Rohit Sharma Smashes His Way To Most Sixes In International Cricket, Breaks Chris Gayle's Record

India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday smashed his way to clinch the record for most sixes in international cricket - Tests, T20Is and One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

Rohit, who struck five sixes in his knock of 131 off 84 balls, won the Player of the Match in India's eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Delhi. The five sixes that Rohit struck took his tally of big hits in international cricket to 556, three more than previous record-holder Chris Gayle.

Rohit Sharma: It's a small happy moment for me

Gayle struck 553 sixes in 483 matches for West Indies across formats between 1999 and 2021. Rohit, on the other hand, took 30 games less than the explosive Caribbean opener to reach the milestone.

The next batsman on the list of most international sixes is former Pakistan batter Shahid Afridi, with 476 strikes in 524 matches.

In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on social media, Rohit said: "I never thought that I would be able to hit sixes; leave alone that many sixes. There is a lot of work that has gone in over the years. I am quite happy with the work I have done in so many years. I am the sort of person who will not be satisfied. I want to continue to do what I have been doing. My focus will be on continuing to do what I do. But yeah, it's a small little happy moment for me."

Gayle, whose West Indies' jersey number was 45, the same as Rohit's Indian shirt number, took to social media to congratulate the Indian skipper for his remarkable feat.

"Congrats, @ImRo45 - Most Sixes in International cricket. #45 Special," wrote Gayle on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rohit's record-breaking knock

India started their World Cup 2023 campaign with a six-wicket win over Australia, but that match saw three of the hosts' batters get out for a duck, including Rohit. However, the Indian captain bounced back in the second match and did what he's best at – striking the ball all over the park in a record-breaking run.

Rohit scored a 30-ball fifty that set up a fine platform for India's chase of 273 against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Four of Rohit's five sixes came off the first 40 deliveries he faced.

The 36-year-old opening batsman was also closing in 300 sixes in ODIs but was stranded on 297 sixes. Only two batsmen have hit more sixes than Rohit in the 50-over format – Afridi (351) and Gayle (331).

The Indian opener also holds the record for most sixes in T20Is – 183 sixes, nine more than second-placed Martin Guptill of New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Rohit's latest knock of 131 against Afghanistan also saw him surpass Australian legendary batsman Ricky Ponting in the elite list of most centuries in ODIs. Rohit now has 31 hundreds in ODI cricket and only two cricketers have more ODI hundreds than the current Indian captain – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, with 49 and 47 centuries, respectively.

The Indian captain also broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of most centuries in a 50-over World Cup. Rohit's hundred against Afghanistan was his seventh ton in the multi-team event, one more than his legendary compatriot.

Rohit also completed 1,000 runs in the Cricket World Cup. In the process, Rohit equalled Australian batter David Warner's record of fastest batsman to the 1,000-run mark in the tournament. Both Rohit and Warner took 19 innings to reach the milestone. Warner claimed the record last weekend in his side's loss to India in their campaign opener.

India's next match in the World Cup 2023 is a big one as they are going to face off against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Both teams are unbeaten so far in the tournament.