Most sixes in a Test Innings

Test Cricket is the purest and the oldest format of the sport, known to test the players through 5 days in testing conditions. The toughest of cricketers bring the best of their performances in the oldest format of the game. 2515 Test matches have been played since its inception way back in 1877 and the game has seen a lot of rule changes and changes in conditions.

Known as a slow-paced format, there are a lot of moments in Test matches where the batters need to change gears and bat with an aggressive intent. The batters need to attack and maximize the scoring to get their team to a better position. What better way than hitting a maximum out of the park?

Most Sixes in a Test Innings

Charles Bannerman the opening batter from Australia who faced the first ball in Test cricket is also the first batter to hit a six in a Test match. In the second-ever Test match played at Melbourne between Australia and England in March 1877, Bannerman hit a six in Australia’s second innings while he scored 30 runs.

The record for most number of sixes in a Test match innings belongs to Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. Known as the Sultan of Swing for his ability to swing the ball both ways at a good pace, Akram also has 3 centuries to his name in Test cricket. His highest score of 257* against Zimbabwe in the first Test match of Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1996 saw him create a World record when he smashed the bowlers all around the park for 12 maximums. Akram’s innings also included 22 fours.

Four of the aforementioned knocks have been played in New Zealand. The small boundary dimensions in New Zealand might have played a factor. Interestingly only four of these innings were played after the advent of T20 cricket. McCullum played both those knocks in 2014 with Ben Stokes and Mendis achieving the feat in 2016 and 2023 respectively.

Most Sixes in an innings in a Test for India

When it comes to sixes, modern greats like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh etc. come to mind. But the Indian cricket team has had a rich history of six-hitting batters. The pioneers were C.K Nayudu, Syed Mushtaq Ali, and Salim Durrani. Then came the likes of Kapil Dev who is famously remembered to hit four maximums in a row. Kapil Dev hit England off-spinner Eddie Hemmings four consecutive sixes to avoid the follow-on at Lord’s in the tour 1990. 

The Indian record for most sixes in an innings belongs to Kapil’s teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu. During the 1st Test against Sri Lanka in 1994, Sidhu smashed eight sixes on his way to 124 in the first innings as India scored a mammoth 511 and won the match by an innings and 119 runs. It took 25 years for Mayank Agarwal to equal Sidhu’s record against Bangladesh at Indore.

Most Sixes off Consecutive Balls

Both the limited overs international formats have seen cricketers hit six sixes in an over but the record is yet to be achieved in Test matches. Though there have been instances of batters hitting out in first-class cricket, the most sixes a batter has hit off consecutive deliveries in Tests is 4.

South Africa’s AB de Villiers, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and India’s Kapil Dev hold the record for hitting 4 sixes in a row. Kapil became the first batter to achieve the feat in 1990 when he smashed England’s Eddie Hemmings for four consecutive sixes at Lord’s to avoid the follow-on for team India.

Afridi achieved the feat in 2006 at Lahore playing against India. He scored 27 runs in a Harbhajan Singh over hitting him over the fence on 4 consecutive deliveries. It was the second joint-highest over in Test cricket at that time. AB de Villiers hit Australia’s fast bowler Andrew McDonald for four back-to-back sixes during the Cape Town Test in 2009.

Jasprit Bumrah holds the record of scoring the most runs in an over in Test Cricket. Bumrah smashed two sixes and four fours to score 35 runs off Stuart Broad in a Test match in Birmingham in 2022 and created a world record for scoring the most runs in an over in Test cricket.