Despite IPL 2020 turning out in a paradise for the bowlers with them making unprecedented merry, thanks to the wearing surfaces, longer boundaries, incessant dew and scorching heat, life turned into a living nightmare.
Yet, whenever T20 cricket is up for grabs, you simply cannot refrain from the entertainment of boundaries which runs wild in the vein of the shortest format of the game. There were lots of boundaries throughout the tournament to savour and out of all the three grounds, Sharjah witnessed quite a few balls flying out of the stadium.
We will look at eight cricketers who struck more sixes than boundaries, with the basic threshold that at least ten sixes must have been struck. Strap your seatbelts for this ride may be bumpy as you will have to continuously fly high and low through the trail of those swashbuckling strikes.
- Sanju Samson – 21 fours and 26 sixes
The Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper who managed to grab a national call-up, thanks to a few rollicking showdowns from this youngster, Sanju Samson made the fullest use of the questionable size of Sharjah. IPL 2020 played host to the exemplifying striking ability of Sanju Samson.
Another striking factor that bogged him down for quite a while was the consistent failures in the middle of the tournament. There was a phase where he scored four consecutive single-digit scores. With all said and done, this inspiring wicket-keeper managed to club 26 sixes and 21 boundaries, with a tad bit of help from Sharjah’s diminutive stature.
The West Indian batsman played an instrumental role for Punjab. Gayle arrived in the latter half of the tournament and hence once, the duo of Mayank and Rahul were removed, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Pooran to steer Punjab out of difficulty. Not only did he manage to rack up some emphatic scores, he also managed to smash a good deal of boundaries.
His numbers in IPL 2020 read 23 fours and 25 sixes that also ranked up pretty high in the boundary charts, were indeed a treat for the eyes.
- Hardik Pandya – 14 fours and 25 sixes
It is quite obvious that Hardik Pandya’s name comes at number four in this special chart. The Indian all-rounder joined forces with Kieron Pollard and invoked unprecedented destruction, leaving the bowlers clueless in its wake.
He carved a few exquisite strokes those were followed by some ingenious moments of madness as Pandya rode on an air of confidence destroying the bowlers at will.
- Chris Gayle – 15 boundaries and 23 sixes
It was with the arrival of the Universe Boss in the latter half of the season that saw him smoking some titanic strokes, compiling 15 boundaries and 23 sixes in the process. In an otherwise downward season for Punjab, his preamble to the side came like a fresh bout of air and he started flipping fortunes.
This time, however, he did not come out in the opening slot as he was coming at number three and provided the perfect support after the removal of the openers.
- Kieron Pollard – 15 fours and 22 sixes
As his partner was already mentioned earlier in the list, Pollard comes at number five. In this edition of the tournament, Pollard was not just relentless, but he played the role of an unstated leadership in the middle.
He got on top of the deliveries and battered some beautiful shots that left the audience in utter awe and admiration as he kept on hewing at the best of the bowlers.
- Rahul Tewatia – 13 fours and 17 sixes
From being a villain, he turned into a hero within a single over that saw him smashing Sheldon Cottrell for 30 runs, helping Rajasthan’s cause. Post that innings, he was a completely new batsman and his confidence started burgeoning with every single game.
In the span of the glittering tournament, Tewatia smacked 13 fours and 17 sixes, propelling the hopes of a future Indian finisher in the making.
- Shimron Hetmeyer – 11 fours and 12 sixes
As the predominance of the West Indians in the fray continues, Hetmeyer was absolutely scintillating in crafting a few unnoticed gems.
Despite drawing flak for a major part of the tournament, he was still able to strike 11 fours and 12 sixes throughout the fray that saw him garnering a handful of chances.
- Jofra Archer – 5 fours and 10 sixes
The name that you will not expect at all, Jofra Archer managed to climb in this list ahead of better and bigger batters of the tournament. Archer was successful in striking 5 fours and 10 sixes, a staggering achievement in terms of boundary hitting from a number 11 batsman.
