And in this era of T20 cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest power-hitting stages on earth. The event has seen numerous sixes of more than 110 metres since it was first launched in 2008. Be it Albie Morkel and Adam Gilchrist, or Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Liam Livingstone, a number of cricket’s most devastating stroke-makers have made their mark on the IPL six-hitting records.
Albie Morkel’s name appears at the top spot whenever fans look for the longest six in IPL history. The former all-rounder for Chennai Super Kings is widely recognised as scoring the record 125-metre six when playing against Deccan Chargers in the very first IPL season of 2008. But there is an essential statistical caveat: a compilation from the Indian Express notes that the same Morkel hit was 124 metres.
Over the years, six distances have been measured and reported slightly differently to arrive at that small difference. Not tested with the same measure-of-device technology (the one that we use now) during older IPL broadcasts. However, the big-hitter of Morkel continues to be the most common answer when asked about the longest six in IPL history.
Who Hit the Longest Six in IPL History?
Albie Morkel is a record of the big six in IPL history, most global have been scaled to 125 meters.
At 33m: Morkel struck the enormous six while playing for Chennai Super Kings against Deccan Chargers in 2008. The shot was in the inaugural season of IPL and instantly turned out to be one of the best displays of brute force this tournament has ever seen.
According to the IPL’s own published retrospective, Morkel’s strike measures at 125 metres while various other statistical compilations have placed it as coming in at 124 metres.
Either measurement, and it is an enormous hit. A six measuring around 125 metres is way longer than the max a cricketer typically hits these days in T20 cricket, as most sixes recorded come in at somewhere between 80-to-105-metre marks.
Top 10 Longest Sixes in IPL History
Here is a commonly cited list of the biggest sixes in IPL history:
| Rank | Player | Distance | Team | Opponent | Year |
| 1 | Albie Morkel | 125 m* | Chennai Super Kings | Deccan Chargers | 2008 |
| 2 | Praveen Kumar | 124 m | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Rajasthan Royals | 2008 |
| 3 | Adam Gilchrist | 122 m | Punjab Kings/KXIP | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2011 |
| 4 | Robin Uthappa | 120 m | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Mumbai Indians | 2010 |
| 5 | Chris Gayle | 119 m | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Pune Warriors India | 2013 |
| 6 | Ross Taylor | 119 m | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Chennai Super Kings | 2008 |
| 7 | Yuvraj Singh | 119 m | Punjab Kings/KXIP | Chennai Super Kings | 2009 |
| 8 | Ben Cutting | 117 m | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2016 |
| 9 | Liam Livingstone | 117 m | Punjab Kings | Gujarat Titans | 2022 |
| 10 | Gautam Gambhir | 117 m | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rajasthan Royals | 2013 |
However, others still recorded Morkel’s six as being 124 meters rather than the full length of 125 meters.
The players famed for extraordinary power with the bat have cleaved the record line this way. It also points to a quirky thing in the history of IPL: many of the biggest sixes ever recorded happened in the early years of the league.
1. Albie Morkel – 125 Metres
Albie Morkel is one of the topmost names in almost every IPL longest-six list.
NEVER GONNA FORGET THIS ONE Morkel hits massive six playing for Chennai Super Kings in 2008 against Deccan Chargers The well is usually listed at 125 metres although a couple of sources say it is 124 metres.
Morkel was especially potent, mixing height, pace and a brutal swing. Being a lower-order batter and bowling all-rounder, he had the ability to turn around matches in quick time and was an integral part of initial Chennai Super Kings teams.
Despite the IPL producing more and more bigger hitters his record has endured for a considerable amount of time.
2. Praveen Kumar – 124 Metres
One of the biggest surprises that came close to the top of this list was Praveen Kumar.
More than a power-hitter, Praveen Kumar was best known as a swing bowler. But he sent a huge six in 2008 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals that merely totaled 124 metres.
The fact there are the longest six records, but not only who is a specialist batsman is necessarily. Sometimes it’s just the right timing, bat speed and how the ball is hit in different directions that can create magic.
3. Adam Gilchrist – 122 Metres
Adam Gilchrist was one batsman who could rip any bowling attack apart with the brute force he possessed as an opening batter.
According to widely published IPL records, Gilchrist’s IPL career was one of big hits and even his 122-metre six against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011.
