India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday became the first batter to hit 50 sixes in the ODI World Cup history during the semifinal against New Zealand at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Rohit, who has been in attacking mode during the whole tournament, achieved the feat in his 27th World Cup innings with a brilliant six off pacer Trent Boult in the fifth over of the match.
With this, the 36-year-old surpassed Chris Gayle’s tally of 49 sixes. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and David Warner also feature in the top-five list of six-hitters in the World Cup.
Most sixes in World Cups
50 – Rohit Sharma
49 – Chris Gayle
43 – Glenn Maxwell
37 – AB de Villiers
37 – David Warner
The current India skipper Rohit, who has been in brilliant form, also created a record of hitting most sixes in a single World Cup edition.
Most sixes in a single World Cup edition
27 – Rohit Sharma (2023)
26 – Chris Gayle (2015)
22 – Eoin Morgan (2019)
22 – Glenn Maxwell (2023)
21 – AB de Villiers (2015)
21 – Quinton de Kock (2023)
Earlier, India won the toss and opted to bat first in the highly anticipated match. The game is a replay of the first semifinal from the 2019 edition of the World Cup where the Kane Williamson-led side beat India in England.
Both sides were unchanged for the semi-final and the onus is on their big stars to shine in an all-important clash.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
