Marco Johnson has now made the record of hitting most sixes by any batsman in a Test innings in India. He hit seven sixes in his innings of 93 runs, which left behind legends like Vivian Richards and the great Matthew Hayden.
The Indian team made a good start to its campaign against South Africa on the first day. In contrast to the poor playing conditions at the Eden Gardens, the Guwahati track provided more support to the batsmen, as well as to the spinners and seamers.
However, after an excellent all-round performance on the first day, the second day tilted largely in favor of the Proteas. Two of their batsmen surpassed their former highest scores to reach new heights in the longest format of the game.
Marco Jansen creates a historic record with seven sixes
Marco Jansen came in to bat with centurion Senuran Muthusamy, who was batting in the 60s at the time. Jensen adopted a completely different approach from the first ball as he thrashed the Indian bowlers in all parts of the ground.
Starting with a tremendous effort, Marco Jansen scored a half-century in no time and in the innings he hit 4 sixes in a short time off the balls of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. He did not stop even at Jasprit Bumrah and hit the veteran’s ball hard.
In his innings of 93 runs, he hit a total of 7 sixes and made many records in his name. He unfortunately missed out on a century after pulling a wide ball which was left behind in his stumps.
Marco Johnson overtakes the giants on Indian soil
In his effort to hit 7 sixes in an innings, he has left behind West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards and Australian great Matthew Hayden. After this he equaled Shahid Afridi.
It all comes down to the aspect of the record of hitting a huge six, as he became the second man to hit seven sixes against a subcontinent team in a Test innings. Shahid Afridi’s 19 year old record destroyed.
his seven sixes Also equaled South Africa’s record, equaled by AB de Villiers (against Australia in Cape Town in 2009) and Quinton de Kock (against West Indies in Gros Islet in 2021). Only Tim Southee is batting at no. 9. He has more sixes in an innings.
South Africa crosses 450 in Guwahati Test
With a brilliant maiden century from Senuran Muthusamy and a special score from Marco Jansen at the end of the innings and a supporting role by several other South African batsmen, the Proteas went past the 480-run mark and ended their innings at 487.
They were just 13 runs short of 500, which would have been the first such score by a visiting team in the Indian subcontinent in the history of the ICC World Test Championship, which began in 2019. South Africa are already ahead in the series and now in the game too.
Also read: India warn against overusing Jasprit Bumrah ahead of ICC T20 World Cup 2026
