New Zealand pacer Tim Southee strengthened his reputation as the big-hitter of the cricket ball by overtaking former Australia captain Ricky Ponting on the list of batsmen with most sixes in the Test format.
Ricky Ponting had hit 73 sixes in a 168-match long Test career while Southee has trumped him in just his 79th Test match. He smashed Ishant Sharma over the long-on boundary to reach the feat and hit another big one against Ravindra Jadeja to go to 75 sixes.
There are only 14 batsmen on the list above him in terms of hitting the most number of sixes and the man just above him is former India skipper MS Dhoni, who has had 78 sixes in his Test career.
Southee’s innings of 30 runs helped New Zealand get a vital lead of 32 runs over India in the first ICC World Test Championship final in Southampton. New Zealand were guided by a fighting 49 by Kane Williamson while Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers on the fifth day of the final.