The Indian Premier League is synonymous with big-hitting entertainment. Few sights in cricket are as thrilling as a batter launching a ball into the stands for six. Over the years, IPL fans have been treated to countless massive strikes – some clearing rooftops, others nearly leaving the stadium.
With modern bats, short boundaries, and batter’s fearless approach, sixes have only grown in frequency and distance. In fact, IPL 2024 set a tournament record with 1125 sixes in the season (the most ever).
It’s safe to say that every big six in IPL brings spectators to their feet, exemplifying the explosive nature of T20 cricket.
We’ll celebrate the longest and highest sixes in IPL – from the ongoing 2025 season’s monster hits to the all-time record breakers – along with some fun stats and trivia about six-hitting in the IPL.
The 2025 IPL season has started with a bang – quite literally – as batters waste no time in clearing the ropes. New rules and conditions are arguably aiding the six-fest.
The Impact Player rule (introduced in 2023) allows teams to bring in an extra specialist (often an additional batter) during a match, giving lineups more firepower in the slog overs. Combine that with flat batting tracks and small boundaries, and the six count has skyrocketed.
In the first five matches of IPL 2025 alone, 119 sixes were hit – an average of nearly 12 sixes per innings – shattering the previous early-season record. Clearly, batters are capitalizing on friendly conditions, with scores of 200+ becoming common and fans witnessing humongous hits.
So, who hit the biggest six in IPL 2025 so far? That honor currently goes to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s new opener Travis Head, who clobbered a 105-meter six in SRH’s match against the Rajasthan Royals. But his feat was matched by Phil Salt of RCB in the game against Gujatat Titans.
Travis Head’s gargantuan hit at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on March 23 set the early benchmark for the longest six in IPL 2025. Phil Salt equalled the milestone with a six of 105m against Mohammed Siraj in the 5th over of the game against Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru. The England opener sent the ball out of the Chinnaswamy stadium to match Head’s feat.
Not far behind is his young teammate Aniket Verma, who announced himself by smoking a 102-meter six for SRH against the Delhi Capitals. Delhi’s power-hitter Tristan Stubbs also got in on the action with a 98m six versus Lucknow.
A number of other maximums have flirted with the 100m mark as well – Sherfane Rutherford sent one 97m for Gujarat Titans, and Nicholas Pooran hit a 97m bomb for Lucknow, both in matches at high-scoring venues.
In fact, explosive left-hander Nicholas Pooran has been the six-hitting star of IPL 2025 so far. As of early April, Pooran has already smashed 15 sixes in just three innings, leading the season’s six count by a distance.
He even struck six sixes in a single knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad, tearing into the bowling with ease. Other notable names making the IPL six list for 2025 include SRH’s Aniket Verma (12 sixes) and Punjab’s Shreyas Iyer (9 sixes in one innings).
But when it comes to pure distance, Head’s 105m and Verma’s 102m blows remain the top two biggest six in IPL 2025 at this stage. Here’s a quick rundown of the longest hits of IPL 2025 so far:
* Updated till end of RCB vs GT Match 14 IPL 2025
It’s still early days in the season, and with hitters like Andre Russell, MS Dhoni, and Glenn Maxwell around, we may yet see the 105m distance get toppled.
As teams fully utilize the Impact Player rule to bolster their batting and as pitches remain true, the prospect of even higher meter sixes in IPL 2025 is very real.
Don’t be surprised if someone launches a 110m+ big six in IPL by the time the playoffs roll around!
| Batter | Team | Distance | Opponent | Venue | Phile Salt | RCB | 105m | vs Gujarat Titans | Bengaluru |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Head | SRH | 105m | vs Rajasthan Royals | Hyderabad |
| Aniket Verma | SRH | 102m | vs Delhi Capitals | Visakhapatnam |
| Tristan Stubbs | DC | 98m | vs Lucknow Super Giants | Visakhapatnam |
| Sherfane Rutherford | GT | 97m | vs Punjab Kings | Ahmedabad |
| Nicholas Pooran | LSG | 97m | vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | Visakhapatnam |
Six-hitting has been part of IPL’s DNA since its inception in 2008. Over 18 seasons, we’ve seen some truly gigantic sixes that have become part of league folklore.
So, who hit longest six in IPL history?
The all-time record for the longest six in IPL history (by distance) belongs to Albie Morkel of the Chennai Super Kings. In the inaugural 2008 season, Morkel unleashed a 125-meter monster hit against the Delhi Daredevils – a distance that remains the highest six in IPL history to this day.
Right on Morkel’s heels is a perhaps surprising name – Praveen Kumar. Better known as a swing bowler, Praveen once swung the bat for Kings XI Punjab in 2011 and dispatched a 124-meter six, the second-longest in IPL history.
Hard-hitting Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist also etched his name in the records with a 122m six for Punjab in 2011. Aided by the thin air of Dharamshala, Gilchrist sent down one of the biggest sixes in IPL history.
Next comes Robin Uthappa, who in 2010 hammered a 120m six while playing for RCB.
