India's Rohit Sharma breaks Shahid Afridi's ODI record

India's experienced batter Rohit Sharma surpassed Pakistan's former captain Shahid Afridi to become the leading six-hitter in the history of men's ODIs.

The 38-year-old achieved the milestone during India's first ODI of the three-match home series against South Africa, underway at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.

Rohit entered the fixture with 349 sixes to his name in the longer format, needing three more to surpass legendary Pakistan all-rounder Afridi, who smashed 351 maximums in his illustrious ODI career, comprising 398 matches.

The former India captain hit three sixes in his blistering half-century against the Proteas in the ongoing fixture, which bolstered his sixes tally to 352 in 269 innings, one clear of Afridi, who took 369 innings.

Most sixes in ODIs

• Rohit Sharma (India) — 352 in 269 innings
• Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) — 351 in 369 innings
• Chris Gayle (West Indies) — 331 in 294 innings
• Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) — 270 in 433 innings
• MS Dhoni (India) — 229 in 297 innings

Rohit also holds the record of hitting the most sixes in international cricket, with 645 maximums to his name; he is well clear of second-placed Chris Gayle, who has 553.

Afridi is third on the list with 476 sixes, followed by former New Zealand batting stalwart Brendon McCullum with 398.

Most sixes in int'l cricket

• Rohit Sharma (India) — 645 in 536 innings
• Chris Gayle (West Indies) — 553 in 551 innings
• Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) — 476 in 508 innings
• Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) — 398 in 474 innings
• Jos Buttler (England) — 387 in 401 innings