Nepal's 24-year-old all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee has smashed his way into the record books once again. After striking six sixes in a row across two overs during the Hangzhou Asian Games, Airee has now bludgeoned six sixes in a single over, becoming the third man after Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard to achieve the feat in T20 internationals. (More Cricket News)
The hard-hitting batter singled out Qatar medium pacer Kamran Khan for special treatment in the final over of the Nepal innings at the ACC Men's T20I Premier Cup 2024. The score, which read 174 for 7 after 19 overs, sped to 210/7 at the end of 20 overs, with Airee finishing unbeaten at 64 runs off just 21 balls.
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Thus, the all-rounder has joined the illustrious company of Yuvraj Singh (against Stuart Broad during 2007 T20 World Cup) and Kieron Pollard (against Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya in 2021) as batters to have hit six maximums in one T20I over.
Airee is the fifth batter overall to have accomplished this six-hitting record in international cricket, with former South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs and USA's Jaskaran Malhotra doing it in ODIs earlier.
Earlier, the youngster had waltzed into the cricketing history with his marauding display against Mongolia at the Asian Games in September 2023. Those sixes had come off the first six legal deliveries Airee faced, making for an even more remarkable feat. The first five blows came in one over off Mungun Altankhuyag, and the sixth one off the first ball in the next over from Luvsanzundui Erdenebulgan.
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With that, Airee had raced away to 52 not out in ten balls, smashing a nine-ball half century, the fastest ever in T20I history. His knock had propelled Nepal to a towering 314 for 3, making it the first 300-plus team total in a T20 international clash. Airee, meanwhile, overtook Yuvraj, Chris Gayle and Hazratullah Zazai, who had all taken 12 balls to fifties in the format.
