After a breakout 2021 which saw him star for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, blast England 's fastest ever century in T20I cricket and impress at the T20 World Cup, Liam Livingstone has continued to show why he is one of the most exciting talents in white ball cricket.
In the IPL mega auction, Livingstone became a millionaire when Punjab Kings paid a whopping £1.1m to sign him, making him the most expensive overseas player at the auction. He has impressed at the tournament so far, scoring 293 runs at an average of 32.55 and a strike rate of 186.62.
And the 28-year-old struck the biggest six of the tournament so far in his side's eight-wicket win over Gujarat Titans. In the 16th over, Livingstone took India international Mohammed Shami to the cleaners, striking 28 runs off the over to win the match.
The over began with Livingstone hitting three back-to-back sixes, with the first going a whopping 117m. And former England star Kevin Pietersen was left gobsmacked on commentary, saying: "It's out the stadium!
"I have never seen a six as big as that one." Pietersen's fellow commentator labelled Livingstone's effort a "monster". Livingstone has now struck three of the five biggest sixes at this year's IPL, having also hit a 108m maximum against Chennai Super Kings and a 106m one against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Speaking after the win Livingstone, who struck 30 off just ten deliveries, said: "I didn't think I was going to bat at one point tonight so it was nice to go in and hit a few out of the middle.
"It's a big win. We needed it after some bad cricket over the last couple of games so it's nice to turn it around.
"I think sometimes we've gone a little bit too hard in this tournament. It's a massive win and will lift the camp a lot. I think it's all about learning. It's very hard to just go and play the way we wanted to play.
"As a new team to be really successful was going to be a big ask. I think we're learning as we go. It's still being as positive as we can but make sure we choose the right moments to do that."
