Abhishek Sharma equals Suryakumar Yadav's T20I six-hitting record in Indore blitz against West Indies
Abhishek Sharma's 2026 six-hitting rampage reaches a landmark
Abhishek Sharma continued his explosive run in T20I cricket, equalling Suryakumar Yadav's record for the most sixes hit by a batter in a calendar year among Full Member teams during the third T20I against West Indies at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday.
The left-handed opener reached 68 sixes in 2026, matching Suryakumar's tally from 2022. He achieved the milestone during India's first innings, further underlining his reputation as one of the most destructive batters in the shortest format.
Most sixes in a calendar year in T20Is (Full Member teams)
What makes Abhishek's achievement even more impressive is his scoring frequency. He has struck a six every 6.55 balls in 2026, compared to Suryakumar's rate of one maximum every 9.13 deliveries in 2022.
| Sixes | Player | Year | Balls per six |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Abhishek Sharma | 2026 | 6.55 |
| 68 | Suryakumar Yadav | 2022 | 9.13 |
| 54 | Abhishek Sharma | 2025 | 8.22 |
| 52 | Ishan Kishan | 2026 | 12.69 |
| 45 | Sahibzada Farhan | 2025 | 12.82 |
Abhishek now owns two of the top three tallies on the list, having also struck 54 sixes in 2025. His opening partner against West Indies, Ishan Kishan, also features among the leading six-hitters with 52 maximums in 2026, while Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan completes the top five with 45 sixes in 2025.
The innings in Indore
Abhishek's latest milestone came during an explosive 69 off 30 balls against West Indies. His innings featured six fours and five sixes, helping India recover from Sanju Samson's early dismissal and launch an aggressive counterattack. He combined effectively with Ishan Kishan before his innings ended when Shamar Springer took a return catch.
Abhishek's departure triggered a brief collapse, with West Indies claiming three wickets in the space of 10 deliveries for just nine runs. Despite losing momentum in the middle overs, India managed to post a formidable total of 223/10 in 20 overs. Prince Yadav contributed an unbeaten late flourish, adding 13 runs in the final over to push the hosts beyond the 220-run mark.
Playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
West Indies: Shai Hope (c/wk), Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Keemo Paul, Roston Chase, Shamar Springer, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.
A season of extremes for Abhishek
Abhishek's record-equalling knock caps a remarkable 2026 in the shortest format. Earlier in the series, on October 9, the opener needed just 53 runs in the second T20I against West Indies to reach 2,000 T20I runs — and, if scored quickly enough, to break Suryakumar Yadav's world record for the fewest balls to reach the landmark. The 2026 season has also had its low points for the left-hander: on September 22, he was dismissed for a first-ball duck against Japan at the Asian Games 2026, his fifth golden duck of the year, equalling the unwanted calendar-year T20I record held by Rwanda's Kevin Irakoze and Richard Ngarava.