Andre Russell, on Saturday, became the fastest batter to reach the landmark of 200 sixes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The hard-hitter achieved the milestone in the IPL 2024 match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The 35-year-old Russell took only 1322 balls to hit 200 sixes, breaking Chris Gayle’s record of 1811 balls.
In the penultimate ball of the 19th over of KKR’s innings, Russell hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six to reach the landmark. Kieron Pollard (2055), AB de Villiers (2790), MS Dhoni (3126) and Rohit Sharma (3798) are the other batters on the list. Virat Kohli, David Warner and Suresh Raina have also hit 200 plus sixes in the history of the cash-rich T20 tournament.
IPL 2024 Full Coverage
Fastest to 200 IPL sixes (by balls faced)
Andre Russell – 1322
Chris Gayle – 1811
Kieron Pollard – 2055
AB de Villiers – 2790
MS Dhoni – 3126
Rohit Sharma – 3798
Andre Russell smacks Sunrisers
On March 23, Russell showed why he is deemed as one of the most brutal strikers of the cricket ball. Batting at No.8, he scored 64 runs off 25 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes. He was also involved in a partnership of 81 runs with Rinku Singh for the seventh wicket.
On the back of his knock, the Knight Riders racked up a huge score of 208 for 7 on the board. Russell also went on to pick up the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad as the Knights won the match by 4 runs.
Russell won the Player of the Match award as KKR managed to have the last laugh in the thrilling encounter. Heinrich Klaasen gave them an almighty scare with a knock of 63 off 29 balls, but the Knights somehow managed to survive under pressure.
