While representing Maharashtra against Uttar Pradesh in a 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final in November, batter Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed 7 sixes in an over.
As a result, Ruturaj became the first batter to do so in limited-overs (List-A) cricket. During a quarter-final clash against Uttar Pradesh, Ruturaj produced a sensational knock by scoring an unbeaten 220 off just 159 balls.
His inning saw him hit 10 four and 16 maximums and seven of those sixes came in the penultimate over of the first innings off the bat of Ruturaj.
The bowler on the receiving end of Ruturaj’s belligerent onslaught was Uttar Pradesh’s Shiva Singh.
After being hit for four consecutive sixes in the 49th over, Shiva Singh bowled a no-ball in the fifth delivery which was also powered over the ropes by Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The final two legitimate deliveries of the over were also hit for maximums as Ruturaj Gaikwad brought up his double ton and became the first player to hit 7 sixes in an over in limited-overs cricket.
The right-hand batter’s knock helped Maharashtra post 330/5 on the scoreboard before going on to register a comfortable 58-run win.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 7 sixes in an over took him past Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura, who had smashed 39 runs in one over in a 2013 Dhaka Premier Division game.
The total of 43 runs from the over is the joint-most expensive over in List-A cricket history. Northern Districts Brett Hampton and Joe Carter are the joint-record holders for most expensive overs in List-A cricket after the pair smashed Central Districts’ Willem Ludick for 43 in a Ford Trophy fixture in 2018.
Most sixes in an over
| Player | Team | Opposition | Year |
| Sir Garfield Sobers | Nottinghamshire | Glamorgan | 1968 |
| Ravi Shastri | Bombay | Baroda | 1985 |
| Herschelle Gibbs | South Africa | Netherlands | 2007 |
| Yuvraj Singh | India | England | 2007 |
| Ross Whiteley | Worcestershire Rapids | Yorkshire Vikings | 2017 |
| Hazratullah Zazai | Kabul Zwanan | Balkh Legends | 2018 |
| Leo Carter | Canterbury Knights | Northern Knights | 2020 |
| Kieron Pollard | West Indies | Sri Lanka | 2021 |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka Army | Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club | 2021 |
| Jaskaran Malhotra | USA | Papua New Guinea | 2021 |
| Rururaj Gaikwad | Maharashtra | Uttar Pradesh | 2022 |
As far as international cricket is concerned, no player has managed to strike more than six maximums in an over.
The likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Kieron Pollard, Yuvraj Singh, and Indian-origin American cricketer Jaskaran Malhotra are the only cricketers to have done so in limited-overs cricket.
Meanwhile, players like Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter, and Thisara Perera have smashed six maximums in an over in domestic cricket.
Photo credit: Alamy
