John Arlott, Nicholas Pooran, Six Hitting & the 2025 IPL
With 72 matches played over 1260 sixes were hit in the 2024 IPL.
Abhishek Sharma hit the most-42 with Heinrich Klaasen and Virat Kohli next on 38 each.
In 2025 there were 74 matches played and 1294 sixes were hit
Nicholas Pooran topped the six hitting chart with 40 which won him $10,000
The reasons for the ever increasing number of sixes in games range from shorter boundaries to heavier bats being used and players who are more skilled at hitting them.
Michael Atherton (Times 25th April 2024) noted that John Arlott described six hitting as the most companiable act in cricket because there was a direct bond between player and spectator- particularly if the latter caught the ball.
Now so many are hit that it’s more like a game of whacker. The balance between bat and ball is destroyed. Indian crowds certainly love the spectacle as do, mostly, crowds in England and Wales in T20 games.
In my view there is a place for excitement in cricket and it can sometimes be very exciting. The six hitting deluge is turning what was once exciting into a commonplace.
The 2025 IPL started on March 22nd 2025. There were 74 games with the delayed final on June 3rd 2025
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