5 teams with most sixes in a Test inning in cricket history
Test cricket is usually a game of great restraint. Action progresses slowly and steadily in red-ball cricket. As a result, players refrain from playing risky shots and prize their wickets. Batters take their own sweet time to build their innings and often go on to play big knocks. A player's skillset and technical ability is tested during the five-day match and lesser boundaries are seen hit in Test cricket.
However, few batters, such as Virender Sehwag and Brendon McCullum, broke the conservative approach and were fearless enough to use the long handle.
Teams have also, at times, hit a lot of boundaries in Test matches. Be it to chase a target or to reach a score for declaration, many teams have geared up their innings with fours and sixes.
In this article, we will have a look at such teams who have hit the most sixes in an innings of Test cricket.
#5. South Africa - 15 Sixes vs West Indies
The second Test during South Africa's tour of the West Indies in 2010 was a high-scoring one. Captain Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers hit centuries as South Africa posted a huge 543/6 on the board and declared their innings. 15 sixes were hit during their innings, with AB de Villiers alone hitting six of them.
The match, however, ended in a draw as West Indies batters showed great resistance against the Proteas' bowlers. Shivnarine Chanderpaul top-scored with 166 off 357 balls and moved the match towards a draw.
#4. India - 15 sixes vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka posted a mammoth first-innings score of 393 in the second Test match played at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. In return, hosts India posted a mammoth score of 726/9, declaring the innings.
The Test match is largely remembered for Sehwag's ruthless display of batting. With 40 boundaries and seven sixes, Sehwag scored 293 runs off just 254 deliveries. Captain M. S. Dhoni, too, hit a brilliant century.
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2009 Dec 04 #OnThisDay
@virendersehwag lit up Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium with a destructive show of batting against Sri Lanka. He fell just 7 runs short of his 3rd tripple ton! He scored 293 runs off just 254 containing 40 boundaries & 7 biggies! Wow! What a legend! 🐐🙏🏽 https://t.co/a367FDqeG8
The Indian team hit 15 sixes in their first innings as they beat Sri Lanka convincingly by an innings and 24 runs.