India Create T20I History, Become First Team To Smash 400 Sixes In A Year

Team India made history by becoming the first team in T20I cricket to hit 400 sixes in a calendar year. India achieved the milestone during the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday. During the match, the back-to-back world champions smashed 11 sixes to reach the landmark. Across 40 T20Is this year, India have hit 400 sixes, with Austria (224 sixes in 24 matches) and the West Indies (224 sixes in 21 matches) trailing well behind. Of those 400 sixes, 142 have come against New Zealand, the most by a team against a single opposition in a calendar year.

Abhishek Sharma (86 sixes), Ishan Kishan (60 sixes) and Sanju Samson (50 sixes) have led India's six-hitting charge this year.

Half-centuries from skipper Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan helped India recover from a shaky start, but a four-wicket haul from Adam Milne restricted the world champions to 191/8 in 20 overs on Sunday.

India were reduced to 19/2 at one stage before Ishan (61 off 31 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Shreyas (50 off 23 balls, with three fours and four sixes) stitched together a 93-run partnership for the third wicket.

Naman Dhir (33 off 23 balls, four fours) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (22 off 17 balls, two fours and a six) also made useful contributions, but Milne (4/19) struck at regular intervals towards the end to deny India a chance of reaching the 200-run mark.

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