Akash Choudhary hits six sixes in one over during Ranji Trophy
Records the fastest half-century in first-class cricket in 11 balls
Achieved feat while batting at number eight for Meghalaya
Meghala's all-rounder Akash Kumar Choudhary scripted cricketing history on Sunday, becoming only the third batter in first-class matches to smash six sixes in one over. He also recorded the fastest half-century ever in this format, with the 25-year-old achieving this remarkable feat during a Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match against Arunachal Pradesh in Surat.
Representing Meghalaya, Akash faced the Arunachal Pradesh team during a Ranji Trophy Plate Group fixture. He blasted six sixes off left-arm spinner Limar Dabi in the 126th over, becoming only the third player to do so in first-class cricket history.
In the process, Akash reached his fifty in a mere 11 balls, surpassing the previous record of 12 deliveries held by Leicestershire's Wayne White since 2012, while Clive Inman made his 13-ball effort in 1965.
Joining Elite Company In First-Class Records
Akash's explosive innings unfolded while he batted at number eight, following a single dot ball and two singles before he unleashed his attack. Notably, no other batter in recorded first-class history has struck eight consecutive sixes.
His stint propelled Meghalaya to a declared score of 628/6, and placed him in the record books alongside cricketing legends Garry Sobers and Ravi Shastri, who also achieved this rare milestone of six sixes in one over.
West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers was the first to accomplish this in first-class cricket in 1968, when he smashed six consecutive sixes off Malcolm Nash for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at St Helen's ground in Swansea.
Seventeen years later, in 1985, Ravi Shastri emulated the feat, sending left-arm spinner Tilak Raj for six sixes during a Ranji Trophy match for Bombay against Baroda at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Akash Kumar's Rising Career
Akash Kumar made his first-class cricket debut for Meghalaya in late 2019. Before Sunday's blitz, he had featured in 30 first-class matches, scoring 503 runs at an average of 14.37.
Choudhary, primarily a bowling all-rounder, delivered a batting performance that electrified the Surat venue, drawing attention to India's emerging talent from smaller cricketing states.
