Chris Gayle breaks Shahid Afridi's world record for most sixes in international cricket

Chris Gayle now has 488 sixes to his name in international cricket – 287 in ODIs, 103 in T20Is and 98 in Test cricket.

Returning to international cricket after 8 months, Chris Gayle treated the Barbados crowd to a six-hitting feast, smashing the world record of Shahid Afridi for the most number of sixes in international cricket. Gayle smashed as many as 12 sixes, hitting England bowlers to every part of the ground barring the third-man area.

Gayle needed one hit over the fence to go past Afridi’s world record of 476 sixes and he ended up hitting 12 of them. The Universe Boss now has 488 sixes to his name in international cricket – 287 in ODIs, 103 in T20Is and 98 in Test cricket.

Gayle also has a better six-hitting average than Afridi, considering he broke the former Pakistan all-rounder’s record in his 444th international appearance whereas Afridi had taken 524 matches.

Brendon Mccullum is third in the list with 398 hits over the fence, followed by Sanath Jayasuriya (352) and Rohit Sharma (349). Rohit Sharma is the only Indian in the top five.

Coming back to Gayle’s innings, the towering left-hander on Wednesday hit six balls out of the ground, forcing the fourth umpire to come running in with replacement on each occasion. Gayle hit a 121-meter six off Liam Plunkett.

Gayle, who had announced that the 2019 ODI World Cup would be his last tournament as an international cricketer, was finally out after scoring 135 off 129 balls.

Gayle’s tally of 12 ODI sixes was the most hit by any batsman against England. The previous best also stood with Gayle when he had hit 9 sixes in 2009 at Bridgetown

At 39 years and 152 days, Gayle also became the third oldest cricketer to score an ODI century. The oldest to do so was UAE’s Khurram Khan (43 years and 162 days) against Afghanistan in 2014.

There were 23 sixes in the West Indies innings, which was also a world record.

However, Gayle’s innumerable records and a 360 on board, were not enough for a Windies victory. Jason Roy blazed 123 off 85 balls at the top of the order while Joe Root cruised to a comparatively sedate 102 off 97 deliveries to help England reach the target – their highest-ever - with eight balls to spare.