Pakistan middle-order batter Ifthikar Ahmed smashed Wahab Riaz for six sixes in an over during the exhibition match between PSL teams Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday.
In the 19th over the innings, Riaz was bought into the attack and Ifthikar, who was on 58 off 44 balls smashed the left-arm-seamer for six sixes, scoring 94 of 50 balls.
Riaz, who is also the interim State Minister of Punjab, had conceded just eleven runs from his previous three overs. After Ahmed’s blitz, he finished with 47 runs from four.
6⃣ 6⃣ 6⃣ 6⃣ 6⃣ 6⃣ 💪
Iftikhar goes big in the final over of the innings! 🔥
Watch Live ➡️ https://t.co/xOrGZzkfvl pic.twitter.com/CDSMFoayoZ
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) February 5, 2023
Before Ahmed, 9 men have hit six sixes in an over in the past – Garry Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter, Kieron Pollard and Thisara Perera.
The game was halted in the aftermath of an explosion near the stadium with top Pakistani cricketers, including captain Babar Azam and Shahid Afridi, among others, were taken to the safety of the dressing room after a terror attack a few miles down the road in the Police Lines area, which left five people injured.
A senior police officer said that rescue work had been completed at the site and the injured had been taken to the hospital.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Sunday. It stated that the security officials were targeted in the blast.
The exhibition match was organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after pressure from Baloch fans that Quetta also gets the status of a PSL venue.
“As soon as the explosion happened, as a precautionary measure, the match was stopped and players took to the dressing room for a while. Later, after the green signal, the match resumed,” the police official said.
The ground was packed for the match.
Sports activity in Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province, has come to a standstill for the last several years due to fragile security situation and the constant threat of terror attacks.