It’s a feat that is rare and only four batters have been able to achieve in the history of international cricket. Herschelle Gibbs was the first to do so in 2007, Yuvraj Singh followed the suit in the same year, Kieron Pollard and Jaskaran Malhotra joined the club in 2021.
It’s the club of batters to have hit six sixes in international cricket. Gibbs and Jaskaran did that in ODIs while Yuvraj and Pollard got it done in T20Is.
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On Wednesday, during an Asia Cup 2022 group match against Hong Kong, India batter Suryakumar Yadav was in red-hot form and in a late flourish, had struck three sixes in a row in the final over of his team’s innings. However, the fourth delivery resulted in no runs while Surya cleared the boundary off the penultimate before finishing with a couple.
So did the thought of belting six sixes cross his mind?
“I was trying my best, but (chuckles) I thought let’s not get ahead of Yuvi pa," Suryakumar responded when quizzed by Virat Kohli during a chat.
Suryakumar finished with 68 off 26, an innings studded with six fours and as many sixes. And his unbroken stand of 98 with Kohli - 59 off 44 - powered India to 192/2 in 20 overs which proved beyond Hong Kong’s reach.
Kohli was all praise for Surya’s stunning assault.
“You [Suryakumar] came in and completely changed the momentum of the game on a pitch that was not as he made it look, it was brilliant knock to watch it from the other end. I have seen him do it in IPL against our team, against others and internationals game, but It was my first experience to watch it so closely [as a batting partner] and I thoroughly enjoyed it," he said.
On his part, Suryakumar said he loves batting with Kohli.
“I love batting with him [Kohli] – When I was inside [dressing room], I was talking to Rishabh and how to we can take the game ahead as the wicket was a bit sticky. And when I went to bat I tried to be myself, what I do, what I love to. It was a really simple plan – the first 10 balls I wanted to hit 3-4 boundaries and when I got that I just kept batting," Suryakumar said.
Kohli said the manner in which Suryakumar played against Hong Kong, he can become a game-changes against any team in the world.
“I honestly believe the way you played today, if you can stay in that zone, you can literally change the complexion of the whole game against any team in the world," Kohli said.
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