In cricket terminology, a pinch-hitter refers to a batsman who resorts to hitting sixes and fours in order to make quick runs. Usually, pinch-hitters bat in the top order or lower order to hit boundaries.
In today’s era of cricket, pinch-hitters are an integral part of a team as they can change a game with few good hits. Considering the significance of this type of batsman, we have listed here some of the most popular pinch-hitters of the game who are notorious for hitting frequent boundaries. Here they are:
1. Chris Gayle, West Indies
Chris Gayle is undoubtedly one of the most feared batsmen in one-day international (ODI) format of cricket. As a matter of fact, he has achieved records in almost every format of the game.
Fondly known as the Gayle Storm, he is known for his aggressive style of batting.
He is one of five players to get a double century, a feat he achieved in 2015 World Cup against Zimbabwe. In the same game, he equaled the number of most number of sixes in an innings (. He also scored the third most number of sixes (16) in an ODI series.
2. AB de Villiers, South Africa
AB de Villiers is another great hitter of the ball. Apart from being a dangerous pinch-hitter, he also has several records under his belt. Not only does he hold the record for the fastest fifty in the game, but he also got the fastest 100 and 150.
He also holds the record for the fastest 50 and 100 in T20 by a South African.
He is famous for his incredible inning of 149 runs against West Indies in 2015. He achieved this feat in just 44 balls. He also owns the record for most number of sixes along with Chris Gayle and Rohit Sharma.
3. Virender Sehwag, India
An ODI specialist, the Virender Sehwag holds a couple of records as a pinch-hitter. He achieved the record for the fastest triple-century in international cricket which came in 278 balls against South Africa. He even scored the fastest 250 against Sri Lanka for which he faced only 207 balls.
He is known as one of the most dangerous contender for an opposite side for his knack of hitting the ball for four and six.
4. MS Dhoni, India
A batsman extraordinaire, M S Dhoni is perhaps the best hitter of the ball during the final overs. He is an aggressive middle-order batsman and a wicketkeeper, who is highly regarded as one of the most feared players in limited-overs.
Once he settles on the pitch, he can destroy any bowling side in no time. When it comes to breaking records, the Indian captain has many feathers in his cap. His score of 183 runs off 145 balls is the second best individual score in the second innings. He was able to hit 10 sixes that was the fifth highest of any batsman in limited overs.
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