Hitting 4 consecutive 6s in four balls is not a rookie task and is also a rare sight even in T20 cricket. But thankfully, the Indian Premier League has been consistent in delivering us such rare and jaw-dropping moments and again. There have been eight such instances in IPL history where a batsman has hit 4 consecutive 6s and six players to pull it off. Let’s look at who these six players are and when and against whom they pulled it off.
#1 Chris Gayle (2010, 2012 and 2018):
Christopher Henry Gayle is the only player to hit 4 consecutive 6s three times in the history of IPL. He did it in 2010, 2012, and 2018.
Chris Gayle v/s Bopara (2010):
Chris Gayle hit four consecutive sixes for the first time in IPL ever. He did it while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings XI Punjab in the 34th match of IPL 2010. Chris Gayle sent the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th balls of Ravi Bopara over the ropes in the 13th over. He smashed the first over deep mid-wicket, the second over long-on, the third went over extra covers, and the final one again over long-on. This thrashing from Gayle added 33 runs to KKR’s score in this over.
Chris Gayle v/s Rahul Sharma (2012):
Gayle pulled it off again in 2012. And not just four, but this time he hit five consecutive sixes in an over. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India, he sent the last five balls of the 13th over from Rahul Sharma for sixes in the 21st match of IPL 2012. His sixes went over long-on, deep mid-wicket, down the ground, long-on, and deep square leg in order of one to five. These five sixes from Gayle reaped 31 runs from this over for RCB.
Chris Gayle v/s Rashid Khan(2018):
Gayle did it again in 2018. This time against one of the best T20 bowlers in the World, Rashid Khan. Rashid came to bowl the 14th over for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kings XI Punjab in the 16th match of IPL 2018. Gayle sent his second delivery over long-off, his third delivery into the sightscreen, his fourth delivery just above the sightscreen, and his fifth delivery over cow corner. Gayle scored an unbeaten century in this match which helped KXIP win this match by 15 runs.
#2 Yuvraj Singh v/s Rahul Shukla (2014):
If there is one man other than Chris Gayle who can do this often, he is Yuvraj Singh. But he has done it only once in the history of IPL. In the 34th match of IPL 2014 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils, Yuvi smashed 4 consecutive 6s in the final over to guide RCB to a score of 186/4. Yuvraj sent the second ball of the final over flying over the extra-cover boundary, and the next ball over wide long-off. For his third consecutive six, he hit the fourth ball of Shukla over deep mid-wicket. A no-ball by Shukla after that made things easier for Yuvraj. He made the most out of the awarded free-hit by smashing his fourth consecutive six over long-leg.
#3 Ishan Kishan v/s Kuldeep Yadav (2018):
Ishan Kishan hit four consecutive sixes to Kuldeep Yadav in the 41st match of IPL 2018 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. In the 14th over of this match, Rohit Sharma took a single off the second ball from Kuldeep Yadav to bring Ishan to strike. Ishan smashed four consecutive sixes on the remaining four deliveries of Kuldeep. He hit two over deep mid-wicket, one over deep square leg, and one over long-off. With his third consecutive six, he also got to his 17 ball half-century.
#4 Jofra Archer v/s Lungi Ngidi (2020):
Jofra Archer pulled off this stunt as well. He did it against Lungi Ngidi in the final over of the first innings of Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings. Archer hit the first straight down the ground and the second over deep mid-wicket. Then both the third and the fourth sixes came off no-balls, one over cow corner and the other straight down the ground making it 27 runs off just two balls. Although he couldn’t hit any more sixes in the last four balls, this little thrashing proved to be the difference in the game as RR won by just 16 runs.
#5 Rahul Tewatia v/s Sheldon Cottrell (2020):
The 18th over by Sheldon Cottrell to Rahul Tewatia played a crucial role in this highest successful run-chase ever in IPL history. Chasing a total of 224, Rajasthan Royals needed 51 from 18 balls when Cottrell came to bowl. Tewatia turned the game upside down by hitting five sixes in Cottrell’s over to take RR 30 runs closer to the targe. Four out of these five sixes came off consecutive deliveries. In order, his four sixes went over long-leg, square leg, wide long-off, and deep mid-wicket.
#6 Ravindra Jadeja v/s Harshal Patel (2021):
Ravindra Jadeja went berserk in the final over of the first innings in this clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings. He thrashed the Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel who had bowled well in his previous three overs for 37 runs. In this process, he smashed four consecutive sixes off the first four deliveries of Harshal.
Harshal started with a length cutter which Jadeja dispatched over the cow corner region. Then Harshal attempted a yorker only to miss, which again went over the cow corner region. Harshal again missed the yorker on the third ball, but this time he delivered a no-ball. Jadeja made an action replay out of this by dispatching it over deep mid-wicket. For his fourth consecutive six, Jadeja sent a slower bouncer over the left of the deep mid-wicket.
