over nice-leg, typically struck with sufficient velocity to fetch most reward, is his signature. “He can score at a strike-rate of 180 without taking many risks. He uses the angles superbly to hit the ball to different places,” says Wood.
Then there are contact gamers, like Ajinkya Rahane and B. Sai Sudharsan, who financial institution on the ball coming onto the bat and the innate reward of timing. Favourable match-ups are significantly sought by these batters to compensate for sure limitations. And but, each Rahane and Sudharsan are amongst the most prolific six-hitters this yr with 15 maximums every.
The proliferation of sixes, nevertheless, begs the query: can it will definitely evoke ennui amongst the spectators? The question was put to Wood, who makes his dwelling by coaching batters to belt the ball out of the floor. “People want to see sixes,” he responds, earlier than including, “But they, of course, wish to see a truthful contest. People wish to go and see batters hit sixes. They wish to see pacers bowl 150kmph and spinners who can spin it each methods. That is how I see the sport.
The 360-diploma repertoires of gamers reminiscent of Jos Buttler give opposition captains and bowlers complications. Having to deal with ramps, scoops and sweeps of the standard and reverse selection isn’t a job for the faint-hearted.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
”This IPL season has averaged about 17 sixes per sport to this point. If hordes of followers are thronging into stadiums in the scorching warmth yearly and plenty of others are tuning in on their tv screens and cellphones, you wish to consider that a six continues to be a thrill-inducing spectacle. But let’s simply say that it isn’t uncommon anymore.
Published – April 26, 2025 03:18 pm IST
