As the 2023 World Cup draws to a close, many teams are still fighting for a top-four finish that will send them to the semi-finals.
Due to the imbalanced bat-ball fight, many of the games have had an aura of predictability, even if the tournament has been full of upsets from lower-ranked countries like Afghanistan and the Netherlands. The bowlers' records have been called into question after many games saw the team batting first score between 350 and 400.
Bowlers' suffering has only increased as a result of the bigger bats and narrower boundaries used to draw in more spectators who like high-scoring games with plenty of sixes. Over the past ten years, rule tweaks have been made to encourage more lofty sixes as the 50-over format tries to stay up with franchise T20 cricket.
Given that, it is reasonable to anticipate bowlers to have been slapped for more sixes in the more recent editions.
Tinashe Panyangara of Zimbabwe, who was walloped for 15 sixes at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, previously held the unwelcome record.
The Kiwi hitters blasted Rauf for two sixes and 11 fours on Saturday.
With that in mind, here are the five bowlers who have given up the most sixes in a single World Cup.
| Rank | Player | Country | Sixes Conceded | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | Jason Holder | WI | 13 | 2015 |
| 4. | Rashid Khan | AFG | 14 | 2019 |
| 3. | Yuzvendra Chahal | IND | 14 | 2019 |
| 2. | Tinashe Panyangara | ZIM | 15 | 2015 |
| 1. | Haris Rauf | PAK | 16 | 2023 |
Image Source: Twitter
Jason Holder, a West Indian all-rounder, threw up 13 sixes in seven games during the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Despite taking nine wickets in the competition, the towering 31-year-old was the victim of a slaughter in a couple of encounters.
Holder was hauled to all areas of the Sydney Cricket Ground in the following game against South Africa, brimming with confidence after a three-wicket effort against Zimbabwe.
The right-arm pacer concluded with a woeful 1/104 in ten overs after commencing with numbers of 1/9 in five overs. AB de Villiers, his main destroyer, hit six sixes off his bowling in his 162* from 66 deliveries.
Holder was again subjected to a harsh thrashing in the quarter-finals against New Zealand, conceding six more maximums. Martin Guptill, who scored 237* from 153 balls, contributed five of the six runs.
It's no surprise that Jason Holder is on this list after allowing 12 sixes in two games, most of which came off the bats of two batters.
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Rashid Khan, maybe the most surprising name on the list, was not at his best at the 2019 World Cup.
Despite not taking wickets, Afghanistan's hero was not run out in all but one game versus England. On a benign Manchester surface, the 25-year-old was targeted by the hosts and allowed a frightening 110 in nine overs.
Eoin Morgan, the English captain, was especially harsh on Rashid, scoring a booming 148 from 71 deliveries with an amazing 17 sixes. The Afghan star was hammered for ten maximums, six of which came off the England captain's willow.
Rashid's poor performance seems to have harmed him, as he only took three wickets in the four matches that followed, capping up a disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign.
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Yuzvendra Chahal of India is another wrist spinner on the list thanks to an English assault in the 2019 World Cup.
Chahal, like Rashid Khan, conceded 14 maximums throughout the tournament, the majority of which came in the game against England. However, unlike the Afghanistan spinner, Chahal had been in blistering form, taking 10 wickets in his first five outings before the England encounter.
Jonny Bairstow, the 33-year-old's opener, smashed him for four sixes before all-rounder Ben Stokes took control with two maximums. It meant that Chahal, who is now out of favour, concluded his 10 overs with blistering statistics of 0/88.
The unflappable spinner was spooked in his next two appearances, picking up only one wicket each, including a wretched 1/63 in India's semi-final loss to New Zealand.
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Tinashe Panyangara of Zimbabwe had a forgettable 2015 World Cup, blasting up 15 sixes in six games.
While some came during Chris Gayle's double century, the 38-year-old was out for most of the games. Except for the game against Pakistan, Panyangara averaged above seven runs per over in all of his previous appearances, taking only five wickets.
Panyangara's total ODI World Cup statistics are poor, with an average of 97 and an economy of 7.22, and it's no surprise that he's second on this questionable list.
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Pakistan went into the 2023 World Cup with great expectations that their quickest bowler, Haris Rauf, would lead the assault with Shaheen Afridi. It hasn't been anything like that, though, as the 29-year-old has been destroyed in practically every match that the tournament has played thus far.
The express bowler has taken 13 wickets in eight innings, but at a startlingly high rate of over seven runs per over, he has given up runs. What has been frustrating about Rauf is that he has been a very costly bowler, giving up sixes in almost every game.
He was dreadful against Australia, giving up 83 runs in only eight overs as Mitchell Marsh and opener David Warner hit him for two centuries in a row.
He gave up 85 in 10 overs in the present match against New Zealand, including two maximums, to get to the top of the despised list.
Also Read: Virat Kohli's cricket journey from Under 15 to CWC 2023
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