Twitter image of Samoan batter Darius Visser.
Samoa middle-order batter Darius Visser on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) set a new world record for most runs in an over in T20Is, accumulating 39 against Vanuatu in the World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier in the capital city of Apia.
Visser hammered pacer Nalin Nipiko for six sixes in an over that also included three no balls.
The 28-year-old right-handed batter, who learned the ropes in Sydney grade cricket, was playing in only his third T20I, and comes with the reputation of being a genuine power-hitter, who once topped the shot-speed session by Hype Cricket Academy in New South Wales, clocking a shade over 160 kmph.
His big-hitting ability was evident in his knock against Vanuatu — 132 off 62 balls with five fours and 14 sixes.
“It was clean hitting (by Visser). We did not know it was a world record, and later it was mentioned during the innings break.
“But happy for him, and happy that we managed a win. Looking forward to the next match,” Samoa skipper Jasmat Caleb replied to a PTI query.
Samoa will face bitter rivals Fiji in their next EAP Qualifier match on Wednesday.
Previously, there were five occasions when a bowler conceded 36 runs in an over and they were Stuart Broad (2007), Akila Dananjaya (2021), Karim Jannat (2024), Kamran Khan (2024) and Azmatullah Omarzai (2024).
Broad conceded six sixes in as many balls against Yuvraj Singh of India in the 2007 T20 World Cup, while Windies batsman Kieron Pollard achieved the feat against Dananjaya during a bilateral T20I at Coolidge, Antigua.
Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee creamed sixes off Qatar’s Kamran Khan in the ACC Premier Cup, while Windies’ Nicholas Pooran hit Afghanistan pacer Azmatullah Omarzai for six sixes during the T20 World Cup this June at Gros Islet.
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh combined to take 36 runs off Afghanistan pacer Karim Janat at Bengaluru during a bilateral T20I that India won in the first-ever second Super Over.
Along with joining these big names, Visser, who also dabbles in coaching in Australia when he does not have international commitments, made another piece of history as his century was the first by a Samoan batter in T20Is.
The knock guided the side to a competitive 174 all out.
The next highest score in Samoa innings was 16 by Jasmat, and it underlined the value of his knock.
In reply, Vanuatu gave a strong chase but ended up at 164 for nine, losing the match by 10 runs.
Opener Nipiko nearly amended his waywardness with the ball with a 73 off 52 balls with six fours and three sixes.
He had good support from skipper Joshua Rasu (23 off 14 balls) and Tim Cutler (21 off 11 balls) but Vanuatu fell short.
