'Never seen a six as big as that one' - Kevin Pietersen on Liam Livingstone's colossal 117-metre strike

Liam Livingstone left the cricket world in awe on Tuesday (May 3), smoking the biggest six of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 so far. The Punjab Kings batter took on Gujarat Titans pacer Mohammed Shami in the 16th over of the innings and smoked a gigantic 117-metre six over deep square leg. Even Shami was impressed with the hit while PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal couldn’t believe his eyes.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who was in the commentary panel, was among many to praise the Englishman for the astonishing strike. Pietersen, who was himself known for his big-hitting capabilities, admitted he has never seen a six longer than that of Livingstone. “I have never seen a six as big as that one”, said the former England international.

Meanwhile, Livingstone’s arrival at the crease escalated the proceedings as the dasher wasted no time whatsoever and took PBKS over the line. He gathered 28 runs of Shami’s over and finished with an unbeaten 30 off just 10 deliveries. As a result, the Mayank Agarwal-led side chased down the target of 144 in just 16 overs, clinching the contest by eight wickets.

Nice to go out and hit a few out the middle: Liam Livingstone

“Swinging hard enough. I didn’t think I was going to bat at one point, nice to go out and hit a few out the middle. I thought Shikhar played beautifully to set it up, and Bhanu [Rajapaksa] with that partnership. It was a big win for us and we needed it, we have played some bad cricket in the last couple of games and it is nice to turn it around,” said Livingstone after the game.

“We know our roles and also if Mayank is there [in the middle-order] we have more stability. It is all about learning, it is hard to go in and play the way we wanted to as a new team. We played a bit smarter today and you have to play like that on such pitches,” he added.