Saurashtra's veteran batter Sheldon Jackson who recently announced his retirement from white-ball cricket scripted history in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. Sheldon Jackson made his 100th Ranji Trophy match memorable as he etched his name into the record books on the opening day of their group stage clash against Assam at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday, January 30.
Sheldon Jackson becomes leading six-hitter in Ranji Trophy
Jackson's historic moment came during Saurashtra's final league game against Assam. He clocked the mighty feat of becoming the highest six-hitter in Ranji Trophy history. The 38-year-old veteran notched the massive milestone with a towering six off Assam pacer Rahul Singh, sending the ball soaring over cow corner.
That six propelled Jackson past former Indian wicketkeeper Naman Ojha, whose previous record stood at 143 sixes. Coming in to bat at number three in this crucial, must-win game for Saurashtra, Jackson contributed a valuable 48 runs off 86 balls before being dismissed by Riyan Parag. His innings included five boundaries and the record-breaking six.
With his 48-run knock Jackson also became Saurashtra's third-highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, with over 6600 runs. He now trails only Cheteshwar Pujara and Sitanshu Kotak in this prestigious list. Notably, Jackson is Saurashtra's second-highest century-maker in first-class cricket, having scored 19 tons, second only to Pujara's 25. With this Sheldon Jackson joined an exclusive group of just six batsmen who have smashed over 100 sixes in the history of the Ranji Trophy.
Sheldon Jackson joins a select group of Ranji Trophy batsmen who have achieved the colossal feat of hitting over 100 sixes. This exclusive club includes Manish Pandey, Paras Dogra, Saurabh Tiwary, and Yusuf Pathan. Since his first-class debut in the 2011-12 season, Jackson has proven his batting prowess, accumulating over 7000 runs.
In the current Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, Jackson has already scored 238 runs in seven innings riding on two half-centuries, during the first five rounds. Earlier this month, Jackson announced his retirement from domestic white-ball cricket, bringing an end to a distinguished 19-year career.
Throughout his white-ball career, Jackson played 86 List A matches and 85 T20 matches, scoring 2792 runs and 1812 runs, respectively. Despite his consistent performances at the domestic level, Jackson never had the opportunity to represent India at the international stage. He did, however, feature in nine IPL matches for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), scoring 72 runs.