The maximum maximum men

10. Kieron Pollard, 125 sixes in 97 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 38%

There are not too many grounds in world cricket which Kieron Pollard cannot clear with his powerful forearms, and it is no surprise that he features on this list despite playing far fewer innings than most of the others. Pollard's sixes are among the biggest in the tournament, and his match-winning contributions with both bat and ball have arguably made him Mumbai Indians' most valuable player over the years.

9. Yuvraj Singh, 133 sixes in 105 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 34%

One of the cleanest hitters of his generation, Yuvraj has made it a habit of depositing cricket balls onto rooftops of stadia. Yuvraj's ball-striking abilities, combined with a six-hitting map that extends across the entire wagon wheel, have produced some of IPL's finest batting displays over the years.

8. David Warner, 134 sixes in 100 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 24%'

Warner has repeatedly spoken about his philosophy of defending balls in his weak zone, and his ability to do so has been among the biggest changes in his game since he started off in the IPL. Earlier, his blistering starts would end with a rash shot while trying to accelerate. His ability to desist has coincided with some of his best six-hitting seasons, culminating in 31 sixes in 2016, when he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first IPL title.

7. MS Dhoni, 140 sixes in 128 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 26%

The hitter of the most famous six in Indian cricket history has, over nine seasons, built a reputation of taking games deep into the death overs and pulling the trigger right in the nick of time. While his strike rate has dipped over the past few seasons, he remains among the most reliable finishers in the format, with a knack of muscling the most effortless sixes across the park.

6. Yusuf Pathan, 140 sixes in 122 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 30%

Yusuf's big-hitting abilities for Baroda earned him a spot in India's squad for the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Since the beginning of the IPL, his career has come a full circle - first the realisation of his all-too-known potential, followed by a lengthy lull where he has failed to put together innings of note in the tournament. What has not changed, though, is his place as one of Indian cricket's most merciless hitters of the ball, a fact reflected in his strike rate of 146.78, despite going through multiple middling seasons.

5. AB de Villiers, 141 sixes in 109 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 26%

De Villiers has excelled in multiple roles over nine seasons in the IPL - as a finisher first, followed by a deserved shift up the order, where he continues to plunder bowling attacks for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Among the most consistent conjurers of outrageous shots that come with a please-don't-try-this-at-home warning, his six-hitting history - from 13 sixes in 21 games in 2008-09 to 37 only in the 2016 season - goes some way to explaining his rise as one of modern cricket's most destructive batsmen.

4. Virat Kohli, 148 sixes in 131 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 22%

Warner once spoke about Kohli being a "conventional player, who knows he cannot be like Gayle or de Villiers". The reference was in a positive context, with Warner praising Kohli's ability to score across the field with proper cricketing shots, without needing to clear the boundary all the time. While this remains true - Kohli gets 35% of his runs from fours - Kohli's record-breaking 2016 season meant he has now leapfrogged a number of 'traditional' six-hitters.

3. Suresh Raina, 160 sixes in 143 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 23%

When he hangs up his boots some day, one of the most lasting sights from Raina's career would be him in a yellow jersey, playing one of his powerful flicks over midwicket, or lofting a barely believable six over the cover boundary. Raina has been among the IPL's most consistent performers over the years, and this reflects in his place as the tournament's second-highest run-scorer of all time.

2. Rohit Sharma, 163 sixes in 138 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 25%

At one point, during the first few seasons of the IPL, Rohit Sharma was known as the man who could pull off late-innings heists with feisty displays of six-hitting during tight chases. Since his move to Mumbai Indians, he has metamorphosed into a consistent opener, the position where T20s' most impactful batsmen bat.

1. Chris Gayle, 251 sixes in 91 innings

Percentage of IPL runs in sixes - 44%

The title of Gayle's autobiography, Six Machine, apart from being a cheeky innuendo, is explained by jaw-dropping numbers in the game's shortest format. An astounding 44% of his runs come from sixes, and despite having played 47 fewer innings, he has hit 54% more sixes than his nearest competitor on this list. All this despite suffering a dip in form during the 2014 season.