The 119-meter distance has been achieved by not one but three players, all tied for the fifth-biggest six in IPL history. The indomitable Chris Gayle – the self-proclaimed “Universe Boss” – hit a 119m six in 2013 as part of his 175* carnage.
Surprisingly, Ross Taylor (2008) and Yuvraj Singh (2009) also have 119m hits to their name, showing that even back in the early seasons, players were clearing 100m with ease.
Rounding out the top 10 biggest sixes in IPL history are a trio at 117 meters: Ben Cutting’s 117m hit in the 2016 final for SRH, Liam Livingstone’s 117m strike in 2022, and Gautam Gambhir’s 117m six in 2013.
Each of these was a jaw-dropping shot – Gambhir’s came off the very first over of a match in Jaipur (of all people, the usually ground-hugging Gambhir took S. Sreesanth over the fence!), while Cutting’s 117m six off Shane Watson helped seal a title for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
To summarize, here’s the elite club of longest sixes in IPL history, measured by distance.
(Distances as officially recorded; some entries share the same distance so a “top 10” by distance includes a few ties.)
Looking at this list, a few things stand out. First, that 125m highest meter six in IPL by Albie Morkel has endured since 2008 – neither the likes of Gayle, AB de Villiers, nor modern power-hitters like Andre Russell have managed to better it.
Second, many of the longest sixes occurred in the earlier years of IPL or at venues with altitude. For example, Gilchrist’s 122m in 2011 was at Dharamshala (a hill station venue where the ball flies further).
Similarly, some of those 119m hits in 2008-2010 might have benefited from smaller boundaries or high elevation in South Africa. Meanwhile, recent seasons have seen relatively fewer 120m+ hits – Liam Livingstone’s 117m in 2022 is the only entry from the last few years.
| Player | Distance | Year | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albie Morkel | 125m | 2008 | CSK | vs Delhi Daredevils |
| Praveen Kumar | 124m | 2011 | KXIP | vs RCB |
| Adam Gilchrist | 122m | 2011 | KXIP | vs RCB |
| Robin Uthappa | 120m | 2010 | RCB | vs MI |
| Chris Gayle | 119m | 2013 | RCB | vs PWI |
| Ross Taylor | 119m | 2008 | RCB | vs CSK |
| Yuvraj Singh | 119m | 2009 | KXIP | vs CSK |
| Ben Cutting | 117m | 2016 | SRH | vs RCB |
| Liam Livingstone | 117m | 2022 | PBKS | vs GT |
| Gautam Gambhir | 117m | 2013 | KKR | vs RR |
It’s not just about distance – consistency in clearing the ropes is a valuable skill. When talking about the most sixes in IPL, one name dominates: Chris Gayle. The West Indian legend has 357 sixes in his IPL career, the most by any player.
Gayle’s six-hitting exploits (including a record 59 sixes in a single season in 2012) are a big reason he’s called the Universe Boss.
Following him on the all-time list are stalwarts like Rohit Sharma (currently 2nd with 280 sixes) and AB de Villiers (251 sixes), with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli not far behind.
These players might not hold the distance records, but their ability to hit maximums match after match is unparalleled.
On the team front, which franchise has clobbered the most sixes over the years? The most sixes in IPL by team (cumulatively) is held by the Mumbai Indians.
MI batters have hit 1681 sixes in the IPL, the highest for any team. Right behind them are the Royal Challengers Bangalore with 1649 sixes – no surprise given RCB enjoyed Gayle and AB de Villiers in the lineup for many years. Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings are next in line, each with over 1500 sixes to their name.
It’s interesting that newer teams like Lucknow Super Giants (who joined in 2022) actually have the highest sixes-per-match ratio, thanks to assembling lineups full of power-hitters.
In short, teams with aggressive batting DNA (and smaller home grounds like Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy) dominate the sixes charts.
A few more six-hitting trivia and records from IPL history:
Finally, let’s circle back to the questions every fan has pondered: who hit longest six in IPL history and who hit the biggest six in IPL?
As we covered, the longest ever is Albie Morkel’s 125m rocket from 2008. And if we’re talking about the present season, Travis Head owns the bragging rights for biggest six in IPL 2025 so far with his 105m strike.
These awe-inspiring hits are a testament to the sheer power and skill of IPL batters. In conclusion, sixes are the life of the IPL party.
Whether it’s a last-over slog clearing the fence, or a top-order batter taking on a spinner and depositing him into the second tier, these maximums bring an incomparable rush of adrenaline.
The league’s recent rule tweaks and batting-friendly conditions have only amplified the six-hitting spectacle – just look at the run-fests and soaring six tallies in 2024 and 2025.
For fans, the sight of the ball sailing for a six – be it a big six in IPL history books or a crucial hit in a close game – is pure bliss.
As the IPL continues to evolve, we can expect the records for distance and frequency of sixes to keep getting pushed. In the IPL’s carnival of cricket, the motto might as well be: go big or go home – and nothing embodies that better than a towering six that sends the crowd into raptures.
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