Top three batsmen with most sixes in the IPL

The Indian Premier League started in 2008, has successfully completed 11 editions and is all set for the twelfth season in 2019. The IPL has revolutionized cricket in many ways and one of those is the six hitting abilities of batsmen.

T20 is a batsmen's game, the major reason being the fearless approach of modern-day batsmen and their willingness to hit any ball out of the park. Almost every year in the IPL, more sixes are hit than the previous season. The likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Rishabh Pant, Kieron Pollard and many others have taken six-hitting to a whole new level.

Here we look at the top 3 batsmen with most sixes in the IPL:

#3 Suresh Raina (185)

The highest run-scorer in the IPL, Suresh Raina has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the tournament. The Chennai Super Kings batting mainstay has a total of 4,985 runs at an average of 34.37 and a strike rate of 138.47, with one hundred and 35 fifties. His 185 sixes have come at a rate of 1.08 sixes per innings.

#2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni and AB de Villiers (186)

AB De Villiers, or Mr. 360, has been a crowd favourite in the IPL because of his stylish and fearless batting. Having an impressive strike rate of 150.93 and an average of 39.53, AB has been a constant for RCB since 2011. He has a total of 3,953 runs with 3 hundreds and 28 fifties. His 186 sixes have come from 129 innings.

Also in second place is Dhoni, whose street-smart captaincy and composed finishes have been the trademark of CSK's style of play. The three-time champion is the only batsman in the list who has batted all his innings at 4 or below. Dhoni has a total of 4,016 runs with 20 fifties at an average of 40.16 and strike at 138.19.

Although his six hitting ability has been declining over the past few years, the 2018 edition saw Dhoni rewind the clock to the old marauding hitter, where he finished with more than 30 sixes, making it one of his best IPL seasons. His 186 sixes have come from 158 innings, at a rate of 1.18 sixes per innings.

#1 Chris Gayle (290)

Chris Gayle has been the show stopper in the IPL since he joined RCB in 2011. He has numerous records to his name in the IPL, the highest individual score, the most hundreds, to name a few. The Jamaican has 292 sixes, 106 more than the next best. And he has hit these sixes in just 111 innings, at a rate of 2.61 sixes per innings and is the only player with more than 50 matches to have a rate of more than 1.5 sixes per match.

Gayle has 3,994 runs to his name, at a strike rate of 150.71 and average of 41.17. He has 6 hundreds to his name along with 24 fifties. His 175* against Pune Warriors India remains the highest individual score in the IPL. He also recorded the fastest century in any format of the game in the same game, scoring a 100 off just 30 balls.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are fourth and fifth in the list with 184 and 178 sixes respectively, both of whom have a very good chance of breaking into the top 3 in the upcoming season.