PBKS vs GT IPL 2024: Six by six vision

Boundary hits captivate fans

The ball flying over the boundary has always had a magical charm to it. In the olden days of, white clad baggy trousered, gentlemen cricketers it was a rare spectacle that in the absence of TV was written down in record books and revered in memory by die-hard fans of the game.

As cricket became more spectacular, more voyeuristic, the number of over boundaries began to increase. Telecast of cricket matches became more sophisticated and demanding, the pace for creating drama on the field began to grow exponentially. By the time the T20 format came, and IPL became a hit business, viewers’ expectations rose to incredible heights. So did the hammering of a leather ball by determined willow wielding new age cricketers.

In the first 16 days of Tata IPL 2024, the ball crossed the boundary 299 times without hitting the ground. Statistically that translated to almost 19 boundaries per match. The 300th six came in the 17th match between GT and PBKS, and then there were a dozen more before the end of play. Gujarat Titans put 5 over the boundary with Captain Shubman Gill doing it 4 times and Rahul Tewetia just the once. For Punjab Kings Shashank Singh hit 4 of them, Ashutosh Sharma contributed 2 and there was 1 each from Jitesh Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh.

The GT versus PBKS match on 4th April saw a total number of 13 sixes. This would seem well below the average of nearly 19 that had been established till the previous match, but the statistics got skewed because of two matches. The first between Sunrise Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians which notched up a staggering 38 sixes setting an IPL record for the most number in a single match. The second was between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals that saw 29 sixes being hit. Take these 2 matches out of contention and the average number of sixes per game falls to about 16.5 and even by that standard the Ahmedabad game was low on sixes.

It could have been so much more thrilling because viewers want more, more excitement, more bang per ball, more sixes per over and more Chris Gayle attitude in every player. The West Indian great holds the IPL career record of having smashed the ball 357 times over the boundary without a bounce. Tata IPL 2024 has Sunrise Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klaasen doing his best to keep the fans happy with 17 sixes in just 3 matches. Now that is cricket!