From Adam Gilchrist To Rishabh Pant: Test Cricket's Most Efficient Six-Hitters Ranked On Impact

Pant, Gilchrist, Stokes and McCullum ranked based on batting impact [Source: AFP]

Swashbuckling Indian batter Rishabh Pant achieved a historic milestone, as he went past Australian legend Adam Gilchrist on the list of batters with the most sixes in the history of Test cricket. The southpaw joined the 100-sixes club in Test cricket during the first match against Sri Lanka and went on to overtake Gilchrist in the decider at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo. 

Although Pant had a shaky start to his innings, even retiring hurt on day 1 of the Colombo Test, he regained his mojo after surviving a nasty spell from Asitha Fernando. The left-handed batter switched gears and took an aggressive route after a quiet start, eventually completing a valiant half-century and helping India breach the 400-run mark before the lunch break on day 2. 

Rishabh Pant among four elite six-hitters in Test cricket

(Batters with 100+ sixes in Test history as of August 24, 2026)

As things stand, Rishabh Pant has already hit 102 sixes, claiming the third position on the list of most efficient six-hitters in Test cricket. He needs only six maximums to go past former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who currently holds the second place with 107 sixes in 176 Test innings. 

While Pant has definitely made his mark as a six-hitting machine, the likes of Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Adam Gilchrist are the other players who have 100 or more sixes in the format. 

Stokes is currently at the top of the pile, with McCullum, Pant and Gilchrist following him in chronological sequence. But will the hierarchy order remain the same if we analyse their batting impact in Test cricket? 

Gilchrist has least sixes among the top 4, but does that make him a lesser threat to the opposition?

The data presented in the table above suggests that Adam Gilchrist has the fewest sixes among the four players with at least 100 maximums in the format. But interestingly, Gilchrist also has the highest percentage of runs through boundaries, a fact that logically makes the Australian legend a greater threat to the opponents. 

Ranking Gilchrist, Pant, McCullum, Stokes on Boundary % and Dot % (50% weightage)

(Ranking based on boundary % and dot % in Tests)

As evidenced by the data given in the above table, Ben Stokes has the lowest percentage of the boundary runs while playing the highest percentage of dot balls among the four most efficient six hitters in Test history. 

Gilchrist, on the contrary, has the highest percentage of runs through boundaries, while also maintaining the lowest dot percentage, making the most impact as a batter among these players. 

Also Read: Rishabh Pant Surpasses MS Dhoni To Become Greatest Asian Wicket-Keeper

The figures highlight that Gilchrist emerged as a threat to the opposition not only due to his explosive boundary-hitting but also the ability to rotate the strike more efficiently.

Factors other than strike rotation that cuts Adam Gilchrist above the rest

Endurance and longevity (10 percent weightage)

(Ranking on endurance parameter)

Upon investigation, it was found that Adam Gilchrist and Brendon McCullum didn't miss a single Test between their respective debuts and their final appearances in the format, unlike Stokes and Rishabh Pant. 

Pant's fitness concerns have limited his Test outings to 51, while India have played 77 Test matches since his debut. 

On the other hand, Ben Stokes took a bit of time to find his feet in Test cricket, and controversial incidents such as the infamous Bristol nightclub scandal periodically sidelined him from action. As a result, Stokes could feature in 122 of the 156 Test matches England played from his debut to his final outing. 

Where does Adam Gilchrist supersede Brendon McCullum?

Brendon McCullum and Adam Gilchrist showed remarkable endurance, but the latter's consistency as a destructive wicketkeeper-batter made him more impactful than the former in Test cricket. 

From his debut to his last Test, Gilchrist hammered the most runs (5570) among designated wicketkeeper-batters, leading the second-ranked Mark Boucher by a significant margin of 2071 runs. 

McCullum, on the other hand, underperformed as a wicketkeeper-batter from 2004 to 2013, claiming the sixth position on the list with 2803 runs at a modest average of 34.18. 

Moreover, Brendon McCullum is the only batter with a batting average below 40 among the 20 highest run-getters from his debut to his last game in the format. 

Runs in winning cause highlights Gilchrist's legacy as a Test batter (40 percent weightage)

(Ranking based on impact in won matches)

Adam Gilchrist batted at 6, 7 and 8 positions on 126 out of 137 times in his career. Despite playing for a star-studded team that included Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey and Michael Hussey, Gilchrist managed to score 77.78 per cent of his total Test runs in a winning cause. 

On the other hand, Ben Stokes proved his match-winning potential, contributing 47.49 per cent of his runs to the total when England won. Rishabh Pant is ranked 3rd on the list with almost 45 per cent of runs in won Tests, with Brendon McCullum occupying the bottom spot. 

Final ranking based on overall impact

We have ranked Adam Gilchrist, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant, and Brendon McCullum based on four parameters: boundary-run percentage, dot-ball percentage, endurance, and runs in winning causes. 

Adam Gilchrist emerges as the top-ranked player in three out of four categories, while claiming the second position in the endurance parameter, as McCullum played more matches than him in his Test career. 

We have kept 200 as the maximum points under the boundary % and dot % categories, while assessing the match-winning impact out of 160 points. The endurance level receives the lowest priority, with a maximum of 40 points. 

The top-ranked player gets the maximum score, which progressively reduces for the subsequent places. Thus, Gilchrist tops the chart with 97.5 percentile, with Rishabh Pant, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum claiming the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots. 

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