Adam Gilchrist becomes first player to hit a century of Test Sixes

One big reason why Adam Gilchrist was an absolute favourite among 90s kids, most of whom were not even Australian, was the southpaw’s approach to batting. In many ways, he symbolized the domineering Australian ruthless side’s philosophy of the 2000s, regardless of the format.

The aggressive southpaw used a high-on-the-handle grip to forcefully guide good balls into gaps while blasting away most others, all the while maintaining his perfect balance. Whether it be his straight head or soft wrist work, Gilchrist’s batting was so iconic that many youngsters imitated his stance in gully cricket.

Making his Test debut in 1999 against Pakistan, Gilchrist showed his class with a thunderous 81 runs off 88 balls, a knock that had 10 boundaries. Quite interestingly, Gilchrist would 269 runs in his first two Tests, which included a splendid unbeaten 149 in Hobart as well, but he hit just one six in the process. Yet, eight years later, Gilchrist would become the first player to reach 100 sixes in Test.

It was November 17, 2007, when Gilchrist would reach this milestone while playing against Sri Lanka in Hobart. Gilchrist had reached his 99th Test six with a slog sweep against Muttiah Muralitharan and then followed the same route on the very next ball, as the ball cleared the stadium.

Though Gilchrist played four more Test matches over the next few months, that hit against Muralitharan was his last big hit in the red-ball format. Though it was an unbelievable record, Gilchrist didn’t see it that way. 

"It's not a milestone you set out to achieve, but it's unique. There aren't many things that you do in life that you're the only person ever to have done. With that in mind it would be nice to have the ball that notched that 100," the pinch-hitter had said.

The nation that conceded the most number of sixes against Gilchrist is New Zealand. Playing against them, the Australian hit 21 sixes in just 15 Test innings. The Kiwis are followed by England, who saw the batsman hitting 16 sixes in 28 innings against them. South Africa and Sri Lanka have conceded 12 and 10 sixes against them, respectively. The nation against whom Gilchrist played 12 games and still managed just 10 sixes, is India.

While Gilchrist read spinners like few other batsmen, he had taken a special liking towards former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori. The left-arm spinner was hit for 17 sixes by Gilchrist, while the likes of Enamul Haque (5 sixes), Nicky Boje (four sixes), Mark Butcher (four sixes) and Anul Kumble (four sixes) follow him.

The most number of sixes that Gilchrist hit in a single inning was eight, which came against South Africa during his unbeaten knock of 204 runs at the Wanderers Stadium in February 2002. It was, however, the calendar year of 2005 when Gilchrist went berserk to hit a whopping 22 sixes in 15 Test matches.

Despite having the strength to cover any ground in the world, Gilchrist had chosen flair over muscle. He had hit 677 boundaries in Tests and a whopping 1162 fours in ODIs. He ended his ODI career with 149 sixes courtesy of the opening batting position, where he could afford more time at the crease.