In Mumbai Indians’ impressive triumph over Rajasthan Royals at Match 51 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Sharjah on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma became the first Indian batsman to hit 400 T20 sixes.
Rohit blasted Shreyas Gopal’s opening delivery for a six to complete the mark and became the seventh hitter in the shortest format of cricket to reach 400 sixes. During his 14-year career, Rohit has smashed 133 sixes for India, 227 in the IPL, 16 in the Champions League T20, and the remaining 24 in various T20 tournaments.
With 1042 sixes, Chris Gayle tops the way, followed by Kieron Pollard (758), Andre Russell (510), Brendon McCullum (485), Shane Watson (467), Ab de Villiers (434), and Rohit Sharma. In his 13-ball 20, Rohit smashed four and two sixes to get Mumbai Indians off to a flying start in their 91-run chase.
Ishan Kishan then seized over, smashing 50 not out off 25 balls with five fours and three sixes to help MI win the match by eight wickets with 70 balls to spare, the second-largest margin of victory for the defending IPL champions in terms of balls remaining. This is also the fifth-fastest win in IPL history for any club.
Earlier in the day, pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Neesham combined for seven wickets to help Mumbai Indians restrict Rajasthan Royals to their lowest IPL total this season.
Evin Lewis led the way for the Royals with 24 runs, while David Miller came in second with 15 runs. Both bowlers had career-best statistics in the IPL, with Coulter-Nile (4/14) taking four wickets and Neesham (3/12) scalping three batsmen.
MI jumped two spots to fifth place, narrowly behind Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points). They were level on 10 points with RR and Punjab Kings before this game. The battle for the final playoff position in the IPL 2021 is down to four teams: KKR, MI, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals.
