Most Runs in an Over in ICC T20 World Cup

The record for the most runs scored in one over in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is 36 runs. The record was first set by Yuvraj Singh, who hit England fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in six balls during the 2007 T20 World Cup.

The record was finally matched in the 2024 tournament when West Indies scored 36 runs from one over against Afghanistan. Nicholas Pooran was on strike against Azmatullah Omarzai and produced most of the damage, although the over also included extras.

Yuvraj's performance remains unique because he personally scored all 36 runs from six legal deliveries. It is still one of the most famous batting moments in T20 World Cup history.

Most Runs in One Over in T20 World Cup History

Through the end of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, no team had scored more than 36 runs from one over in the main tournament.

Yuvraj Singh – 36 Runs in One Over vs England

Yuvraj Singh became the first player to score 36 runs from one over in a Men's T20 World Cup when he hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in 2007.

The match was played at Kingsmead in Durban during the Super Eight stage.

India were batting first and looking for quick runs at the end of the innings. Yuvraj came to the crease with the freedom to attack, but what followed went far beyond a normal late-innings cameo.

Broad began the 19th over.

Yuvraj hit every legal delivery for six.

Six balls. Six sixes. Thirty-six runs.

It became one of the most famous overs in cricket history.

Ball-by-Ball: Yuvraj Singh's Six Sixes

The over looked like this:

There were no wides or no-balls involved.

Every run came directly from Yuvraj's bat.

That makes his achievement different from some later 36-run overs in T20 cricket where extras helped increase the total.

First Ball – Six Over Midwicket

Broad started with a full delivery on Yuvraj's pads.

Yuvraj used his wrists and lifted the ball over the leg side for six.

At this stage, it simply looked like a strong attacking shot at the death.

Nobody knew that five more sixes were coming.

Second Ball – Six Over Square Leg

Broad changed his length, but Yuvraj was already in attacking rhythm.

The second delivery also disappeared over the leg side.

Two balls had now produced 12 runs.

England were immediately under pressure.

Third Ball – Six Over Extra Cover

The third six showed that Yuvraj was not only looking towards the leg side.

Broad bowled outside off stump, and Yuvraj opened up his body and sent the ball over the off-side boundary.

Three sixes had come from three balls.

The possibility of six sixes was suddenly real.

Fourth Ball – Another Six

Broad tried another change, but Yuvraj continued swinging cleanly.

The fourth delivery also went into the crowd.

Yuvraj had now scored 24 runs from four balls.

Every delivery was becoming more difficult for Broad because there was almost no safe length left.

Fifth Ball – Five Consecutive Sixes

The fifth delivery was also hit for six.

Yuvraj had reached 30 runs from the over with one ball still remaining.

The crowd knew what was possible.

Broad had one chance to stop the perfect over.

Sixth Ball – History

Yuvraj hit the final ball for another six.

The over ended with 36 runs from six legal deliveries.

Yuvraj became the first batter in T20 international cricket to hit six sixes in one over.

The moment immediately became part of World Cup history.

Yuvraj Reached a 12-Ball Fifty

The six sixes also helped Yuvraj complete one of the fastest fifties ever seen in international cricket.

He reached his half-century from only 12 balls.

At the time, it was the fastest fifty in men's T20 international cricket.

Yuvraj eventually scored 58 from 16 balls, including three fours and seven sixes.

His innings had a strike rate above 360.

India finished on 218/4.

Why Yuvraj's Over Was So Important to the Match

The six sixes were not just an individual record.

They gave India the late acceleration they needed.

Before Yuvraj's attack, England still had a chance to restrict India to a more manageable score.

The 36-run over completely changed the total.

India moved past 200 and eventually reached 218.

England responded strongly and scored 200/6, but India won by 18 runs.

Without Yuvraj's late attack, the match could have looked very different.

Stuart Broad Became the Bowler in a Historic Over

Stuart Broad was only 21 years old during the 2007 tournament.

Being hit for six sixes in one over was obviously a difficult moment, but it did not define his career.

Broad went on to become one of England's greatest Test fast bowlers.

He took more than 600 Test wickets and played international cricket for many years after the T20 World Cup incident.

That makes the 2007 over an interesting part of cricket history: one future legend created the record against another player who later became a legend himself.

