New Delhi .Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma has made a new record of hitting the most number of sixes in T20 International cricket during a calendar year. He has left Suryakumar Yadav behind by hitting 69 sixes so far in 2026. Suryakumar had hit 68 sixes in T20 International matches in the year 2022. Abhishek achieved this feat during the fourth T20 match played against West Indies in Hyderabad.
In this match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on 14 October, a big innings was expected from Abhishek, but he was out after scoring 29 runs on 24 balls. His innings included three fours and a six. However, his only six proved to be enough to create the record. With this, he became the batsman to hit the most sixes in T20 International cricket in a calendar year for a team from a full member country.
Abhishek did not get much chance to bat openly in the initial phase of the match. He hit his first boundary on the seventh ball. Sanju Samson kept most of the strikes to himself in the initial overs, while the West Indies bowlers tried to stop Abhishek from scoring runs quickly. His strike rate was also below 100 after the powerplay ended.
In the ninth over, Abhishek went ahead and hit a six off the ball of Shamar Springer. With this shot, his number of sixes hit in 2026 increased to 69 and he broke Suryakumar Yadav's previous record of 68 sixes. This achievement has come at a time when Abhishek's performance in some matches was not as per expectations.
Abhishek started the year 2026 with aggressive batting. Against New Zealand in Nagpur, he scored 84 runs in 35 balls, which included eight sixes. After this, in Guwahati, he played an unbeaten inning of 68 runs in 20 balls and hit five sixes. His performance in the initial matches highlighted his aggressive batting in T20 International. However, after this his bat remained silent in some matches and he was out many times without even opening the account. Despite this, he came back and set a new record of sixes.
In the fourth T20 match played in Hyderabad, West Indies, batting first, scored 247 runs for three wickets. Team captain Shai Hope played an unbeaten inning of 102 runs. He faced 50 balls and completed his century by hitting a six on the last ball of the innings. This was his fourth century on the current tour and third century of his T20 International career.
Sherfane Rutherford also scored unbeaten 49 runs. He scored runs quickly in his innings of 26 balls. Hope and Rutherford had a 91-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 43 balls, which took West Indies to a big score. The Caribbean team hit a total of 16 sixes in its innings.
Chasing the target of 248 runs, the Indian team was reduced to 223 runs and lost the match by 24 runs. Indian bowlers Mayank Yadav and Arshdeep Singh gave 52-52 runs in four overs each. The Indian team also suffered losses due to missing some chances while fielding and giving 18 extra runs. With this victory, West Indies leveled the five-match T20 series at 2-2. India lost the match, but Abhishek Sharma added a big achievement to his personal record.