New Zealand opener Martin Guptill zoomed past India’s Rohit Sharma to become the leading six-hitter in T20 international on Thursday (February 25). Guptill hammered 97 off just 50 balls in the second T20 against Australia in Dunedin and on course of the innings smashed eight sixes and six fours.
The eight sixes hit by Guptill means his current tally of sixes in T20 internationals stands at 132 in 96 T20s – five ahead of Rohit Sharma who has 127 to his name in 108 games. England limited-overs batsman Eoin Morgan is third on the list with 113 maximums to his name.
Guptill’s 97 in addition to NZ skipper Kane Williamson’s 53 and all-rounder James Neesham’s 45 off 16 balls, powered the hosts to 219/7 in 20 overs.
Morgan of England is next in the list with 113 sixes from 97 matches while Colin Munro (107) and Chris Gayle (105) complete the top-five. What is astonishing is the fact that Gayle has played just 58 matches and there are reports that the 41-year-old veteran is set for a comeback almost two years after he last played a T20I for West Indies.
Meanwhile, for Guptill, the knock meant he has left behind a dry spell that stretched back to November 2019 when he last passed 50 in a T20I. Since then, he had gone 12 innings without hitting a half-century but has made return in time with the T20 World Cup set to be played later this year.
He reached his fifty in 27 deliveries and shifted the gears further afterwards. However, he holed out to Marcus Stoinis off Daniel Sams with just three runs required to reach three-figures.
“My job doesn’t change, I just went out and tried to do the best I could and fortunately it came off,” Guptill told Spark Sport. The 34-year-old has now 2718 runs from 92 innings with two centuries and 16 half-centuries.
