Surat, Nov 9 (NationPress) The Meghalaya cricketer Akash Kumar Choudhary made headlines on Sunday by achieving the fastest fifty in first-class cricket history, while also becoming just the third player ever to hit six sixes in a single over during the second day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group match against Arunachal Pradesh in Surat.

The 25-year-old player made waves by hitting eight consecutive sixes, a remarkable accomplishment that has never been recorded in this format, as he reached a record-breaking fifty in just 11 balls. This feat broke the previous record held by Leicestershire’s Wayne White, who attained fifty in 12 balls in 2012, and Clive Inman, who had the record since 1965 with a fifty in 13 balls.

Coming in to bat at No. 8, Akash started his innings with a dot ball and two singles before launching the next eight balls for sixes to complete his fifty. He struck six consecutive sixes within a single over bowled by left-arm spinner Limar Dabi during the 126th over of the innings.

With this achievement, he joins the elite company of only two other players in first-class cricket history who have managed to hit six sixes consecutively: West Indies cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers and former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri. Notably, South African cricketer Mike Procter has also hit six sixes in succession, but across two different overs.

The first to reach this extraordinary milestone was Sir Garfield Sobers in 1968 when he hit six sixes in an over for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash. Almost two decades later, in the 1984–85 season of the Ranji Trophy, Ravi Shastri repeated this rare achievement while playing for Bombay against Baroda’s Tilak Raj.

Akash was playing in his 31st first-class match since debuting in 2019. Prior to this match, he had accumulated 503 runs at an average of 14.37, including two half-centuries. He has also participated in 28 one-day matches and 30 T20 games.