A new name has entered in the cricket history books — Akash Choudhary from Meghalaya. The 25-year-old right-arm pacer had stunned the domestic circuit by delivering one of the greatest batting showers ever witnessed in the first-class cricket.
On Sunday, in a Ranji Trophy Plate Group match to be played against Arunachal Pradesh at Surat, Choudhary crashed six sixes in one over and raced to a fifty in just 11 balls, rewriting record books in style.
The Rare Feat: Six Sixes, Eight in a Row
Coming in at No. 8 when Meghalaya were already cruising past 570, Choudhary made an dominant innings a record-breaking one. Facing left-arm spinner Limar Dabi in the 126th over, he hit six back-to-back sixes, joining an exclusive club, comprising only of Garry Sobers (1968) and Ravi Shastri (1985).
But he didn’t stop there. In the very next over Choudhary pledged tangle with TNR Mohith – hitting two more sixes and making it eight in a row – a feat never witnessed before in Indian first-class cricket.
Fittest Fifty of All Time in Indian First Class Cricket
Choudhary’s half-century took just 11 balls to score, ending the long standing record of Wayne White who scored a half-century off 12 balls for Leicestershire in 2012.
He reached the landmark in nine minutes, which also became the second-fastest fifty by time in 1st class cricket, just behind Clive Inman’s record of 8 minutes, made in 1965.
Choudhary came through unstoppable on 50 from 14 balls with eight sixes but no four! Meghalaya declared right after at 628 for 6 with the whole dressing room rising to applaud the seamer’s surreal knock.
Dominant All Round Performance
Choudhary’s performance was not just of his whirlwind batting. With the ball, he continued to make deliveries for his team.
He took one wicket in Arunachal’s first innings in which bowlers sent the batsmen back to the crease and then claimed two more wickets after Meghalaya enforced the follow-on against the opponents, who were left reeling at 29 for 3 by stumps.
This amazing all-round performance capped off a near-perfect match for Meghalaya who remain unbeaten in the Plate Group.
A Bowler Turned Power-Hitter
Before this innings the debut of Akash Choudhary was only known as a bowler. In 30 previous first class matches, he had scored only 503 runs, with an average of 14.37, however, with only two fifties.
But this innings showed another side of the pacer — one with the capacity of turning a match on its head through pure aggression.
Interestingly, he had got a glimpse of this batting form in the previous Ranji game against Bihar where he smashed four sixes in an unbeaten 60 off 62 balls.
The stats of Choudhary’s bowling prove his consistency:
First-class: 87 wickets at 29.97
List A: 37 wickets at 29.24
T20s: 28 wickets at 26.25
Now with the addition of the bat to his armoury, the Meghalaya all-rounder has become one of the most discussed names in the Indian domestic season.
Joining the Most Exclusive Club of Cricket
Only two men before him – Sir Garry Sobers and Ravi Shastri – had scored six sixes in an over at first-class cricket.
By being a part of that list, Akash Choudhary has authored a story which will be remembered forever in Indian domestic cricket. His 11-ball blitz wasn’t just a record – it was a reminder that cricket still finds new heroes from places unexpected.