He had a very attacking game which made him perfect for T20 cricket. Gilchrist seldom allowed the bowlers to get settled, and he was one of the most dangerous openers in IPL as he cleared the boundaries right from the starting overs.
4. Robin Uthappa – 120 Metres
Next up is Robin Uthappa, who has claimed a 120-metre six.
The top-order batsman, who played through several franchises in his IPL career, gained the moniker of an aggressive stroke-maker. Among the tournament’s longest recorded sixes, his massive hit against Mumbai Indians features on the list.
Not that Uthappa could not play proper shots, there were those as well, but he was able to destroy the ball with raw attacking power.
5. Chris Gayle – 119 Metres
Chris Gayle is almost impossible to not mention in any discussion around the biggest six hitters in cricket.
In 2013, Gayle hit a 119-metre six (Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors India)
Proud and one of the main who had least got power hitting points to be reckoned with in T20 kind. Combined with the sheer size of his biceps, wingspan and horsepower he could generate when he used bat speed, deliveries that seemed unthrowable as sixes flew out of the ground.
Although Gayle may not have the official title of longest IPL six, his 357 IPL maximums is an impressive personal milestone. As reported by Indian Express, Gayle struck those 357 sixes in 141 innings at IPL.
6. Ross Taylor – 119 Metres
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor also features on the list with a six that reached 119-metre.
Taylor was more of a stalwart who scored runs through steadiness rather than solely average power from T20 cricket. However, his clean hitting led to some super huge hits throughout his IPL career.
Chennai Super Kings was on the receiving end of his six in the 2008 season, yet another sign of how many once in a lifetime hits were counted down during that first IPL.
7. Yuvraj Singh – 119 Metres
Aside from MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh was naturally one of the best six hitters for India.
In the IPL records, a six off that bowler has been registered at an almighty 119m – credited to the left-hander.
Before the IPL, Yuvraj was already known for his six hitting ability. His flamboyant cutting has got to be one of the best in his era and with that kind of clean swing, great timing and a compact batting style made him an attacking batsman on any pitch whether pace or spin.
Highlighted performances in his IPL career included the 6s he hit (in an over) during the 2007 T20 World cup, though that was not in the IPL.
8. Ben Cutting – 117 Metres
LEGENDS: Ben Cutting’s huge hitting – possibly the biggest ever in an IPL final
Maxwell’s 117-metre six has been recorded while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of IPL 2016.
Cutting’s 88 in that last final meant a lot because he contributed with bat and ball. Dube’s emphatic batting helped Sunrisers Hyderabad reach a defendable score which they defended successfully.
9. Liam Livingstone – 117 Metres
Liam Livingstone — a modern-day power hitter made it on the list in 2022.
A six hit by Livingstone has been recorded at 117 metres against Gujarat Titans while representing Punjab Kings.
The English all-rounder, who has established a reputation for remarkable power – particularly against spin. His wide range of six-hitting, clearing the rope from various positions, makes him one of the most dangerous players in T20 cricket right now.
10. Gautam Gambhir – 117 Metres
Another unexpected name that regularly appears on lists of the longest IPL sixes, Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir even hit a recorded 117-metres six during his IPL career.
While not blessed with extreme power, Gambhir was known for his technique and leadership abilities. This makes up for an interesting piece of IPL six-hitting history and thus, his name remains part of this list.
Why Were So Many Huge Sixes Recorded in the Early IPL Seasons?
The number of entries on the longest-six lists for most years is also interesting when you think about how many are in those very first IPL seasons.
Morkel, Praveen Kumar, Ross Taylor and Yuvraj Singh came up with big hits from the 2008-09 season. There are various reasons to consider why early IPL measurements include such exceptional values.
I would, however, like to address two of the caveats. Modern cricket employs more advanced tracking and measurement systems whereas in the past some of the figures were calculated via alternative methods.
Second, stadium dimensions vary. A batsman batting at a ground with suitable boundary geometry could be better positioned to score the longest six.
Three, the distance at which a six is recorded may vary depending on how a measure is taken. Where the ball lands is never the straight-line distance from where it landed in the air.
Which is why there should be a tendency to treat some historical IPL six distances as archive marks rather than precisely calibrated scientific efforts.
