The list includes the likes of Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and a few other batsmen who stunned the opposition with a last-ball six.
During a chase, especially in T20s, teams batting first generally try to take it deep. But when either a couple of wickets fall towards the end or due to miscalculation, the batsmen end up leaving too much for the last over, which is why a scenario often comes when the batsman on strike needs to hit it out of the park to win it for the team.
When it comes off, it provides a thrill like no other. Here’s a look at batsmen who won an IPL game with a six:
Rohit Sharma has won an IPL game three times, with a six on the last ball. He did it against the KKR in 2009. The MI skipper repeated the feat against the Pune Warriors in 2011 and the Deccan Chargers in 2012.
Rohit first did the unthinkable against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009, hitting MashrafeMortaza for a monstrous six to seal a great win. In 2011 and 2012, Murali Karthik [PWI] and Dan Christain [Deccan Chargers] were met with similar treatment.
Sharma driving a six in the straight
In all, Rohit has faced the last ball of the 20th over on 13 occasions in the IPL, in which he has deposited the ball over the boundary rope on as many as four occasions.
MS Dhoni is known for his heroics in the last over. It is often that he clubs the last ball for a six, whether it is while playing for India or the Chennai Super Kings. It isn’t a surprise, then, that the three-time IPL-winning skipper has faced the last ball of the 20th over on 34 occasions in the IPL.
Dhoni has smoked the ball out of the ground eight times, but he only achieved a win with a six off the last ball for the Rising Pune Supergiant. Dhoni blasted 22 off Axar Patel’s over in a thrilling last-ball finish against KXIP to seal a memorable win.
With just one run needed off two balls, Kings XI Punjab messed it up, with KL Rahul running out Chris Gayle in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League 2020. Fortunately for Punjab, Pooran hit a six off the last ball bowled by Chahal to take the team to an eight-wicket win.
Touted to be India’s next great finisher, Rinku Singh became India’s favourite last season when he donned a Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) purple jersey and played several match-winning performances. The most memorable was his five sixes in a row against YashDayal when KKR needed 28 runs off the last five balls. Singh did the impossible, gifting KKR a historic comeback and win.
Rinku Singh giving all his strength to send the ball over the boundary
Rashid Khan, Afghanistan's star bowler who is feared by many, has impressed cricket enthusiasts with his bowling prowess internationally and on the domestic circuit. However, Rashid Khan sometimes switches on his ‘Finisher Mode’. One such day was during a match against the Gujarat Titans, when he scored three sixes in four balls (two in the last two), giving Sunrisers Hyderabad a much-needed win.
