Stats: Martin Guptill breaks Shahid Afridi's record of being fastest to 150 ODI sixes

Martin Guptill made a memorable return to international cricket after a lengthy period on the sidelines due to a calf injury and immediately made an impact and struck five sixes in his knock. The right-handed batsman had missed the limited-overs series against Pakistan in UAE due to the same injury. He was initially named in the squad but was withdrawn after the injury resurfaced while preparing for a first-class game. Before getting injured, his last ODI appearance had come way back in March.

Unsurprisingly, there were apprehensions over how Guptill would perform when he was named in the squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. But the lengthy absence made little difference as he smashed a ton to put the Kiwis on top in the first ODI. The right-handed batsman scored 138 off 139 deliveries before being sent back by Thisara Perera. His knock was studded with 11 fours and five maximums.

At the time of Guptill’s dismissal, New Zealand were comfortably placed 274 for 3 in the 43rd over. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also played an impressive knock of 76 and added 163 runs with Guptill for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a big total and they posted 372 runs on the board in 50 overs. The high-flying hosts already sealed the Test series and will be looking to make the most of the momentum against the beleaguered Islanders.

Guptill hits Shahid Afridi’s record for a six:

Guptill, meanwhile, entered the record books during his 138-run knock. The New Zealand star broke Shahid Afridi’s record of fastest to 150 sixes in ODIs. Guptill achieved the feat when he hit his second six of the game during the 21st over, hitting a full-toss from Lakshan Sandakan over deep square leg.

The opening batsman took 160 games and 157 innings to hit his 150th six. On the other hand, Afridi had taken 164 games and 160 innings for the same. Indian opener Rohit Sharma, former Proteas AB de Villiers and England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan complete the top five of this list.

Here are the batsmen fastest to 150 ODI sixes:

(Stats and data as on January 3, 2018)

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