A series of towering sixes

The just-concluded India - Pakistan Test series will go down in the record books as the series of sixes.

There were 49 sixes hit in the series -- 37 by Pakistan's batsmen and 12 by India's.

The first Test, in Lahore, saw 13 sixes being hit -- 12 by Pakistan and one by India.

The second Test, in Faisalabad, had a world record 27 -- 18 for the hosts and 9 for the visitors.

The final Test, in Karachi, where there was some assistance for the bowlers, had nine -- 7 for Pakistan and two for India.

Shahid Afridi alone hit 14 sixes and equalled the existing world record of most sixes in a series.

Mohammad Yousuf (7), Abdul Razzaq (6), Shoaib Akhtar (4), Kamran Akmal (2), Shoaib Malik (1), Inzamam-ul Haq (1), Younis Khan (1) and Faisal Iqbal (1) were the others to hit sixes.

For India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the table with 4 sixes -- all coming in one innings, at Faisalabad.

Irfan Pathan (3), Harbhajan Singh (2), Virender Sehwag (1), Zaheer Khan (1) and Yuvraj Singh (1) were the other Indians to clear the boundary line.

The 49 sixes is the second-highest tally of sixes in a series.

The 2005 Ashes had seen 51 sixes, but there were five Tests played in that series.

The 49 sixes by India and Pakistan batsmen are easily the maximum in a three-match series, eclipsing the previous record of 40 sixes, established in the New Zealand -- England series in 2001-02.

The 27 sixes in the second Test at Faisalabad also established a new world record of most number of sixes hit in a Test. The previous record was 23 sixes, in a match between hosts New Zealand and England at Christchurch in 2001-02.

The 18 sixes hit by Pakistan's batsmen in their two innings in the third Test (11 in the first and 7 in the second) also equalled the existing world record of most sixes hit by a side in a Test match.

Most sixes by a side in a Test

Most sixes in a series

Most sixes in a three match series

Most sixes by a batsman in a series

* - series venue