WI vs SL 1st T20: Kieron Pollard does a Yuvraj Singh, smashes 6 sixes in an over after Dananjaya hat-trick

West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard en route to smashing six sixes in 1st T20 against Sri Lanka. (Source: Twitter)

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard became the second man from the Caribbean to hit six sixes in an over after the legendary Sir Gary Sobers. Pollard smashed Sri Lankan off-spinner Akila Dananjaya for six sixes in the sixth over of the home side’s chase. 

The Mumbai Indians all-rounder tore Dananjaya apart after the off-spinner had rocked the West Indies early by taking a hat-trick in the fourth over the innings – including the returning Chris Gayle for a duck. Pollard became only the eighth batsman in the history of cricket to smash six sixes in one over. 

Sobers had achieved this feat for the first time back in 1968 when he smashed Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash for six maximums while current Team India head coach Ravi Shastri was the second man when he hammered Baroda’s left-arm spinner Tilak Raj back in 1985. 

Former India batsman Yuvraj Singh is the only batsman before Pollard to achieve this feat in T20 internationals. Yuvraj famously took apart England’s Stuart Broad in the 2007 T20 World Cup game in Durban. 

Pollard, who was dismissed for 38 off 11 balls, exploded in the sixth over hammering the first ball over long-on and then deposited Dananjaya into the sightscreen off the second ball. Dananjaya went wide outside off-stump off the third ball but Pollard nonchalantly hammered it over long-off, fourth ball was deposited over deep mid-wicket while the fifth was smashed back over the bowler’s head. Dananjaya went around the wicket but Pollard flicked it off his pads for the record sixth six and took a bow to celebrate the occasion in front of the Coolidge ground crowd. 

*6 Sixes in an Over in International Cricket*

Yuvraj Singh v England 2007
Herschelle Gibbs v Netherlands 2017
Kieron Pollard v Sri Lanka TODAY!! pic.twitter.com/NY2zgucDXB — Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) March 4, 2021

It was a rapid turn of fortune for the Sri Lankan spinner, who in the previous over had just snared a hat-trick – dismissing opener Evin Lewis, Gayle and wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran in the fourth over of the innings. 

Pollard joined Yuvraj and South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs as the only batsmen to achieve this feat in an international game with Gibbs’s mark coming in a 2007 World Cup against Netherlands. 

Skipper @KieronPollard55 hits six 6’s in the 6th over of the match!

Watch as the #MenInMaroon celebrate #WIvSL pic.twitter.com/ooU9D7QqoO — Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) March 4, 2021

Earlier, batting first Sri Lanka only managed to post 131/9 in their 20 overs. West Indies managed to overhaul the target in just 13.1 overs to post a four-wicket win with former skipper Jason Holder remaining unbeaten on 29 off 24 balls.