In a historic moment during the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier in Apia, Samoa's Darius Visser etched his name in the record books. The 28-year-old batsman showcased a remarkable performance against Vanuatu, smashing the men's T20I record for most runs scored in a single over. Visser achieved an incredible 39 runs in the 15th over of Samoa's innings, leaving the crowd in awe of his astounding talent.
Visser's remarkable performance included six sixes off Nalin Nipiko's, making him the fourth batter to accomplish this feat in men's T20 internationals. This achievement also marked the first instance of a team scoring over 36 runs in an over.
Visser started the over with three sixes over deep midwicket. The first one was short of a length and wide delivery outside the off stump, Visser moved across his stumps and hauled it over the midwicket fence. Nipiko corrected his length but his line was once again the problem. Visser got enough room to give it a full swing of his arms. The ball landed in the same area for another six. The Samoa batter completed a hat-trick of sixes when Nipiko tried to come closer to the stumps but once again missed his mark.
Also Read | India's forgotten hero smashes 9 sixes, 13 fours, tells selectors ‘I’m batting…'Darius Visser hits 39 runs in an overNipiko dished out a low full toss in the next delivery, which Visser mistimed to extra cover for no runs, but the bowler overstepped. The free hit was smashed over deep-square leg for the fourth six of the over. The fifth ball was a dot much to the relief of Nipiko and his team but the joy was shortlived. He bowled back-to-back no-balls after that. Visser blasted the free hit and extra delivery for two more sixes to complete six sixes in the over and take 39 runs (three no-balls) from it.
This outstanding strokeplay placed Visser alongside notable batters like Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, and Dipendra Singh Airee, who have also hit six sixes in an over in men's T20 internationals.
Visser's incredible innings ended with a score of 132 off 62 balls, including 14 sixes - the fifth-highest in a men's T20I innings. He became the first Samoa batter to score a T20I century and accounted for 75.86% of his team's total runs, surpassing the previous record held by Australia's Aaron Finch.
Samoa posted a total of 174, with Visser's score dwarfing the second-highest contribution of 16 by captain Caleb Jasmat. Visser also contributed to Samoa's win by taking a wicket, as they restricted Vanuatu to 164 for 9, securing a ten-run victory.
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