Meghalaya cricketer Akash Kumar Choudhary etched his name in the record books on Sunday after blasting the fastest fifty in first-class cricket history, achieving the milestone in just 11 balls during the Ranji Trophy Plate Group clash against Arunachal Pradesh.
The 25-year-old’s explosive knock also saw him become only the third player ever to hit six sixes in an over in the long format, joining the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers and former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri.
But Choudhary went one better — hammering eight consecutive sixes across two overs, an achievement never before witnessed in first-class cricket.
Walking in at No. 8, Choudhary began cautiously with a couple of singles before launching into a breathtaking assault.
His carnage began in the 126th over when Arunachal spinner Limar Dabi bore the brunt of six successive hits over the boundary.
Two more maximums followed in the next over, sealing his half-century in just 11 deliveries — faster than Leicestershire’s Wayne White (12 balls in 2012) and Clive Inman (13 balls in 1965).
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Sobers first set the benchmark for six sixes in an over in 1968 for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash, while Shastri matched the feat nearly two decades later during the 1984–85 Ranji Trophy, representing Bombay against Baroda.
For Choudhary, who made his first-class debut in 2019, this innings marks a defining moment in a modest career.
Before this match, he had 503 runs from 30 games at an average of 14.37, including just two fifties.
His latest heroics, however, have propelled him into cricket’s elite record books and turned him into Meghalaya’s newest sporting sensation.
