India scale impressive milestone, first to hit 100 sixes in a year

Despite being bundled out for 46 in the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Rohit Sharma-led Team India has managed to write history and register quite an impressive feat.

The Rohit-led side has now become the first team in the history of Test cricket to hit 100 sixes in a calendar year. India achieved the feat on the third day of the ongoing Test match. It was Virat Kohli who smashed the milestone maximum for India in the ongoing second innings.

Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan during the third day's play of the first Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. (AFP)(HT_PRINT)

Team India has now registered a milestone that no other team has managed to scale in the previous 147 years. Earlier this year, Rohit Sharma and co. went past England's record of 89 sixes for the most maximums in a single calendar year.

Rohit Sharma's side had beaten this record during the recently-concluded Bangladesh series. Meanwhile, England had created the previous record in 2022, during the first year of Brendon McCullum's coaching stint.

India also makes its presence on the third spot in the all-time list, having struck 81 sixes in 2021. New Zealand rounds up the top five list with 81 sixes in 2014 and 71 in 2013.

In 2024, India also completed 300 sixes across formats this year. This is now the third successive year, where Rohit Sharma and co have achieved this feat.

Yashavi Jaiswal leading the Test sixes chart for India in 2024

In 2024, Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading the charts for India when it comes to hitting sixes in the longest format. He has smashed 29 sixes in 2024 while Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have hit 16 and 11 sixes, respectively.

Jaiswal is also nearing the feat of hitting the most Test sixes in a single calendar year. As of now, former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Brendon McCullum heads the list with 33 sixes in 2014.

Rohit Sharma is also nearing the overall Indian Test record. The right-handed batter has hit 88 Test sixes in his career so far, while Virender Sehwag had hit 91 maximums in his career.

Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, and Adam Gilchrist are the only three batters to have hit more than 100 sixes in the history of Test cricket.

Coming back to the ongoing Test between India and New Zealand, the hosts are still trailing by 125 runs. Virat Kohli was dismissed on the last ball of Day 3.

Day 4 is expected to have cloudy conditions in Bengaluru and India would be hoping to put in a better show with the bat. Sarfaraz Khan would look to knock up his first Test ton in Tests.