The limited-overs cricket in the modern day is all about entertainment and it comes from the high-octane contest between bat & ball. While the bowlers look to break the timber, batters aim to launch deliveries out of the ground. In recent times, the norm has been to play fearless batting, and the batters back themselves to go big right from the word go.
With the pitches in white-ball cricket becoming that much more conducive to stroke play, batters with intent are flourishing, and thus we are witnessing high scores in both the T20I formats more regularly. These high-scoring games can be possible only if the teams are hitting boundaries, more specifically sixes. In this article, we will talk about the ODI matches that have seen a large chunk of boundary sixes.
Most Sixes in an ODI by Both Teams
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Sixes Hit | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (24) | West Indies (22) | 46 | St George’s | 27 Feb 2019 |
| India (19) | Australia (19) | 38 | Bengaluru | 27 Feb 2019 |
| England (20) | India (14) | 34 | Pune | 26 Mar 2021 |
| England (25) | Afghanistan (8) | 33 | Manchester | 18 Jun 2019 |
| India (19) | New Zealand (13) | 32 | Indore | 24 Jan 2023 |
| Australia (20) | New Zealand (12) | 32 | Dharamsala | 28 Oct 2023 |
| India (18) | New Zealand (13) | 31 | Christchurch | 8 Mar 2009 |
| West Indies (16) | New Zealand (15) | 31 | Wellington | 21 Mar 2015 |
| Papua New Guinea (16) | Namibia (15) | 31 | Windhoek | 29 Mar 2023 |
| Sri Lanka (17) | South Africa (14) | 31 | Delhi | 7 Oct 2023 |
Key Stats
46 is the record number of sixes hit in a single game and it was during an ODI match between West Indies & England at St George’s in 2019. England hammered 418 runs in that game with the help of 24 maximums and then the hosts continued the carnage by smashing 22 sixes of their own.
England holds the record for hitting the most sixes in an ODI innings. They struck 26 maximums in an innings against the Netherlands in 2022 at Amstelveen and broke their own record of 25 sixes which they set against Afghanistan in the 2019 ICC World Cup at Manchester.
13 times in ODI cricket, there have been 30 or more sixes in a single game. The game at Centurion between South Africa and Australia in 2023 saw 31 sixes being hit, while 30 a piece were hit in the England-Netherlands game at Amstelveen and India-New Zealand at Wankhede in 2023.
In ODIs, there are 11 instances where a team has hit more than 20 sixes in a single ODI innings. As expected, England leads on this front with 5 entries, while South Africa and West Indies have two each.
