India and New Zealand produced the highest six-hitting tallies by two sides against each other in a T20I calendar year. India struck 142 sixes and New Zealand 117 across five matches, beating Cambodia's 111 against Indonesia in 2025. India also became the first team to reach 400 sixes in a year.
Record Breakdown: Most Sixes Against One Opponent in a T20I Calendar Year
The five-match T20I series began on October 22, 2026, and the boundary-hitting stayed consistent throughout. Both teams finished above the previous benchmark, which had stood since 2025.
India's 142 sixes are now the most any team has hit against a single opposition in a calendar year. New Zealand's 117 rank second on the same list.
| Rank | Team | Opposition | Year | Sixes |
|---|
| 1 | India | New Zealand | 2026 | 142 |
| 2 | New Zealand | India | 2026 | 117 |
| 3 | Cambodia | Indonesia | 2025 | 111 |
Margin Over the Previous Benchmark
India's total exceeded Cambodia's 111 by 31 sixes, a gain of roughly 28 percent. New Zealand cleared the old mark by six, or about 5 percent.
| Team | Sixes | Previous record | Difference | Percentage above record |
|---|
| India | 142 | 111 | +31 | 27.9% |
| New Zealand | 117 | 111 | +6 | 5.4% |
Series Six-Hitting by the Numbers
Together the two sides hit 259 sixes in the series. Over five matches, that works out to an average of 51.8 sixes per game.
India averaged 28.4 sixes per match, while New Zealand averaged 23.4. Both figures are derived from the series totals and show that neither side was reliant on a single outlier game.
| Metric | India | New Zealand | Combined |
|---|
| Total sixes | 142 | 117 | 259 |
| Average sixes per match (5 matches) | 28.4 | 23.4 | 51.8 |
Why the Comparison With Cambodia Matters
The earlier record was set by Cambodia against Indonesia in 2025. Both teams in this series cleared it, which places the top two positions of the category in a single bilateral contest.
Abhishek Sharma's Role in India's Six-Hitting Output
Abhishek Sharma led India with 86 sixes across the 2026 calendar year. That figure equals roughly 21.5 percent of the 400-six mark the team reached.
His most productive individual innings came in the third T20I at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on October 27, 2026. He scored 113 runs off 38 balls, including 11 sixes.
Wellington Innings: Key Metrics
Sharma's strike rate in that innings was approximately 297.4. His 11 sixes contributed 66 runs, which is about 58 percent of his total. The innings is joint-second on the list of most sixes by an Indian batter in a single T20I innings.
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Runs | 113 |
| Balls faced | 38 |
| Sixes | 11 |
| Runs from sixes | 66 |
| Share of runs from sixes | 58.4% |
| Strike rate | 297.4 |
| Result | India won by six wickets |
India won that match by six wickets, with the innings forming the centrepiece of the chase.
The 400-Sixes Milestone
During the fifth T20I against New Zealand, India became the first team to hit 400 sixes in T20Is within a single calendar year. No side had reached that mark before.
The milestone came alongside the opposition-specific record, which makes 2026 the benchmark year for India's T20I power-hitting.
Key Takeaways From the Data
- India's 142 sixes against New Zealand set a new record for a single opposition in a calendar year.
- New Zealand's 117 sixes also exceeded the previous record of 111.
- The two sides combined for 259 sixes, an average of 51.8 per match.
- Abhishek Sharma contributed 86 of India's sixes in 2026.
- India are the first team to reach 400 T20I sixes in a calendar year.
Analytical Conclusion
The figures show that this was a series-wide trend rather than the product of one or two high-scoring games. Both batting units cleared the previous record, and India's total was well clear of every other tally in the category.
Sharma's 86 sixes and his Wellington innings illustrate the contribution of a single top-order batter to the team total. With the 400-six milestone now recorded, India's 2026 output sets a clear reference point for future calendar-year comparisons.