West Indies captain Kieron Pollard registered his name in record books after he smashed 6 sixes in an over during the first T20I against Sri Lanka at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Wednesday (March 03).
Leading his side in the three-match series’s opening game, Pollard took spinner Akila Dananjaya to the cleaners in the 6th over of the Windies chase. Interestingly, Dananjaya had taken a hat-trick in his previous over as WI batting suffered a collapse.
The home team needed someone to step up to do the miracle, and Pollard did precisely that by taking off the pressure straightaway. The 36-run over saw WI jumping from 62/4 to 98/4 at the end of the powerplay.
Pollard received praise from all corners of the world, including his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI). MI paid a heartwarming tribute to the all-rounder by saying that the 6-sixes record was overdue for a long time.
“This was long overdue! Polly becomes the 3rd player in International cricket history to achieve the feat,” wrote the Mumbai-based franchise on Twitter.
6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣
This was long overdue! Polly becomes the 3rd player in International cricket history to achieve the feat 🔥#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #WIvSL @KieronPollard55 pic.twitter.com/J9XozEYbGm
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 4, 2021
By smashing six maximums in an over, Pollard became the third batsman to achieve this milestone in international cricket. Former South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs was the first batsman to accomplish this feat in 2007. Gibbs had hit Netherland’s Daan van Bunge to create history in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
In the same year, Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh joined Gibbs after he hit 6 consecutive sixes off England’s Stuart Broad at the inaugural T20 World Cup. The only difference is that both Gibbs and Yuvi slammed 6 maximums in an ICC event, whereas Pollard did it in a bilateral series.
Dananjaya, who was the victim of Pollard’s carnage, also created a unique record as he has become the first bowler to take a hat-trick and concede six sixes in a game. Dananjaya had dismissed Evin Lweis, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran in the 4th over off back-to-back deliveries to complete his hat-trick.
In the match, WI chased down the target of 132 inside in 13.1 overs with four wickets in hand to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The 2nd T20I will take place at the same venue on Friday (March 5).
