APIA: Samoa’s batter Darius Visser made history in the ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier match against Vanuatu, setting a new record for the most runs scored in a single over in T20 International (T20I) cricket.
The 28-year-old all-rounder, who was playing only his third T20I match, achieved the milestone during the 15th over of the innings at the Samoan capital, Apia. Visser, who had scored 46 runs from 34 balls before the historic over, went on to smash six sixes off the over bowled by Vanuatu’s Nalin Nipiko.
Visser’s record-breaking over yielded 39 runs, making him the fourth batter in T20I history to hit six sixes in an over and the first to score more than 36 runs in a single over. His explosive performance began with three consecutive sixes, followed by a no-ball that he also dispatched for six.
After a dot ball, Nipiko overstepped again, delivering a waist-high no-ball which Visser struck over fine leg for another six. He capped off the over with a final six over deep square leg, cementing his place in T20I history.
Prior to Visser’s achievement, the record for hitting six sixes in an over was held by Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, West Indian batter Kieron Pollard, and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee. There had been two instances of teams scoring 36 runs in an over; one by Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup 2024, and another by Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh against Afghanistan.
Visser’s innings was not just record-breaking but also match-winning. He scored a monumental 132 runs from 62 balls, including 14 sixes and four boundaries. His performance was instrumental in Samoa setting a total of 174 runs, which proved to be enough as they restricted Vanuatu to 164-9, winning the match by 10 runs.
Visser also contributed with the ball, taking 1-29 in his four overs, including the crucial wicket of Ronald Tari. Despite conceding 61 runs in his four-over spell, Nalin Nipiko excelled with the bat, scoring 73 runs from 52 balls.
