Rohit Sharma rewrote the cricket record books on Wednesday by becoming the batter to hit the most sixes in international cricket. Rohit Sharma surpassed West Indies great Chris Gayle's record of 553 sixes during India's ICC World Cup 2023 match against Afghanistan in New Delhi.
The Indian captain needed three more sixes to breach the record mark ahead of the game. The Afghan bowlers no chance as the 'Hit Man' was in his element from ball one.
While the Universe Boss Chris Gayle blasted 553 sixes from 551 innings, Rohit matches the tally in 473 innings. Pakistan's Shahid Afridi stands third in the list with 476 innings.
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Player with most sixes in international cricket (across formats)
- Rohit Sharma (India) - 554
- Chris Gayle (West Indies) - 553
- Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) - 476
- Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) - 398
- Martin Guptill (New Zealand) - 383
More records crumble before Indian skipper
After having broken the Universal Boss' record Sharma went ahead to score a ton against Afghanistan. This helped him to surpass two unique feats -- the fastest ODI World Cup hundred by an Indian and the most number of hundreds in World Cups.
Rohit Sharma reached the century in just 63 balls -- the lowest number of balls consumed ever by an Indian to score an ODI WC hundred. He made 131 runs from 84 balss before being dismissed by Rashid Khan in the 25th over. Sharma's innings comprised 12 fours and 4 sixes. The record was held to date by Kapil Dev, who had crossed the 100-mark in just 72 balls. The Haryana Hurricane's iconic innings came against Zimbabwe on June 18, 1983, reports said.
Rohit Sharma was level with Sachin Tendulkar in the tally of those with most World Cup centuries. The two Indian batters had six centuries each till Wednesday. Rohit's whirlwind innings against Afghanistan saw him register his seventh World Cup hundred.
India vs Afghanistan: As it happened
India cantered to their second successive win of the tournament by beating Afghanistan by eight wickets. India chased down a 273-run victory target with 15 overs to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 55, sealing the easy win with a boundary.
Electing to bat, Afghanistan were 63-3 in the 14th over before skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) combined in a 121-run stand to frustrate India. A total in the vicinity of 300 looked within their reach but Afghanistan lost a clutch of wickets towards the end to settle for a total which proved inadequate against India's formidable batting lineup.