OTD | Kieron Pollard became only the third batter in international cricket to smash six sixes in an over in 2021

T20I cricket has witnessed an unprecedented upsurge in its popularity among cricket fans in the last decade or so. The reason behind this increasing popularity is the style of play that players have adopted, especially the batters. The number of boundaries and maximums in a match has increased exponentially which has contributed to the entertainment quotient. 

There is one event that has only happened thrice in the history of the game but every time it has happened the fans have been left spellbound. We are talking about six sixes in an over. On this day in 2021, Kieron Pollard smashed six sixes in an over to become only the third player to do so. 

Pollard’s carnage

West Indies and Sri Lanka faced off in a 3-match T20I series in 2021. The home team elected to invite Sri Lanka to bat first after winning the toss in the series opener. The West Indies bowling unit performed exceptionally to restrict Sri Lanka to 131 runs in the first innings. However, in reply, West Indies had a troublesome start with the bat. It was an explosive start in the powerplay for West Indies as they accumulated around 100 runs by the end of the powerplay. However, in doing that they lost half of the side. But the attacking onslaught from the chasing side almost did the job. The skipper Kieron Pollard led this charge as he smashed 38 runs off just 11 deliveries. Things changed suddenly when the West Indies skipper annihilated Akila Dananjay’s bowling stats in the last over of the powerplay. He hit six giant sixes consecutively to seal the deal for the West Indies. 

Eventually, Jason Holder ensured the victory for the chasing side in the 13th over. West Indies completed the run chase with four wickets in hand and 41 balls to spare. This comfortable victory gave the hosts a valuable lead in the 3-match T20I series. 

Also read: Masked terrorists attacked team bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in 2009