Top 5 biggest sixes of 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Rovman Powell
A good amount of 2024 T20 World Cup action was tough on the batters, with the pitches seemingly conducive for the bowlers. Venues like New York and St Vincent saw teams playing low-scoring thrillers, while St Lucia and Barbados assisted the batters in the latter part of the tournament.
Taking all the contrasting surfaces into account, West Indies reigned supreme to hit the most (62) sixes, followed by India (61) and Australia (50). Interestingly, the Caribbean team created history by hitting the most maximums in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.
On that note, let's take a look at the five biggest sixes in the tournament, which impressed the onlookers.
#5 Michael Leask - 101m
In Match 12 of the T20 World Cup, Scotland faced off against Namibia in Barbados. Batting first, Namibia posted a modest total of 152, with Gerhard Erasmus (52) emerging as the top scorer.
In response, Scotland were at 73/4 in 11 overs, when Leask arrived at the crease. In the 18th over, Leask read Ruben Trumpelmann's slower ball early and dispatched it to the deep mid-wicket stand in a stunning fashion, which went 101m far.
Although Leask (35 off 17) was dismissed in the same over, Scotland sealed the chase with nine balls to spare.
#4 Aaron Jones & Heinrich Klaasen - 103m
Aaron Jones played a terrific innings under pressure against Canada to provide a strong start for the USA side in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He remained unbeaten on 94* off 40 balls to secure a seven-wicket victory for the team. During his riveting knock, Jones flexed his muscle to smoke a 103m six towards the long-on area against Dillon Heyliger.
On the other hand, Heinrich Klaasen also clubbed a 103m six in the summit clash against India. He judged Axar Patel's length ball to perfection and leaned back to punch a ball towards deep mid-wicket, which came back to the ground after hitting the roof. Although Klaasen (52) was the top contributor for the Proteas, India managed to win the final by seven runs.
#3 Sompal Kami & Rahmanullah Gurbaz - 105m
In an interesting clash between Nepal and South Africa, the latter batted first and managed to post only 115. However, the Proteas bowling unit were exceptional, as Nepal were left needing 16 runs off the last two overs.
On the fifth ball of the penultimate over, Sompal Kami read Anrich Nortje's back-of-hand slower ball to send it over the deep mid-wicket fence. The distance read 105m, as the ball went out of the stadium. However, Nepal failed to hold their nerves and lost by one run.
Meanwhile, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sensational to slam 80 off 56 to help Afghanistan post 159/6 against New Zealand. In the penultimate over, Gurbaz tonked Daryl Mitchell's fullish delivery over the long-off fence, and it went 105m far. The wicketkeeper's efforts paved the way for the Afghanistan team to win by 84 runs.
#2 Phil Salt - 106m
England's opening batter, Phil Salt slammed a 106m six in the T20 World Cup clash against Australia in Barbados. In response to AUS's strong total of 201, Buttler (42) and Salt (37) did well to provide a good start for the team, but they lost by 36 runs.
During the initial part of Salt's knock, Mitchell Starc pitched a fuller ball towards the pads, which saw the right-handed batter making a sweet connection and sending the ball to the mid-wicket roof.
#1 Rovman Powell - 107m
In Match 18 of the T20 World Cup, West Indies clashed against Uganda in Guyana. The Caribbean skipper, Rovman Powell arrived at the crease at 76/2 in the 10th over.
In the following over, Powell charged against Dinesh Nakrani and converted it to a half-volley to find the middle of the bat and send it to the skies. The distance was recorded at 107m, as the ball went out of the stadium.
Powell (23) departed soon, as West Indies posted 173 on the board. Then, the bowling unit dominated Uganda to win by 134 runs.