Powerhouse contest: 5 players who can hit longest six in IPL

 

It was Chennai Super Kings Albie Morkel who smashed a six on Deccan Chargers’ Pragyan Ojha and created history. 124-meters long humongous six, which is still the longest in IPL history. Second on the list stands Praveen Kumar, a bowler who smashed Lasith Malinga off 124-meter long six in IPL 2011. In the same season, 122 meters, six came from the bat of Adam Gilchrist. 

IPL is famous for its power hitter, and history is filled with such massive and out-of-the-ground sixes. In the last edition, IPL 2021, Nicholas Pooran from Punjab Kings smashed a 106-meter six. These power hitters fill the audience with enthusiasm and enable them to enjoy matches better.

With so many power hitters around, the fame list for the longest six in IPL history has players like Albie Morkel (124m), Praveen Kumar (124m), Adam Gilchrist (122m), Robin Uthappa (120m), Chris Gayle (119m), Yuvraj Singh (119m), Ross Taylor (119m), Ben Cutting (117m) Gautam Gambhir (117m), MS Dhoni (115m).

Franchises always keep in mind of having one or two power hitters as such players add different value to the team. This Indian Premier League auction saw teams spending loads of money for hitters like Liam Livingstone, who was bought by Punjab Kings for rupees 11.5 crores, Tim David roped in by Mumbai Indians for a staggering amount of INR 8.25 crores. Looking at the form and temperament, few players who are very likely to hit six over 100 meters this season are -

MS Dhoni

Whenever we talk of sixes, MS Dhoni is sure to cross your mind once. There’s something magnificent about how MS Dhoni finishes the match with his power-hitting six. He added a new dimension to finishing off the match with this grace of pulling a “helicopter shot” off Yorker. MS Dhoni hit the longest six of 112-meters in IPL 2012 and 111-meters long in 2019, which became the longest six of the tournaments. After releasing the Captaincy pressure and with batting muscles, he still keeps the strength to pull off the longest six of the  seasons in the Indian Premier League  2022 as well.

Sanju Samson

A class batter with the capability to be a power hitter is the strength of Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson. He comes across as a carefree and reckless batter who doesn’t fear before smashing the ball for boundaries or sixes. Since 2017, Sanju is one of only 3 Indian players who have managed an average of over 30 and a strike rate above 145 in the IPL and Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya. In the previous season, he was one of the players to hit six at a distance of greater than 100 meters and keeps the potential to replicate or even hit farther this time.

Rovman Powell

Delhi Capitals bagged West Indies power-hitter Rovman Powell in the mega-auctions. The all-rounder currently had sensational performances against India and England this year. The batter has the ability to hit bowlers in all directions as he plays with the strike rate of 100-plus in T20 format. He’s a big hitter and might go on to break the record of the longest season in this edition of IPL. 

Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell, though didn’t have a good performance in IPL 2020 with Punjab Kings. But in IPL 2021, while playing for RCB, he broke the shackles with a huge six that landed outside the stadium in Chennai on delivery by Krunal Pandya. He doesn’t hesitate in coming down the crease before launching the huge six, making him one of the strong contenders to smash the longest six in IPL 2022.

Hardik Pandya

The swashbuckling all-rounder is one of the swiftest hitters of the cricket ball. When he decides to go for a six, he hits it clean which can travel a long way. In IPL 2019, he hit a ball that traveled 104 meters. His ability to hit big has always helped Mumbai Indians push the scoreboard in fewer balls. However, this time, as a captain of Gujarat Titans with added responsibility, he will be trying to be in the same power-hitting form for his team as he was there for Mumbai Indians.