In certain cases, both teams like any heavy hitters on their side who can slam sixes at will.
Over the years, the Indian Premier League has totally transformed the way batsmen play the game. It has also had a major influence on world cricket and other formats. Because of the fast pace of the IPL (20 over) style, batsmen are often expected to accelerate their innings.
This is particularly useful in the death overs, where both teams must score at a rapid pace. The 20th over is the most difficult for bowlers, as batsmen aim to find a boundary with any ball most of the time.
Under certain cases, both of the teams like some heavy hitters in their pool who can slam sixes at will. Let’s take a look at a few of them in this post. The list is dominated by players who bat at the bottom of the order. This allows the team to make the most of their final touches.
5. Ravindra Jadeja – 15 Sixes
Ravindra Jadeja has been a veteran in the cash-rich league since his first season with Rajasthan Royals. He was a rookie 19-year-old all-rounder at the time, but he has since established himself as one of Chennai Super Kings’ main stars.
In his 12 seasons in the IPL, Jadeja has scored 210 runs off 110 balls faced in the 20th over. This includes 15 sixes, putting him in fifth place on the ranking. Jadeja has a total of 76 sixes in the league.
In the championship, he has played 184 games and scored 2159 runs at an average of 25.40. He has only managed a single half-century in the IPL due to his limited time on the crease. He’s been back to the pavilion 54 times and has a strike rate of 126.47.
4. Hardik Pandya – 23 Sixes
Hardik Pandya is one of the top finishers in the IPL at the moment. Hardik has shown time and time again that a game isn’t over until he’s on the crease. In the 2015 season, the Mumbai franchise purchased the hard-hitting all-rounder. From the start of his career, he has become a bright star.
In the final over of various matches in the cash-rich league, the young all-rounder has crushed 23 sixes in the 95 balls he has faced. He’s hit 233 runs at a strike rate of 245.3, with 15 fours to boot.
Hardik Pandya has totaled 1349 runs in 80 IPL matches. When playing for Mumbai, he hit 93 sixes. In these tournaments, his average has been 29.97, with a strike rate of 159.26.
3. Rohit Sharma – 23 Sixes
Rohit Sharma has been the opening batsman for the Mumbai Indians since 2019, but he previously batted in the middle order. In addition to being a fantastic opener in limited-overs cricket, he has also shown himself to be a capable finisher in previous IPL seasons. He has batted at number 4 for the side, and has helped to reinforce the middle order.
It’s also said of Rohit Sharma that once he’s settled on the pitch, any bowler would find it difficult to stop him. It’s no wonder, then, that the swashbuckling batsman has a strike rate of 281.80 in the IPL’s 20th over. In the final over, he scored 248 runs off 88 balls, hitting 23 sixes in the process. This puts him in a tie for third place on the list with Hardik Pandya, who has a lower strike rate than Rohit.
In the league, Rohit has shattered 213 maximums, the fourth most of any player. In 200 matches, he has scored 5230 runs at an average of 31.31. In complete, 1 century and 39 half-centuries are included.
2. Kieron Pollard – 27 Sixes
Kieron Pollard, the West Indies captain who recently smashed six sixes in an over, has been one of Mumbai Indians’ most important players over the years. The experienced cricketer has appeared in over 500 T20 matches and scored over 10,000 runs in the shortest format.
Pollard has sent 27 of the 156 balls he has faced in the IPL’s 20th over over the ropes for maximums. During these games, he has a strike rate of 219.2, with 342 runs batted in.
Pollard has appeared in 164 IPL games so far, hitting 198 sixes in the process, putting him in sixth place overall. He has 3023 runs with a 29.93 average and a 149.87 strike rate.
1. MS Dhoni – 49 Sixes
MS Dhoni is the first name that comes to mind as we hear the word finisher. When it comes to building an innings in the limited-overs game, the former Indian captain has carved out his own legacy. He has helped Chennai Super Kings win several IPL games in some of the most tough circumstances.
So MS Dhoni had to be at the top of the list when it came to hitting the most sixes in the 20th over. Among the 245 balls faced in all, the Chennai captain smacked 49 sixes in the final over. The fact that the second-best player on the list has struck 27 sixes demonstrates his domination. In the last over, Dhoni has struck at a pace of 241.6 and has scored 592 runs.
Dhoni is first among Indian players and third overall on the list, with 216 maximums in 204 IPL games. He has a league average of 40.99 and a strikeout rate of 136.75 per 100 bats. In the tournament, the legend has 23 half-centuries to his credit.