What Happened Before the Six Sixes?

One of the most famous details from the match happened before Broad's over.

Yuvraj had a heated exchange with England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

The conversation increased the intensity of the moment.

Broad then came on to bowl, and Yuvraj responded with six consecutive sixes.

The incident has remained part of the story around the record, although the achievement itself came from Yuvraj's exceptional timing, power and shot-making.

West Indies Equalled the Record in T20 World Cup 2024

West Indies became the second team to score 36 runs from an over in a Men's T20 World Cup during their 2024 match against Afghanistan.

The match was played in St Lucia.

West Indies had started aggressively, and Nicholas Pooran was already looking dangerous when Azmatullah Omarzai came on to bowl the fourth over.

The over became one of the most expensive in T20 World Cup history.

By the time it ended, West Indies had added 36 runs.

Nicholas Pooran vs Azmatullah Omarzai – 36-Run Over

Pooran did not personally score all 36 runs.

He scored 26 runs from the bat during the over, while extras increased the total to 36.

Pooran hit three sixes and two fours during the over.

Omarzai also bowled poorly enough to give West Indies additional runs through extras.

The combination pushed the total for the over to 36.

That matched the World Cup record Yuvraj had set 17 years earlier.

Why the 2024 Record Is Different From Yuvraj's 36

Both overs produced 36 runs for the batting team, but they happened in different ways.

Yuvraj personally scored all 36 runs from six legal deliveries.

In Pooran's over, West Indies reached 36 because Pooran's boundary hitting was combined with extras.

For this reason, Yuvraj still owns the more famous individual achievement.

He remains the only batter to score all 36 runs from six legal balls in a Men's T20 World Cup over.

Nicholas Pooran Scored 98 Against Afghanistan

The record-equalling over was part of a brilliant innings from Pooran.

He scored 98 and came very close to a T20 World Cup century.

Pooran hit eight sixes during the innings and repeatedly attacked Afghanistan's bowlers.

His performance helped West Indies reach 218/5, which was their highest Men's T20 World Cup total at that time.

West Indies then bowled Afghanistan out and won by 104 runs.

The 36-Run Over Came During the Powerplay

One major difference between the two famous World Cup overs is the match phase.

Yuvraj's six sixes came in the 19th over, when India were attacking at the death.

Pooran's record-equalling over came in the fourth over, during the powerplay.

That made the West Indies start extremely fast.

With only two fielders allowed outside the inner circle, Pooran used the fielding restrictions and punished every loose delivery.

Most Runs Scored by One Batter in a T20 World Cup Over

For an individual batter, Yuvraj Singh still holds the record with 36 runs from one over.

All six deliveries were hit for six.

No other batter had matched that individual World Cup feat through the 2026 tournament.

Pooran's 2024 over equalled the team record, but only 26 of the 36 runs came from his bat.

That distinction is important when comparing the two performances.

Has Anyone Scored More Than 36 Runs in a T20I Over?

Yes, but not in the main Men's T20 World Cup.

In 2024, Samoa batter Darius Visser was involved in a 39-run over against Vanuatu during a T20 World Cup regional qualifier.

Visser hit six sixes during the over, while three no-balls increased the total to 39.

That became the record for the most runs scored in one over in men's T20 international cricket.

However, it happened in a T20 World Cup qualification event, not in the main ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.

The main World Cup record therefore remains 36.

T20I Record vs T20 World Cup Record

The two records should not be confused.

The 39-run over is the wider men's T20 international record.

The 36-run mark remains the record in the main Men's T20 World Cup.

Players Who Have Hit Six Sixes in an Over in Men's T20Is

Yuvraj was the first player to achieve six sixes in one over in men's T20 international cricket.

Several players later joined him.

Yuvraj remains the only player on this list to hit six sixes in one over during the main Men's T20 World Cup.

Why Six Sixes in an Over Is So Difficult

A batter has to clear the boundary six times without making a mistake.

The bowler can change pace, length and line after every delivery.

The fielding captain can also change field positions.

After two or three sixes, the bowler normally starts bowling defensive lengths, including yorkers or wide deliveries outside off stump.

The batter therefore has to adjust quickly.

Yuvraj managed to punish six different deliveries without missing once.

That is why the achievement remains so rare.

How Many Runs Can Be Scored From an Over?

