357 sixes. One man. Chris Gayle hit that many sixes in just 142 IPL matches, and nobody has come close since. To put that in perspective, the second player on this list needs 55 more sixes just to draw level. 

The IPL has been home to some of the biggest hitters in world cricket since 2008. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers, Andre Russell. All of them are on this list. 

All of them have crossed 200 sixes in their IPL careers. But Gayle is in a different conversation entirely. Here is the full top 10.

Most Sixes in IPL History: Top 10 Rankings

These are the ten biggest six-hitters the IPL has ever seen.

1. Chris Gayle: 357 Sixes

Gayle did not just hit sixes in the IPL. He made bowlers afraid to bowl to him. From the very first ball of an innings, every fielder on the boundary knew what was coming. 

Across 141 innings for KKR, KXIP/PBKS, and RCB between 2009 and 2021, he hit more than 2.5 sixes per match on average. What makes that even harder to believe is his batting average of 39.72. Most big hitters get out early chasing the boundary. 

Gayle stayed in and kept hitting. His 175* against Pune Warriors in 2013 remains the highest score in IPL history, and it came with sixes that the crowd still talks about. 

Six centuries and 31 fifties across 141 innings. This was not a slogger. This was a match-winner who happened to hit the ball harder than anyone else in the competition’s history.

2. Rohit Sharma: 302 Sixes

Nobody in this top 10 has played more IPL cricket than Rohit Sharma. 

272 matches across 17 seasons speak for themselves. But the interesting part of his 302 sixes is how he got there. Rohit does not try to muscle the ball. 

He reads the bowler, picks the right delivery, and then times it over the rope. It looks easy because the footwork and timing do all the work. That approach shows in his numbers. A strike rate of 132.09 is the lowest in this top 10, yet he still got to 302 sixes across 267 innings. 

Two centuries and 47 fifties for DCH and MI between 2008 and 2025 tell you this was a batter building proper innings, not just hunting boundaries.

3. Virat Kohli: 291 Sixes

8,661 runs for one team across 17 seasons. Nobody in IPL history has scored more runs than Kohli, and every single one of those runs came in a Royal Challengers Bengaluru shirt. 

The 291 sixes across 259 innings are part of that bigger story. People know Kohli for his running between wickets and his cover drives. What gets missed is that he has cleared the rope 291 times at a strike rate of 132.85, while also averaging 39.54. 

Eight centuries and 63 fifties across 259 innings show how often he batted long and kept scoring. 

The sixes were not random. They were part of how he controlled an innings from start to finish.

4. MS Dhoni: 264 Sixes

Here is what makes Dhoni’s 264 sixes different from everyone else on this list. He scored most of them in the final few overs, with the match in the balance, against the best death bowlers in the world. 

Across 278 matches for CSK and Rising Pune Supergiant between 2008 and 2025, he only batted 242 times. That gap exists because he came in so late that some games ended before he needed to bat. 

When he did come in, he hit 264 sixes at a strike rate of 137.45 and averaged 38.30. His highest score is 84*, which tells you he was rarely in long enough to make big hundreds. He was in just long enough to win matches. And he did that 264 times by clearing the rope.

5. AB de Villiers: 251 Sixes

Most batters have a preferred zone. An area of the ground where they like to hit sixes. De Villiers had no preferred zone because every zone worked for him. Over midwicket, over cover, over third man, behind square. 

He could go anywhere off any ball at any time. That is why his strike rate of 151.68 is the highest in this entire top 10. Across 170 innings for Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru between 2008 and 2021, he hit 251 sixes while averaging 39.70. 

Three centuries and 40 fifties show he was not just a big-hitter. 

He was a complete batter who also happened to be the most creative six-hitter the IPL has seen. His highest of 133* is proof of what he could do when he had time to bat deep.

6. David Warner: 236 Sixes

Warner batted in all 184 of his IPL innings. In every single match he played, he opened the batting. No retirements, no late promotions, no changing roles. Just 15 seasons of walking out first for Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad and making runs. 

His 236 sixes came at a strike rate of 139.77, alongside 663 fours, which shows he used the full boundary rather than relying purely on the big shot. An average of 40.52 is the second-highest in this top 10. Four centuries and 62 fifties from 184 innings show how consistently he built proper scores. 

He led SRH to their only IPL title and finished his IPL career in 2024 with 6,565 runs and 236 sixes as a lasting record.

7. Andre Russell: 223 Sixes

174.17. That strike rate is not a misprint. Russell has batted in just 115 innings across 140 matches for Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders between 2012 and 2025, and in those 115 innings, he has hit 223 sixes. Nearly two sixes every time he walks to the crease. He almost never comes in before the 15th over. By the time he arrives, most batters are still trying to get their eye in. Russell starts hitting immediately. 

His total of 2,651 runs is one of the lowest in this top 10, but that is because his innings are short by design. Just 12 fifties and no centuries across 115 innings. He is not there to make a big score. 

He is there to hit the ball out of the ground as many times as possible before the last ball is bowled.

8. Kieron Pollard: 223 Sixes

Pollard never played for anyone other than Mumbai Indians. All 189 of his IPL matches came in the same blue shirt, from 2010 to 2022. In that time, he hit 223 sixes across 171 innings, matching Russell’s total but through a very different method. 

Pollard was not chaos. He was calculated. He knew exactly which bowler to target, which fielder to hit over, and which delivery to wait for. A strike rate of 147.32 across 3,412 runs shows that the hitting was efficient and well planned. 

Sixteen fifties and a highest of 87* reflect a batter who could hold an innings together while still clearing the rope regularly. 

Five IPL titles with MI show how much that kind of smart hitting matters in the final overs of a close game.

9. Sanju Samson: 219 Sixes

Samson was 18 years old when he first played in the IPL. He is now one of the most experienced batters in the competition, and his six-hitting record shows how much he has grown across 12 seasons. 

Playing for Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals between 2013 and 2025, he has hit 219 sixes across 172 innings while scoring 4,704 runs. The thing that stands out with Samson is how his sixes look. He does not swing hard at the ball. He times it. The boundary clearing happens through clean contact and natural power, not effort. 

Three centuries and 26 fifties show he regularly bats deep when given the chance. He has also hit 379 fours alongside his 219 sixes, which means his boundary play covers all parts of the ground.

10. KL Rahul: 208 Sixes

The best batting average in this entire top 10 belongs to the man in tenth place. Rahul sits at 46.21 across 136 innings, and that number has held across six different IPL franchises over 12 seasons. RCB, DC, KXIP/PBKS, SRH, and LSG. Different teams, different roles, different batting positions, but the consistency never dropped.

 His 208 sixes came at a strike rate of 136.02, the lowest in this top 10, alongside 452 fours. That tells you Rahul uses six-hitting as one part of his game rather than the main weapon. Five centuries and 40 fifties across 136 innings show he bats long and he bats properly. 

A highest score of 132* is what that discipline produces when everything clicks.

Suggested Reads:

• Longest Sixes in IPL History
• Best All-Rounders in IPL History

Conclusion: Chris Gayle’s 357 Sixes Remain the Standard in IPL History

Gayle’s 357 sixes are the number every big hitter in the IPL is chasing, whether they say it or not. The gap to second place has stayed at 55 for years. 

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have built the two biggest run totals in IPL history alongside their six-hitting records. AB de Villiers finished with the highest strike rate in the top 10. Andre Russell hits at 174.17 and is still playing. 

Ten players have crossed 200 sixes in IPL history, and each of them got there through a completely different style of batting. That variety is what makes this list worth reading.

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