When this Indian bowler hit a skyscraper six on the dreaded Shoaib Akhtar, there was silence all over Pakistan.

Lakshmipathy Balaji hit long six against Shoaib Akhtar: Lakshmipathy Balaji, who plays for the Indian cricket team, is known as a fast bowler. He made his Test debut for the Indian team on 8 October 2003 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. But his shine was seen all over the world when he hit a sky-high six off the bowling of Pakistan's dreaded fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. During that time his bat was broken. But this six that came from his bat brought silence in the whole of Pakistan.

Team India was touring Pakistan in the year 2004 and Lakshmipathy Balaji was also present in the team led by Sourav Ganguly. There were strong batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh in that team. But Lakshmipathy Balaji was being discussed a lot before this tour. Balaji had bowled well before this tour. Team India won the ODI series 3-2 against Pakistan at home.

#OnThisDay in 2004, the first ODI on India’s first tour to Pakistan in 15 years, provided a thrilling finish. With six required from the last ball, Moin Khan was caught, handing India the victory! pic.twitter.com/dmEvWSLWNt

— ICC (@ICC) March 13, 2018

Dreaded bowler Shoaib Akhtar was silenced by hitting a six.

On this tour, Balaji left his mark in bowling as well as batting. But his discussion increased more when he hit a long six to Pakistan's dreaded bowler Shoaib Akhtar in the third ODI. After hitting the skyscraper six, Shoaib Akhtar's face was worth seeing, his eyes had turned red. At that time, there was fear of Akhtar among the batsmen all over the world. But Balaji was laughing in front of him after hitting a six. Lakshmipathy Balaji had scored 45 runs during the entire 5-match ODI series. During this period, 36 runs were scored only from boundaries.

Happy Birthday Lakshmipathy Balaji

8 Tests, 27 Wickets
30 ODIs, 34 Wickets
5 T20Is, 10 Wickets
First Bowler to take an IPL Hat-trick

& That SIX off Shoaib Akhtar in 2004.

CC – @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/iLEbUp96L2

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) September 27, 2024

Lakshmipathy Balaji has also hoisted his flag in IPL.

Lakshmipathy Balaji has played a total of 30 ODIs, 8 Tests and 5 T20Is in his international career. He has 34 wickets in his name in 30 ODI matches. He has taken 27 wickets in 15 innings in test matches and 10 wickets in 5 innings in T20. He has also played in IPL for Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. Balaji has taken 76 wickets in a total of 73 IPL matches. At the same time, he has also scored 2028 runs in his IPL career. This fast bowler took a hat-trick against Kings 11 Punjab in the first edition of the Indian Premier League itself and created history.