Thisara Perera becomes the first Sri Lankan to hit 6 sixes in an over
All-rounder Thisara Perera entered the record books on Sunday, as he became the first Sri Lankan player to smash six sixes in an over.
The 31-year-old achieved the feat in a Group A game of the Major Clubs Limited Over Tournament between Sri Lanka Army Sports Club and Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club.
The 50-over game had to be cut short to 41 overs per side due to rain. At the end of 40 overs, the Sri Lanka Army Sports Club scored 282/3. That is when the captain of the side, Thisara Perera, went bonkers.
Dilhan Cooray was the clueless bowler on the face of Thisara Perera's onslaught. In his four overs, Cooray conceded 73 runs at an economy rate of 18.75.
This massive over meant that Army Sports Club eventually got to 318/3 in 41 overs. A loss seemed inevitable for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, who were reeling at 73/6 after 17 overs in the chase. However, the rain came to their rescue, and the game was declared a 'no result.
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Thisara Perera is only the ninth player ever to hit six sixes in an over
With his feat, Thisara Perera became only the ninth player to smash six sixes in an over and the sixth to do so in domestic cricket. Only three players - Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard - have achieved the feat in international cricket.
Sir Garfield Sobers was the first-ever player to smash six sixes in an over. India's head coach Ravi Shastri (1985), was the next to do it.
It took another 22 years for the feat to be emulated. Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh smashed six sixes in the 2007 50-over World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup, respectively.
After another ten years, England's Ross Whiteley joined the elite list when he achieved the feat against Yorkshire Vikings in the Natwest T20 Blast.
Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai did likewise in 2018 and was followed by New Zealand's Leo Carter in 2020. Just a few weeks ago, Kieron Pollard smashed six sixes off Akila Dananjaya in a T20I game.
Thisara Perera is now only the second player to hit six sixes in an over in List-A cricket.