Guwahati, Nov 23: South Africa’s towering all-rounder Marco Jansen carved his name into the record books on Sunday, launching seven towering blows into the stands to set a new benchmark for visiting batters in India. His blistering 93 off 91 balls in the second Test not only swung the momentum South Africa’s way but also toppled a long-standing mark held by two of the game’s greats.
Jansen’s seven sixes are now the most struck by any overseas player in a single Test innings on Indian soil, pushing past the previous tally of six jointly held by Matthew Hayden (2001) and Sir Vivian Richards (1974). In the long history of touring sides labouring against spin-friendly conditions, no visitor had cleared the ropes as freely as the left-hander managed in Guwahati.
His hurricane hitting placed him alongside AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock for the most sixes in a Test innings by a South African, and only New Zealand’s Tim Southee — with nine sixes from No. 9 on debut — stands above him among lower-order demolition acts in the format. (Agencies)
