With the evolution of the sport, big-hitting is the need of the hour. Everyone loves watching the ball crossing the boundary of the rope. While some batsmen are not able to match up to the pace of the ball, some hit it effortlessly.
They are massive hitters, and bowlers fear bowling to them. They miss no opportunity to take advantage of a loose delivery. They are the fan favourites and are stocked up with a good number of runs in their favour.
Take a look at five batsmen who have hit the ball beyond the rope more often than their peers.
#5 MS Dhoni (India)
Known as ‘Captain Cool’ ‘finisher’ and much more, the former Indian captain finds his name on the fifth spot. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting skill is known all across the world. He has played a crucial role as a hitter for the Indian team on several occasions. In the 526 International innings that he has played, he has hit 359 sixes, 1486 fours, and sixteen centuries. Notably, he has maintained an excellent batting average of 44.96.
#4 Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
Brendon McCullum is considered one of the most successful batsmen and captain of the New Zealand Team. He is a former leading run-scorer in T20I cricket and is one of the two players to score two T20I centuries and 2000 runs in T20I. The Kiwi was always the first New Zealander to score a triple hundred in a test. Similarly, he gave birth to many more cricketing records throughout his career and was known to be the Haley’s Comet of modern-day cricket.
In the 474 innings that he played, he hit 398 sixes, 1552 fours, and 19 centuries, with an average of 34.37.
#3 Rohit Sharma (India)
Commonly known as the ‘Hitman’, Rohit Sharma stands third on the list. The 33-year-old is the vice-captain of the Indian Cricket Team in the limited-overs format. He is the only cricketer to hit three ODI double tons, even crossing the 250-run mark once. He also holds the record of scoring the greatest number of runs in T20I and also scoring most no. of centuries in the format.
In the 370 innings that he has played, the ball has crossed the boundary line 423 times. He has also hit 1278 fours and 39 centuries with a batting average of 44.39.
#2 Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)
Popularly known as ‘Boom Boom’, Shahid Afridi ranks second in the list. He is the former captain of the Pakistan National Cricket team and is one of the most successful batsmen of his time. Afridi holds the record for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries. His international career was characterized by his explosive batting style.
In 508 innings, he scored 476 sixes, 1053 fours, and 11 centuries. Even though he scored 11196 runs, his average lingers around 23.92.
#1 Chris Gayle (West Indies)
Chris Gayle is the proud owner of almost all records in the shortest format of International Cricket and ranks first in the list. He is the only player to score a triplet of centuries- a triple century in tests, a double century in ODIs, and a century in T20I. Be it a spinner or a pacer, the 40-year-old knows exactly how to hit the ball beyond the boundary line or even out of the ground.
In the 530 innings that he has played, he has scored 534 sixes, 2312 fours, and 42 centuries with an average of 38.79.
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