With Suryakumar Yadav already holding the record for the most sixes hit in a single year, there will be no stopping him in the shortest format of the game in 2022.
He accomplished this during the opening Twenty20 match of India’s three-match series against South Africa in Kerala. The wristy right-hander appeared to be batting on a different surface during the match as he attempted to chase down a low score of 107 on a challenging ball with plenty of swing and bounce.
Including just 33 balls, he scored an undefeated 50*, with three sixes and five fours in his innings. Suryakumar struck the ball with a rate of 151.52 on a field where even a strike rate of 100 was challenging.
His total of 45 sixes in 2022 increased by three sixes.
With this, he has surpassed Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, who previously held the record after hitting 42 sixes in 2021. Veteran Martin Guptill of New Zealand ranks third with 41 sixes in 2021. Suryakumar smashed his 42 sixes in just 21 innings, in contrast to Rizwan’s 26 innings.
With this victory, India now has a 1-0 series advantage.
India chose South Africa to bat first and to say that they had a nightmare of a start would be an understatement. The Proteas lost half of their lineup for only nine runs in less than three overs thanks to the unbelievable swing produced by Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh.
Keshav Maharaj (41), Aiden Markram (24), and Wayne Parnell (24), who all played courageous innings, enabled Proteas to salvage face and total 106/8 in 20 overs.
For India, Chahar (2/24) and Arshdeep (3/32) bowled outstanding four-over periods that dismantled South Africa’s top order. Axar Patel (1/26) and Harshal Patel (1/26) both left an impression thanks to their stints.
India’s 107-run chase got off to a poor start as Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje cheaply dismissed Rohit Sharma (-0) and Virat Kohli (-3).
In their six overs after the powerplay ended, India had a score of 17/2. KL Rahul (51) and Suryakumar Yadav (50), both of whom were playing well, gave the game a boost. Rahul served as an anchor, and Suryakumar was the aggressor. Both players combined for a game-winning 93-run partnership that gave India an eight-wicket victory.
For his outstanding stint, Arshdeep Singh was named “Man of the Match.”
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