Akash Choudhary makes history with fastest fifty in Ranji Trophy, hitting eight consecutive sixes

Akash Choudhary of Meghalaya broke the record for the fastest first-class fifty by reaching the milestone in just 11 balls, hitting eight consecutive sixes in his innings. He became only the third player to hit six sixes in an over

Surat: Meghalaya batter Akash Kumar Choudhary made history on Sunday by scoring the fastest fifty in first-class cricket and becoming only the third player to hit six sixes in an over during the second day of Meghalaya’s Plate Group game against Arunachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy at Surat.

The 25-year-old Akash also achieved a remarkable feat by smashing eight consecutive sixes, a record never before seen in this format. He raced to a record-breaking half-century in just 11 balls. His fifty surpassed the previous record held by Wayne White of Leicestershire, who reached fifty in 12 balls in 2012. Prior to that, Clive Inman held the record with a 13-ball fifty, set in 1965.

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Coming in at No. 8, Akash started his innings with a dot ball and two singles before launching the next eight balls for sixes to reach his half-century. He hit six consecutive sixes in one over, bowled by left-arm spinner Limar Dabi, during the 126th over of the innings.

Akash became only the third player in first-class cricket history to hit six consecutive sixes, joining West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers and former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri. South Africa’s Mike Procter also hit six sixes in a row, but across two different overs.

Sir Garfield Sobers was the first to achieve this incredible feat in 1968 when he hit six sixes in an over for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash. Nearly two decades later, Ravi Shastri repeated the rare feat during the 1984–85 Ranji Trophy season, representing Bombay and facing Baroda’s Tilak Raj.

Akash was playing in his 31st first-class match since debuting in 2019. Before this game, he had scored 503 runs at an average of 14.37, with two half-centuries to his name. He has also played 28 one-day matches and 30 T20s.