Last Updated: February 05, 2023, 18:39 IST
Iftikhar Ahmed facing Wahab Riaz in a PSL exhibition game
Quetta Gladiators Iftikhar Ahmed ended up playing an unbeaten knock of 94 runs in 50 deliveries. His sixes meant Peshawar Zalmi’s Wahab Riaz returned figures of 3 for 47 in four overs
Quetta’s Bugti Stadium on Sunday witnessed a mind-blowing scene when Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi, the two Pakistan Super League teams, squared off against each other. The 8th season of the tournament is set to commence next week but before that, the two sides played an exhibition game on Sunday in which Iftikhar Ahmed replicated the famous act of former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh – smashing 6 sixes in an over of a T20 game.
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It was the final over of the Quetta Gladiators’ innings when Iftikhar went berserk with the bat in hand, hammering 6 sixes in as many deliveries. Veteran Pakistan speedster Wahab Riaz was the bowler who found himself at the receiving end. Iftikhar ended up playing an unbeaten knock of 94 runs in 50 deliveries while Wahab returned figures of 3 for 47 in four overs. Khushdil Shah was the second-highest scorer for Quetta Gladiators with 36 runs.
The video of Iftikhar’s blistering knock against Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi has gone viral on social media.
The fireworks from Iftikhar help the Gladiators pile up 184 runs in 20 overs. Chasing 185, Babar Azam & Co manage to score 181 runs and lost the match by three runs.
For the Indian fans, Iftikhar’s power-hitting brought back the memories of Yuvraj Singh smashing 6 sixes to Stuart Broad in the inaugural T20 World Cup, back in 2007.
But there have been instances when batters have managed to hit six sixes in an over in other formats of the game. Back in 2007, South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs smashed Netherlands’ Daan van Bunge for six sixes in the 50-over World Cup, becoming the first-ever batter to do so in international cricket.
Former India head coach had hit six sixes in an over during a Ranji Trophy game against Baroda in the 1984-85 season. Back then, he became the first Indian batter to have achieved the milestone.
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