He took just 48 innings to reach the milestone.
Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has added an unique record to his name. He has surpassed former opener Virender Sehwag in a blazing six-hitting contest in the longest format of the game. Currently, Pant holds the record for hitting the most sixes in Test for India.
Interestingly, the 28-year-old has achieved the feat in just 48 matches in his career. In a format where the batters’ grit and determination get tested, whacking 92 over-boundaries in such a short period speaks volumes about the destructive batting approach of the young gloveman.
However, Pant got to the milestone with his first six on Day 2 of the India vs South Africa Test at the Eden Gardens. It was just his fifth ball of the innings and the keeper-batter went on to score a 24-ball 27. This cameo also included two boundaries and one more six, which took Pant’s tally to 92, eclipsing Sehwag’s 90 maximums in 103 Tests.
Let’s take a look at the top five batters who have amassed the most sixes in Test for India.
Rishabh Pant, who is known for his aggressive batting style, took just 48 innings to reach the milestone. The 28-year-old also holds the record for notching up centuries in both innings of a red-ball match.
He has also hit the most Test tons (eight) as a wicketkeeper-batter for India, surpassing the ex-Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Moreover, Pant holds the feat for most dismissals in a fixture with his 11 scalps during the Australia vs India Border-Gavaskar Test (BGT) in 2018.
Virender Sehwag, who has now been relegated to the second position in the most sixes in Test for India list, had amassed 90 sixes in 103 matches of his career. The swashbuckling opener had also levelled with some of the legendary figures of the game, including Sir Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle, to top the table for notching up the most triple-centuries in Tests.
His two record-breaking 300-plus innings came in 2004 in Pakistan and in 2008 against the Proteas at home. The 47-year-old also holds two rare feats of opening the batting and bowling in the same fixture and scoring 5,000-plus Test runs alongside 50 fielding dismissals.
The former Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, has secured third place on the most sixes in Test for India chart during his brief red-ball career. The opener, who has recently called it a day in the format, had whacked 88 over-boundaries in 67 fixtures.
In his captaincy stint, India had won 12 matches with nine defeats and three draws out of 24 Tests. Rohit also secured two more milestones to his name, including a ton in Test debut and scoring hundreds in both innings of a fixture.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is currently in fourth place in the most sixes in Test for India tally. He has hit 80 sixes in his 88 red-ball appearances so far.
Notably, the player has claimed another rare feat in the IND vs SA Test series opener in Kolkata. He has become only the fourth player in history to put up 4,000-plus and snare over 300 wickets in Tests. Previously, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Daniel Vettori had achieved the milestone.
The legendary Indian captain, MS Dhoni, has whacked the fifth most sixes in Test for India. The gloveman had registered a total of 78 maximums in his 90-match career in the format. During his leadership tenure, India had claimed 27 victories, 18 losses 15 draws out of their 60 red-ball encounters.
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| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE | BOUNDARIES | OVER-BOUNDARIES |
| Rishabh Pant | 48* | 3,454 | 44.28 | 371 | 92 |
| Virender Sehwag | 103 | 8,503 | 49.43 | 1,219 | 90 |
| Rohit Sharma | 67 | 4,301 | 40.57 | 473 | 88 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 88* | 4,007 | 38.90 | 391 | 80 |
| MS Dhoni | 90 | 4,876 | 38.09 | 544 | 78 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 200 | 15,921 | 53.78 | 2,058+ | 69 |
| Kapil Dev | 131 | 5,248 | 31.05 | 557+ | 61 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 113 | 7,212 | 42.17 | 900 | 57 |
| Shubman Gill | 40* | 2,843 | 43.07 | 318 | 46 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 27* | 2,440 | 50.83 | 304 | 43 |
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