Rohit Sharma made history on Sunday by surpassing former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi to secure the record for the most sixes hit in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. Rohit achieved the monumental feat during the first ODI against South Africa at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi, where he registered his 352nd six in the format.
Rohit entered the match needing just three maximums to eclipse Afridi’s long-standing tally of 351 sixes, a record the Pakistani batter had held since 2015. Demonstrating his explosive batting style, Rohit efficiently surpassed the record in 100 fewer innings, reaching the milestone in his 269th innings compared to Afridi’s 369.
The explosive start came early in the innings after stand-in South African skipper Aiden Markram opted to bowl first. Rohit, who was dropped on just one run by Tony de Zorzi, made the opposition pay for the lapse. He struck two back-to-back sixes off South African off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen in the 15th over, before reaching his 60th ODI fifty in the 19th over. The record-breaking third maximum of the day, which took his tally to 352, came off the bowling of Marco Jansen.
Despite the record, Rohit could not convert his fifty into a century, losing his wicket to Jansen in the 22nd over. He departed after a quickfire 57 runs off 51 balls, which included five boundaries and three sixes.
Following Rohit’s record 352 sixes and Afridi’s 351, the top five list of ODI six-hitters features West Indies powerhouse Chris Gayle (331), Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (270), and India’s former captain MS Dhoni (229).
