Samoa’s Darius Visser set a new record for the most runs scored in a single over in men’s T20I history during the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier against Vanuatu in Apia on Tuesday. Visser, in just his third T20I, scored 132 runs off 62 balls.
The 28-year-old Visser struck six sixes in a single over, amassing 39 runs off Nalin Nipiko. This achievement marked the fourth instance of a batter hitting six sixes in an over in men’s T20Is and the first time a team has scored more than 36 runs in a single over.
The record was set in the 15th over of Samoa’s innings. Darius Visser began by smashing the first three deliveries from Nalin Nipiko over the deep midwicket boundary. After a front foot no-ball, Visser capitalized on the free hit with a six over the leg side. The over also featured a dot ball when Visser’s straight drive struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
Nipiko then overstepped again, delivering another no-ball for height, which Visser pulled over fine leg for six. The final ball of the over was a low full toss outside off stump, which Visser flicked over deep square leg to complete the 39-run over.
Previously, there were five instances of a team scoring 36 runs in an over in men’s T20Is. The first batter to hit six sixes in a T20I was India’s Yuvraj Singh, who achieved this feat off England’s Stuart Broad during the 2007 T20 World Cup. West Indies’ Kieron Pollard matched this achievement against Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya in 2021, and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee did so earlier this year.
The other two occurrences of 36-run overs that did not feature six sixes occurred when the West Indies, led by Nicholas Pooran, scored 36 against Afghanistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and when India’s Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh combined to score 36 against Afghanistan, also in 2024.
Darius Visser is the first Samoa batter to score a T20I century. His 14 sixes are the fifth most in a men’s T20I innings. His score of 132, which contributed significantly to Samoa’s total of 174, represents the highest percentage of runs scored by a batter in a team’s innings, at 75.86%. This surpasses the previous record of 75.1% set by Australia’s Aaron Finch. The second-highest score for Samoa against Vanuatu was 16, made by their captain, Caleb Jasmat.
According to St George & Sutherland Leader, Visser grew up in Sydney and was initially a fast bowler. Persistent injuries and stress fractures led him to switch to leg-spin and batting. He also claimed a wicket as Samoa restricted Vanuatu to 164 for 9, securing a ten-run victory.
