Akash smashes eight sixes to shatter cricket records

AFP, New Delhi :

Akash Choudhary hammered eight straight sixes and broke a string of cricket records on his way to an 11-ball half-century for Meghalaya in India’s Ranji Trophy on Sunday.

The four-day match against Arunachal Pradesh is being played in Surat in Gujarat.
Choudhary, primarily a seam bowler, came in at number eight with Meghalaya already 576 for 6 in their first innings.

He did not score off his first ball and then hit two singles before facing Limar Dabi.
The spinner grew increasingly bemused as Choudhary lashed a six off each ball of the over, a feat only previously achieved in first-class cricket by two of the game’s greats: West Indian Garry Sobers and India’s Ravi Shastri.

South African Mike Procter also hit six consecutive sixes but across two overs.
Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard and Herschelle Gibbs are among batters to have bludgeoned a maximum 36 runs off an over in limited-overs cricket.

Back on strike in the next over, Choudhary hit back-to-back sixes against off-spinner TNR Mohith to reach 50 off 11 balls.

The previous fastest half-century was 12 balls by Leicestershire’s Wayne White against Essex in 2012.
Choudhary took nine minutes to reach 50. In first-class matches where innings were timed, only Clive Inman, who took eight minutes to hit a 13-ball half-century in 1965 against Nottinghamshire, also for Leicestershire, has been faster.

After Choudhary failed to score off the next three balls he faced, his team declared.
He then bowled four overs taking one wicket for 10 runs as shell-shocked Arunachal Pradesh were all out for 73 in their first innings.

After Meghalaya enforced the follow-on, Choudhary took the first two wickets in the second innings to leave the opposition at 29 for 3 at stumps.
Cricinfo reported that in 30 previous first-class matches the 25-year-old had scored 503 runs at an average of 14.37, including two fifties.