On This Day: Chris Gayle became the first ever batter to hit 1000 T20 sixes

Chris Gayle, known as the 'Universal Boss,' on this day created a record that is still untouched. During an Indian Premier League match, the batter touched the landmark. Five years ago on October 30, the big man from Jamaica hit his 1000th T20 six of his career, which, to date, remains untouched. 

It was a match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. PBKS went to bat first and registered 185 runs in 20 overs in exchange for only 4 wickets. Gayle, as expected, showed his muscle power in the match. He scored 99 runs against 63 balls, missing a century by only one run. In this match, he came to bat as a number three batter. In his 99-run innings, the batter smashed six boundaries and eight over-boundaries. 

One of those sixes was the 1000th maximum of his career. Against a delivery from Kartik Tyagi, the batsman hit the record-making over boundary. But sadly, Gayle's effort went in vain as PBKS lost the match against Rajasthan Royals. RR won the match with ease, by 7 wickets and 15 balls to spare. 

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Chris Gayle is the only batter to hit 1000 T20 six

As of now, Gayle is the only player in the T20 format to hit 1,000 sixes. Gayle, in total, hoisted 1,056 sixes throughout his T20 career. His countryman Kieron Pollard is second on this list with 966 sixes. If we talk about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, then these two icons are also well behind in the list. Rohit has played 463 T20 matches so far, hitting 547 sixes. Virat Kohli has hit 435 sixes in 414 T20 matches.

Chris Gayle, now 46 and retired, played a total of 103 Tests, 301 ODIs, and 79 T20Is in his international career. He has 7,214 runs in Tests, 10,480 in ODIs, and 1,899 in T20Is.