Longest Six vs Most Sixes in IPL History
Clearly, the longest six is different from the most sixes.
The long-six record measures how far a single hit is. The record for most-sixes is calculated by the total number of sixes (not just in a single match) that he has scored during his entire IPL career.
Chris Gayle career IPL six total (315): Chris Gayle is one of the greatest six-hitters in history and wildly successful, given that he holds the record for most sixes in his entire career. At the time of printing, Indian Express said Gayle with 357 IPL sixes was the tournament’s overall leader by that metric.
Thus hitting the longest single six by a player is not a requirement for being the highest six hitter in IPL. Career gains much more from consistency over decades rather than seasons
Longest Six in Each IPL Season
Also include a complete record for season-wise biggest six in IPL Albie Morkel (2008–124 metres)- The Indian Express compilation lists Yuvraj Singh (2009–119): Robin Uthappa (2010-120); Adam Gilchrist (2011–122)
Other notable season leaders include:
- 2008: Albie Morkel – 124 m
- 2009: Yuvraj Singh – 119 m
- 2010: Robin Uthappa – 120 m
- 2011: Adam Gilchrist – 122 m
- 2012: MS Dhoni – 112 m
- 2013: Chris Gayle – 119 m
- 2014: David Miller – 102 m
- 2015: AB de Villiers – 108 m
- 2016: Ben Cutting – 117 m
- 2017: Travis Head – 109 m
- 2018: AB de Villiers – 111 m
- 2019: MS Dhoni – 111 m
- 2020: Nicholas Pooran – 106 m
- 2021: Ruturaj Gaikwad – 108 m
- 116: Liam Livingstone – 117 m (2022)
- 2023: Faf du Plessis – 115 m
- 2024: MS Dhoni – 110 m
It also shows how big sixes have not faded over the course of the IPL era, even though who produces them has.
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Can Anyone Break the 125-Metre Record?
Records which stood since 2008 are hard to break but an IPL has always produced players who can hit with aplomb.
T20 hitters like Liam Livingstone, Nicholas Pooran and Tim David, as well as other one-dimensional batsmen, have shown that ball-boys need to be prepared for balls clearing boundaries much more than 100 metres. At least some recent six-distance measurements also seem more conservative and technology-sensitive than various older numbers.
This is not to say that a recorded six of 125 metres isn’t a big target still. And any modern player who were to hit a maximum that far would need its measurements to bear in mind the variable nature with which earlier distances may be measured.
Summary
Albie Morkel is generally credited with the longest six in IPL history, his mighty shot usually cited as 125 metres against the Deccan Chargers during the 2008 season. Other reliable published lists claim 124 metres as the distance and so we’ll go with Morkel’s six having been listed at 124-125m.
A couple of legendary names lie behind Morkel on that list, including Praveen Kumar, Adam Gilchrist, Robin Uthappa, Chris Gayle and Ross Taylor and Yuvraj Singh. Other batters of the modern era, including power holders such as Ben Cutting and Liam Livingstone also feature on this list, with individual sixes assessed at a mammoth 117 metres.
Note that the most interesting part of these records is — IPL has never stopped caring to evolve. Modern day new players show up with more powerful bats, bigger athletes and specialized hitting drills while modern metric technology squeezes even finer numbers out of the equation. But the big six to Morkel’s name from season 1 of IPL still remains one of the most active power hitting records in tournament history.
Some even believe that the longest-six record becomes more than a mere number for cricket enthusiasts. That is the fusion of bat speed, timing, strength, technique, launch angle and belief that makes a net maximum one SO entertaining in T20 cricket.
FAQs: Longest Six in IPL History
1. Which player has hit the longest six in the IPL?
The longest IPL six is by Albie Morkel (125 metres) in 2008.
2. What was Albie Morkel’s longest six?
Acclaimed 125 metres It is usually registered as such, though some sources write that it is 124 metres.
3. After Morkel, who hit the longest six in the IPL?
In 2008, Praveen Kumar hit a six for RCB which traveled around the distance of 124 metres.
4. Chris Gayle Destroying IPL Longest Six 2021.
Unlike the story of his record IPL six at approximately 119 meters long.
5. Break IPL six-distance record?
Modern hitters (actually no, but yes they can now?) No? The differences in measurement make it difficult to compare at all.
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