Six sixes in an over: Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai ‘does a Yuvraj Singh

Afghanistan batsman Hazratullah Zazai smashed six sixes in an over during an Aghanistan Premier League (APL) T20 match on Sunday. He became only the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over in a Twenty20 match.

Playing for Kabul Zwanan, the 20-year-old smashed a 12-ball 50 against the Balkh Legends. It is the first time any player has managed this feat in the APL and also the first in T20s since Yuvraj Singh in 2007. Incidentally, Zazai’s 50 is also the joint fastest in T20 cricket alongside Yuvraj who achieved the feat in the same match as he hit the six sixes.

Abdullah Mazari was the bowler who bore the brunt of Hazratullah’s fury. Unlike Stuart Broad in 2007 though, Mazari ended up conceding 37 runs in the over owing to a wide ball. Zazai now joins the Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh in being the only batsmen to have hit six sixes in an over in the history of the professional game. Zazai is also only the third player after Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle to score a 12-ball half century.

This match today is all about making new records. The flamboyant batsman Hazratullah Zazai has smacked 6 sixes in an over. Got his fifty in just 12 balls. #APLT20 @ACBofficials #BalkhVsKabul pic.twitter.com/KN1s5MJY5y

— Afghanistan Premier League T20 (@APLT20official) 14 October 2018

Yuvraj had hit six sixes off a Stuart Broad over to move to a 12-ball half-century in the inaugural T20I World Cup in 2007. Hazratullah, Yuvraj and West Indies’ superstar Chris Gayle too has managed a half-century in only 12 balls.