Most runs in an over in international cricket: India’s Yuvraj Singh and Jasprit Bumrah hold records

Every cricketer dreams of hitting six sixes in an over but the feat has been achieved only four times in international cricket - twice in T20 Internationals (T20I) and the same number of times in One-Day Internationals (ODI).

Needless to say, hitting boundaries in every ball of an over is bound to put you in a select club of individuals who have scored the most runs in an over in international cricket.

In T20 cricket - the shortest format of the game, India’s flamboyant southpaw Yuvraj Singh was the first batter to smash six sixes in an over. He condemned England’s Stuart Broad to a 36-run over in the inaugural edition of the men’s T20 World Cup in 2007.

India was 171/3 at the end of 18 overs with Yuvraj Singh batting on 14 from six deliveries. Having exchanged words with Andrew Flintoff after smacking him for back-to-back boundaries in the previous over, a pumped up Yuvraj Singh took Stuart Broad to the cleaners and brought up his 50 in just 12 balls. The innings proved to be crucial as England fell short by 18 runs while chasing India’s 218.  

It took almost 14 years for someone else to hit six sixes in an over in T20I cricket. West Indian power-hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard, during Sri Lanka’s tour of Windies in 2021, took on Akila Dananjaya in the final over of the powerplay to make light work of a tricky 131. West Indies won the match by four wickets and 41 balls to spare.

Most runs in an over in T20I cricket

As far as ODIs are concerned, South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs was the first batter to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. He tonked the Netherlands’ Dan van Bunge for six consecutive maximums in the 30th over of the 2007 men’s ODI World Cup match at St. Kitts before going on to score 72 off 40 balls. South Africa made 353/3 in the 40-over match and won it by 221 runs.

USA’s Jaskaran Malhotra matched the achievement of Herschelle Gibbs in 2021 during his unbeaten 173 off 124 balls against Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Oman. 

The USA were 235/9 in 49 overs and Malhotra was the only set batter in and on strike. With no option of rotating the strike, Malhotra accelerated in the final over of the innings and hit PNG’s Gaudi Toka for six sixes. The USA finished their innings on 271/9 in 50 overs and won the match by 134 runs.

Most runs in an over in ODI cricket

Meanwhile, in Test cricket, no batter has hit six sixes in an over in the longest format of the game yet.

More surprisingly, the record for scoring the most runs in an over in a Test match belongs to a No. 10 batter Jasprit Bumrah. 

India was 377-9 early on Day 2 of the rescheduled fifth Test match of the 2022 series while Jasprit Bumrah was yet to open his account from the seven balls he had faced. 416 

Bumrah hooked the first ball of the 84th over into the gap and earned a boundary. Stuart Broad responded by digging in a short ball again but it went for five wides over the keeper’s head. 

Bumrah then smoked a six off a no-ball next which was followed by three consecutive fours and a six off the fifth which took the Indian pacer past the previous world record of 28 runs in an over in Tests created by Brian Lara in 2003 against South Africa. 

Bumrah wrapped up the over with a single and was unbeaten on 31 off 16 when India’s innings ended at 416. India eventually lost the match by seven wickets.

Most runs in an over in Test cricket

Photo Credit: Alamy