Death overs are meant for hitting biggies. It’s the time to hit sixes and maximize your team’s total. During overs 41 to 50, batters face the oldest balls in the game due to the new ball rule in cricket.
And, more importantly, it’s a skill to hit sixes in the death overs. During this phase, you will face the best fast bowlers from the opposing team, who will be using their yorker skills, slower balls and off-cutters. However, the modern flat tracks, batter-friendly powerplay rules, and quick outfields work in favor of the batsmen during this time.
So, here we are, on a quest to find out batters who have scored the most sixes in the last 10 overs, commonly known as the death overs, in One-Day Internationals history.
Most Sixes in Death Overs in ODIs
| Batter | Innings | Sixes in Death Overs | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 172 | 139 | 127.67 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 64 | 101 | 169.33 |
| Abdul Razzaq (PAK) | 115 | 97 | 143.75 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 100 | 88 | 163.23 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 66 | 86 | 172.75 |
| David Miller (SA) | 71 | 78 | 146.12 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 61 | 74 | 150.99 |
| Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 54 | 69 | 172.51 |
| Yuvraj Singh (IND) | 94 | 58 | 134.74 |
| JP Duminy (SA) | 78 | 57 | 130.70 |
Key Stats
Only two players have hit more than 100 sixes in the death overs of One Day Internationals (ODIs). Jos Buttler is the most recent addition to this exclusive list. MS Dhoni, known for his exceptional skills during this phase of the match, has hit 139 sixes with a strike rate of 127.67.
MSD also tops the runs chart of this part of the game.
In of average number of sixes hit during the death overs in 50-over matches, Jos Buttler leads with an average of 1.5 sixes per innings. Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers are next, each averaging 1.3 sixes per innings during the death overs.
Other active cricketers with 50+ sixes in ODI death overs are Rohit Sharma and Mahmudullah (BAN). Early in his career, Rohit batted primarily in the middle overs, but he later transitioned to opening the innings. This change did not help him gain the top position on this list.
