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With just a day to go for one of the biggest parties in T20 cricket to begin, expectations are riding high among the fans. We will get to see some of the greatest entertainers in the game fighting it out for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Trophy.
There have been some huge hitters going around in the CPL. We have seen some monstrous hitting from them over the years. At this stage, let's look at the batsmen who have scored the highest number of sixes in CPL history.
5. Darren Bravo (10 sixes)
Some of you might be surprised to find him on this list of batsmen with maximum sixes in an innings, but the younger of the Bravo brothers has certainly made it.
In fact, he was the joint-second in terms of the number of sixes hit in the 2018 season of CPL with 24 maximums. This included an innings of 94 runs in just 36 balls against St Lucia Stars (which was the name of the franchise then). The Stars made a huge 212/2 batting first, but the Trinidad side chased it down comfortably with 5 balls to spare on the back of this innings by Darren Bravo.
The Trinidadian sits 5th on the list of batsmen with most sixes in CPL history. He is also one of the few batsmen who has more sixes to his tally in the CPL than boundaries. Representing his home franchise from Trinidad since the inception of the CPL, he has 75 boundaries in addition to the 93 times that he cleared the fence.
4. Brandon King (11 sixes)
After a mellow start in the first two seasons of his CPL career, the young Jamaican moved from St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2019. This marked a change in fortunes for him.
Brandon King was nothing short of a revelation in the 2019 edition of CPL. The 25-year-old was the top-scorer in the season with 496 runs to his account at a strike rate of almost 149. He also made the highest score in the history of the CPL, scoring 132 runs in just 72 balls against Barbados Tridents. He cleared the boundary 11 times during this knock which is the joint-second highest for the number of sixes hit in an innings. The Warriors drubbed the Tridents by 30 runs, riding on this knock by their opener.
The 25-year-old opener will once again play for the Guyana Amazon Warriors this season. Not only the team, but national selectors as well as CPL fans will be looking forward to an excellent season for him to back up his exploits last year.
3. Evin Lewis (11 sixes)
Evin Lewis had a glittering CPL season in 2017 with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He scored 371 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 184.57. His knock of 97 runs with 11 sixes came during this season against Barbados Tridents. Chasing a paltry 128 runs, Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis put up an unbeaten opening partnership of 129 runs, in which Gayle’s contribution was just 22 runs. The match ended in controversy as the Tridents skipper Kieron Pollard bowled a no-ball with the St Kitts side needing just 1 run. Evin Lewis was on 97 and had been stolen of an opportunity to complete his century.
After that splendid season, Lewis had a disastrous year in 2018 where he scored just 126 runs. However, the left-handed opening batsman made immense improvements in 2019, scoring 265 runs at a strike rate of 149.71. He will be looking to continue his form in the 2020 season.
This is the sixth season in which Lewis will be representing St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He is also the all-time top scorer for the franchise.
2. Chris Gayle (11 sixes)
The Universe Boss has hit 11 sixes in an innings once and 10 sixes in an innings twice in the history of CPL. Not much of a surprise there, is it? This effort of 11 sixes came for Jamaica Tallawahs against Trinbago Knight Riders in 2016. Gayle scored 108 runs in that innings from just 54 balls. Chasing 192 runs, the Jamaican side won comfortably with 10 balls to spare.
The first occasion when he hit 10 sixes in an innings in CPL was in 2014, playing for Jamaica Tallawahs against St Lucia Zouks. Gayle scored 111 runs as the Tallawahs won the match with an over to spare. The second occasion came in the 2019 edition. Batting first, Tallawahs put up a massive 241 runs on the board aided by a knock of 116 by Gayle which included 10 sixes. However, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots chased it down with 7 balls to spare.
Chris Gayle has scored the most number of runs and the most number of sixes in the CPL. Unfortunately, the big-hitting Jamaican will not be part of the 2020 season owing to personal reasons.
1. Andre Russell (13 sixes)
It would have been surprising to not find Andre Russell sitting at the top of the pile. The big-hitter from Jamaica tore into the Trinbago Knight Riders bowling line-up in a game in 2018. He punished the bowlers for 13 towering sixes, which remains the most number of sixes hit in an innings in the history of the CPL.
Chasing a total of 223, Tallawahs were struggling at 41/5 at one stage. It was at this stage that Dre Russ walked in and went on a murderous spree. He scored 121 runs off just 49 balls which included 6 boundaries in addition to the 13 maximums. Tallawahs chased down the total with three balls to spare.
Even though Russell made just 262 runs from 14 innings over the last two seasons, his strike rate has been phenomenal at 196.4 in 2018 and 180 in 2019. He will look to replicate the big-hitting prowess as well as to build innings of better substance in the 2020 season playing for his home franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.
