IPL : Most sixes in the tournament history:

Chris Gayle 182 sixes - has huge lead

Here is the list of batsmen with most number of sixes in Indian Premier League. Undoubtedly Chris Gayle tops the list with 182 sixes in 60 matches. Till now only 3 batsmen have hit more than 100 sixes. Yusuf Pathan by hitting 4 sixes in the match between CSK and KKR is now one short to become the fourth player to hit 100 or more sixes in IPL.

Chris Gayle with 182 sixes has a huge lead over other players. Following him is Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma with 118 and 113 sixes respectively. Next two in the list are Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni, who are also the closest to get to 100 sixes in IPL. While Yusuf needs 1 more six, Dhoni needs 6 more big hits to reach the 100 mark.

A Jamaican cricketer

Christopher Henry "Chris" Gayle (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. He captained the West Indies' Test side from 2007 to 2010. He plays domestic cricket for Jamaica, and also represents the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League and the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League.

He has also represented Worcestershire, the Western Warriors, Barisal Burners and the Kolkata Knight Riders in his career. He was also selected for team Uva Next for the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League in 2012.

He is one of only four players who have scored two triple centuries at Test level: 317 against South Africa in 2005, and 333 against Sri Lanka in 2010. He is known as a big hitter, often hitting sixes; in 2012 he became the first player to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he scored a 30-ball century, the fastest across any format, that became the highest individual T20 score.

It eclipsed the previous mark set by Brendan McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders. At the launch of the Caribbean Premier League he was announced as the first franchise player for the league.

Early life

Gayle started his cricket career with the famous Lucas Cricket Club in Kingston, Jamaica. Gayle claimed "If it was not for Lucas I don't know where I would be today. Maybe on the streets." Lucas Cricket Club's nursery has been named in honour of Gayle.

International Debut

Gayle played for the West Indies at youth international level prior to making his first-class debut aged 19 for Jamaica.

He played his first One Day International eleven months later, and his first Test match six months after that. Gayle, who normally opens the innings when he plays for the West Indies, is a destructive batsman who is most effective playing square of the wicket. In July 2001, Gayle (175), together with Daren Ganga (89) established the record for opening partnerships at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo when they put on 214 together against Zimbabwe.

International career

However, generally speaking he had a slow start to his international career, but invigorated it in 2002, ending the year with three centuries against India in November and becoming the third West Indian to score 1,000 runs in a calendar year, along with Vivian Richards and Brian Lara. He is one of only six players in One Day International history to have three or more scores of 150.

In 2005, Gayle was dropped for the first Test against South Africa along with six other players following a dispute over sponsorship issues. He returned for the second Test but had a poor series until the fourth Test, where he made a match-saving 317.

It was the first ever triple century against South Africa and up until Mahela Jayawardene made 374, it was the highest individual Test score against them.

In another match of the series, Gayle had to leave the field after complaining of dizziness. During a subsequent series against Australia, Gayle again complained of dizziness and shortness of breath during his innings.

He left the field for a time, and was after the match sent to hospital where he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect causing a cardiac dysrhythmia. He underwent heart surgery following the series to correct the defect. In August 2005, Gayle joined Worcestershire for the rest of the English season, playing eight matches. He made two half-centuries in three first class matches and two half-centuries in five one-day matches, and won one Man of the Match award in the one-day National League. However, Worcestershire were relegated after Gayle made 1 in the final match against Lancashire.

Gayle was named Player of the 2006 Champions Trophy, where the West Indies nearly defended the title they won in 2004, being defeated in the final by Australia.

Gayle scored three centuries and totalled 474 runs, 150 more than any other batsman, and also took eight wickets in as many matches.

Gayle, in keeping with the rest of the West Indies team, had a poor World Cup in 2007. He recorded a series of low scores; the one exception being a blistering 79 off 58 balls against England in the West Indies' final match.

On 17 December 2009 in the Australia v West Indies 3rd Test Chris Gayle scored the fifth fastest century in Test match history. He reached the century in just 70 balls. However he was shortly after dismissed for 102 runs. This feat included a flurry of runs thanks to some big hitting sixes.

Sixes to pavilion

One of the sixes hit the Lillee Marsh stand's roof in a hit that was estimated by commentator, Ian Healy, to be approx 140 metres long. On 16 November 2010, he became the fourth cricketer to score two triple centuries in Test cricket after Donald Bradman, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.

On his return to Test cricket in July 2012, he scored 150 on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand. In November 2012, during the First Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Gayle became the first player to hit a six off the first ball in the history of Test cricket.