In a Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal match against Uttar Pradesh in Ahmedabad, the opening batsman for Maharashtra, Rituraj Gaikwad, set a record by hitting seven sixes in a single over, making him the first player in List A cricket to do so.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, an aggressive hitter who rose to fame while representing the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, has become the first player in List-A cricket history to smash seven sixes in an over. In the Vijay Hazare quarterfinal between Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad, the well-known batsman Gaikwad, who is known for his traditional style, smashed a furious double century.
Shiva’s 49th over to Rituraj unfolded as follows:
- 1st ball: Singh gifted a low full toss to Gaikwad, who smacked it over wide long-on, clearing the ropes for a six.
- 2nd ball: Gaikwad hit another massive six over the bowler’s head, muscling a shorter ball over a deep square leg while clearing his front leg.
- 3rd ball: Rituraj hit another lofted shot but this time over long-off to complete the hat-trick of sixes
- 4th ball: Rituraj received the same outcomes with a second lofted strike in the same direction, bringing the count to four sixes
- 5th ball (no ball): Singh overstepped the white line and Rituraj made no mistake in dispatching it over the boundary in the leg side.
- 6th ball: The free-hit was carried over long-on for the over’s sixth six.
- 7th ball: Gaikwad once more smashed Singh’s weak delivery over the deep midwicket boundary rope to set a new record.
Gaikwad collected 42 runs individual runs in Shiva’s over as each of the seven delivery were converted into sixes between long-on and deep square-leg with pure cricketing strokes.
With an innings that included 10 fours and 16 sixes, the Maharashtra captain finished undefeated on 220 off 159 balls. Rituraj’s fierce double century was his first in List-A Cricket, while his previous career high in professional cricket was 187 not out. In the last eight innings of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, this is also his sixth century. He hit 43 runs, including 7 sixes, against Shiva Singh’s left-arm spin in the 49th over of the innings.
Breaking and making of records at Gujrat
The 25-year-old Gaikwad also holds the record for the most runs ever scored in a single over, scoring 42 runs in Shiva’s over, including seven huge sixes. The previous record belonged to Zimbabwean batsman Elton Chigumbura, who scored 39 runs in Alauddin Babu’s over in a Dhaka Premier Division game in 2013. Shiva, on the other hand, has now tied Willem Ludick of New Zealand for the most runs conceded in List A cricket history with 43 runs.
Willem Ludick of the Central Districts was the first bowler to suffer a 43-run over at the 2018–19 Ford Trophy in New Zealand after being hammered all over the field by Joe Carter and Brett Hampton of the Northern District. The record for the most sixes in an over overall belongs to Lee Germon, a former New Zealand captain who hit eight sixes in a First-Class match in Wellington during the 1990 Shell Trophy.
The list of Batsmen who have smashed six sixes in an over includes:
- Garry Sobers (1968)
- Ravi Shastri (1985)
- Herschelle Gibbs (2007),
- Yuvraj Singh (2007)
- Ross Whiteley (2017)
- Hazratullah Zazai (2018)
- Leo Carter (2020)
- Kieron Pollard (2021)
- Thisara Perera (2021)
- Jaskaran Malhotra (2021)
Gaikwad’s one-man was tough to match by Uttar Pradesh’s batting lineup
Gaikwad’s blitzkrieg propelled Maharashtra to 330/5 in their 50 overs, while the remaining batsmen for Maharashtra were ineffective and scored a combined total of 96 runs. While trying to chase down the enormous total, Uttar Pradesh consistently lost wickets from one side of the pitch while Aryan Juyal, the lone warrior, managed to hold on to the other. Aryan kept UP in the game with a superb 159-run inning, but Rajvardhan Hangargekar eventually got the better of him in the 47th over. The Maharashtra bowlers promptly removed the final two UP players after Aryan left the field, putting an end to UP’s inning on a total of 272. The batting line-up of UP was outclassed by 58 runs as they were unable to match Rituraj’s superb double century.