There was a time when hitting a six was considered a risk, an audacious shot reserved for situations that demanded something extraordinary. When Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford unleashed a six-hitting spree in Hyderabad, they offered a reminder of how much T20 cricket has changed. As the format continues to push the boundaries of the possible, what was once extraordinary has now become routine.
And there is still one match to go. The series is already among the most prolific six-hitting bilateral contests involving ICC full members. In the final T20I at Bengaluru, the record of most sixes scored in a bilateral T20I series could be broken. There also emerged a distinct approach even in this collective appetite for power-hitting. There is no doubt that both sides relied heavily on boundaries.
In the ongoing five-match T20I series between India and West Indies, the four matches have produced a staggering 98 sixes. Of the 1,661 runs scored between the two sides, 1,196 runs have come off boundaries and 588 have come from sixes alone, according to CricViz. Essentially, 35.40% of runs have come from sixes. Another 23 sixes in the final game would take the tally past the 120 recorded during England’s five-match tour of West Indies in 2023, which remains the ceiling at the moment. India scored 124 runs in boundaries compared to West Indies’ 126.
For instance, West Indies’ batting approach in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad where they scored 247/3 came while batting first, not in a condition necessarily with pressure. India, meanwhile, are more spread out as there is no single dominant six-hitter in India’s line-up comparable to Hope. Instead, several batters have contributed to the team’s boundary-scoring output. Since six-hitting is no longer seen as audacious but routine, many batters are using sixes as a repeatable scoring option even when the required run rate does not demand immediate aggression. With the series headed towards a possible record, the numbers alone cannot establish that one approach is superior to the other as shaped by personnel, venues and match situations.
