New Delhi. The T20 format has brought about a revolutionary change in cricket. It has made the game faster and has brought back the excitement of the game to the fans who were somewhat bored with the ODI format. There is such a flurry of fours and sixes in the T20 format that the crowds flock to the stadiums to watch them. The increasing number of people watching the live telecast of T20 matches is a good sign in terms of making this format popular all over the world.
When T20 started, a score of 160 or more with a strike rate of 100+ and an average of 8 runs per over was considered quite safe, but the situation has changed. Now only those batsmen are getting priority in any team of this format who are adept at scoring runs at a strike rate of 140 or more and changing the course of the match with their powerful strikes. To live up to such expectations, batsmen are inventing new shots. Today, after reaching the crease, the batsman is expected to hit a scoring shot from the very first ball without wasting time. There are some players who have achieved the feat of hitting a six on their very first ball while batting in T20 International. Among them are 4 players from West Indies. Surya Kumar Yadav, who is captaining Team India in the current T20 series between India and Sri Lanka, has also done so.
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Let’s take a look at those players who hit a six off their first ball in T20 International…
Sohail Tanvir: Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir was one of the best all-rounders in the T20 format. Tanvir, who was known for his strange bowling action, was also adept at increasing the score rapidly with his batting in the lower order. Left-handed bowler and batsman Tanvir played two Tests, 62 ODIs and 57 T20Is for Pakistan from 2007 to 2027. He started his T20I career in the 2007 World Cup against arch-rival India. He did not get a chance to bat till the semi-finals of the tournament, including his debut T20I. Tanvir got the opportunity to bat in difficult circumstances in the final against India on 24 September in Johannesburg and on his very first ball in T20I as a batsman, he hit a six over long on by S. Sreesanth. He was caught by Sreesanth after scoring 12 runs in 4 balls at a strike rate of 300. India became the champion by defeating Pakistan by 5 runs in the match.
Jerome Taylor: Playing cricket in an aggressive style is in the nature of West Indies players. This is why West Indies is considered one of the dangerous teams in the T20 format. Right-arm fast bowler and batsman Taylor (Jerome Taylor) played 46 Tests, 90 ODIs and 30 T20I matches. He started his T20 International career on 16 February 2006 against New Zealand in Auckland but did not get a chance to bat in the first two matches. He finally got a chance to bat in a T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg on 18 January 2008. As a batsman, he hit his very first ball in T20I for a six over midwicket. The bowler was Makhaya Ntini. South Africa won the match by 4 wickets. Taylor has been a good lower order batsman and has scored a century and a half-century in Tests.
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Xavier Marschal : Xavier Marshall, who played as an opener for West Indies, played 7 Tests, 37 ODIs and 20 T20Is. After his chances in Caribbean cricket ended, Xavier moved to America and played cricket from there. Xavier, who made his T20 debut for the West Indies team against Australia in Bridgetown on 20 June 2008, hit a six off his very first ball. He pulled the first ball of the first over of the innings bowled by Brett Lee and hit it into the stands for a six. In this rain-affected match, he scored 36 runs off 15 balls with three fours and as many sixes and was the top scorer for the West Indies team.
Kieron Pollard: This dashing West Indies player was considered the best all-rounder in T20. Capable of changing the course of a match with both bat and ball Kieron Pollard He was also an excellent fielder. Pollard also holds the record of hitting 6 sixes in an over in T20 International. He started his T20I career against Australia in Bridgetown on 20 June 2008. He did not get a chance to bat in the debut T20 but on 26 December 2008, in the second T20 against New Zealand in Auckland, he scored just 7 runs but hit a six on his very first ball and included his name in this special club. Pollard, who came to bat after Gayle was out in the 15th over, hit spinner Jeetan Patel’s ball over midwicket for a six. Pollard played 123 ODIs (2706 runs, 55 wickets) and 101 T20Is (2275 runs, 42 wickets).
Tino Best: Fast bowler Tino Best played 25 Tests, 26 ODIs and 6 T20Is for West Indies between 2003 and 2014. He started his T20 career against Australia on 13 February 2013 but did not get a chance to bat in this format until July 2013. He came out to bat for the first time in a T20I against Pakistan on 28 July. He hit the very first ball of Saeed Ajmal for a six over long off. The interesting thing is that in his short career of six T20Is, Best batted only in this match and scored an unbeaten 17 runs. He did not get a chance to bat in the five other matches.
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Mangelisho Moshiele: Black player Mangaliso Mosehle played as a wicketkeeper batsman for South Africa but his international career came to a full stop after playing just 7 T20Is. He made his T20 debut against Sri Lanka at Centurion on 20 January 2017 and created a record of hitting a six on his very first ball in international cricket by hitting Nuwan Kulasekara’s ball over point. The interesting thing is that after this ball, he could not play any other ball in the match and was run out after scoring 6 runs on one ball. He scored 105 runs in seven T20Is at an average of 21.
Mark Adair: Ireland’s Mark Adair has played 5 Tests, 48 ODIs and 86 T20Is so far. He started his T20 career against Zimbabwe on 12 July 2019. He did not get a chance to bat in the debut match but on 14 July 2019, in the second match against the same team, he scored 38 runs in 15 balls and hit a six off Sean Williams on the first ball he faced in his T20 International career.
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Suryakumar Yadav : This dashing batsman of India is called the second ‘360 degree player’ after South Africa’s AB de Villiers. Capable of hitting shots in any corner of the field Surya Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I record is amazing. Surya, who has played one Test and 37 ODIs so far, has scored more than 2400 runs in 69 T20Is at an average of around 43. His strike rate is above 168, and he has four international centuries to his name in this format. He started his T20 International career against England in Ahmedabad on 14 March 2021. He did not get a chance to bat in the debut T20I but scored a half-century (57 runs off 31 balls) in the second match of the series on 18 March at the same ground. He hit a six off Jofra Archer on his first ball in International T20. He was declared SKY Player of the Match for his half-century in his debut T20I.
Tags: IND vs SL, India vs Sri Lanka, Kieron Pollard, Surya Kumar Yadav, T20 cricket, Team India
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 29, 2024, 08:06 IST