There is technically no fixed maximum number of runs that can be scored from an over.

A normal over contains six legal deliveries.

If every legal ball is hit for six, the batter scores 36.

However, wides and no-balls do not count as legal deliveries.

This means an over can continue beyond six physical balls.

If a bowler keeps delivering no-balls or wides while also conceding boundaries, the total can rise above 36.

That is how 39 runs became possible in the Samoa vs Vanuatu T20I in 2024.

Most Runs in an Over in T20 World Cup 2007

The 2007 record was 36 runs, scored by Yuvraj Singh against Stuart Broad.

The over became one of the defining moments of the first Men's T20 World Cup.

India later went on to win the tournament by beating Pakistan in the final.

Yuvraj also played another explosive innings against Australia in the semi-final.

His six sixes against England, however, remain the performance most closely linked with his 2007 World Cup campaign.

Most Runs in an Over in T20 World Cup 2024

The highest total from one over in the 2024 tournament was also 36 runs.

West Indies scored those runs against Afghanistan.

Nicholas Pooran produced 26 of them from the bat.

The over equalled the tournament record for the first time since Yuvraj's six sixes in 2007.

Most Runs in an Over in T20 World Cup 2026

The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup produced many high-scoring matches and several new batting records, but the one-over record was not broken.

No team went past 36 runs from one over.

Yuvraj's 2007 over and West Indies' 2024 over therefore remained joint top in the tournament record book.

Yuvraj Singh's 36 vs Nicholas Pooran's 36

The simplest way to compare the two famous overs is to separate the team record from the individual batting record.

For the team record, both overs are equal at 36.

For the individual batting record, Yuvraj is clearly ahead because he scored all 36 himself.

Pooran scored 26, with the rest coming from extras.

Yuvraj's six consecutive sixes therefore remain the biggest individual one-over batting performance in Men's T20 World Cup history.

Who Holds the Record for Most Runs in an Over in T20 World Cup?

The record is 36 runs.

Yuvraj Singh first achieved it for India against England in 2007 by hitting Stuart Broad for six sixes.

West Indies equalled the team record against Afghanistan in 2024 during an over bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai.

Yuvraj remains the only player to personally score 36 runs from one six-ball over in the Men's T20 World Cup.

FAQs

What is the most runs scored in one over in T20 World Cup history?

The record is 36 runs in one over.

Who scored 36 runs in an over in the T20 World Cup?

Yuvraj Singh scored all 36 runs against Stuart Broad in the 2007 Men's T20 World Cup.

Who hit six sixes in an over in the T20 World Cup?

Yuvraj Singh hit six consecutive sixes against England fast bowler Stuart Broad in 2007.

Which bowler conceded six sixes to Yuvraj Singh?

England fast bowler Stuart Broad conceded the six sixes.

How many runs did Yuvraj Singh score in that innings?

Yuvraj scored 58 from only 16 balls.

How fast was Yuvraj Singh's fifty against England?

He reached fifty from just 12 balls.

Did Nicholas Pooran score 36 runs himself in one over?

No. West Indies scored 36 from the over, but 26 came from Pooran's bat, with the remaining runs coming through extras.

Which bowler conceded 36 runs against West Indies in the 2024 T20 World Cup?

Afghanistan bowler Azmatullah Omarzai conceded the record-equalling 36-run over.

Has anyone scored more than 36 in an international T20 over?

Yes. Samoa and Darius Visser were involved in a 39-run over against Vanuatu in 2024, but that happened in a T20 World Cup qualifier rather than the main tournament.

Was the 36-run T20 World Cup record broken in 2026?

No. Through the end of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, 36 runs remained the tournament record.

Sources

• ICC – Yuvraj Singh's Six Sixes at the 2007 T20 World Cup
  View ICC's feature on Yuvraj's iconic over
• ICC – West Indies Equal the T20 World Cup Record With a 36-Run Over
  View ICC T20 World Cup milestones
• ICC – Nicholas Pooran and West Indies' 36-Run Over Against Afghanistan
  View official ICC record report
• ICC – 39 Runs in One Over in Men's T20I Cricket
  View ICC report on Darius Visser's record over
• ICC – Players to Hit Six Sixes in an Over in Men's T20Is
  View ICC's six-sixes record list