When Aftab Ahmed hit Justin Kemp for a massive six off the fourth ball of 36th over and followed it up with another mighty heave over mid-wicket two balls later, he established a world record that went unnoticed; well almost!
Aftab Ahmed's two sixes took the tally of sixes hit in 2007 World Cup to 267, which is the highest in any tournament in the game's history. Interestingly, the previous record was also achieved in the World Cup -- in 2003 edition -- which saw 266 sixes being hit. However those 266 sixes came in 52 matches, while 2007 edition has seen 271 sixes (upto the end of South Africa - Bangladesh match) in just 34 matches -- almost eight sixes per match!
The percentage contribution of sixes in teams' scores has also soared significantly. More than 12 percent of the runs in the 2007 World Cup (scored by batsmen) have come in sixes -- yet another record.
In the 2003 edition, sixes' contribution was about 8.5 percent of the total runs scored by the batsmen.
The following table lists the details of sixes hit in every World Cup:
| Sixes | Mts | Runs | Sixes/ Match | % Runs in sixes | Tournament |
| 271 | 34 | 13390 | 7.97 | 12.14 | ICC World Cup, 2006-07 |
| 266 | 52 | 18873 | 5.12 | 8.46 | ICC World Cup, 2002-03 |
| 153 | 42 | 14981 | 3.64 | 6.13 | ICC World Cup, 1999 |
| 148 | 36 | 14239 | 4.11 | 6.24 | Wills World Cup, 1995-96 |
| 126 | 27 | 11609 | 4.67 | 6.51 | Reliance World Cup, 1987-88 |
| 93 | 39 | 13821 | 2.38 | 4.04 | Benson & Hedges World Cup, 1991-92 |
| 77 | 27 | 11024 | 2.85 | 4.19 | Prudential World Cup, 1983 |
| 28 | 15 | 5767 | 1.87 | 2.91 | Prudential World Cup, 1975 |
| 28 | 14 | 4805 | 2.00 | 3.50 | Prudential World Cup, 1979 |
The country-wise break-up of sixes in the World Cup 2007 so far:
| | For | Against |
| Mts | Sixes | Sixes/Mt | Sixes | Sixes/Mt |
| Australia | 5 | 43 | 8.60 | 12 | 2.40 |
| Bangladesh | 6 | 14 | 2.33 | 26 | 4.33 |
| Bermuda | 3 | 6 | 2.00 | 22 | 7.33 |
| Canada | 3 | 8 | 2.67 | 16 | 5.33 |
| England | 5 | 13 | 2.60 | 8 | 1.60 |
| India | 3 | 21 | 7.00 | 8 | 2.67 |
| Ireland | 5 | 10 | 2.00 | 13 | 2.60 |
| Kenya | 3 | 6 | 2.00 | 16 | 5.33 |
| Netherland | 3 | 4 | 1.33 | 33 | 11.00 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 29 | 5.80 | 11 | 2.20 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 18 | 6.00 | 15 | 5.00 |
| Scotland | 3 | 5 | 1.67 | 14 | 4.67 |
| South Africa | 6 | 33 | 5.50 | 20 | 3.33 |
| Sri Lanka | 6 | 24 | 4.00 | 14 | 2.33 |
| West Indies | 6 | 29 | 4.83 | 19 | 3.17 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 8 | 2.67 | 24 | 8.00 |
| TOTAL | 34 | 271 | 7.97 | 271 | 7.97 |
Note: All stats are updated upto World Cup Match # 34 (South Africa v Bangladesh)
The Cup: Complete Coverage
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