Meghalaya's Akash Choudhary was on total destruction mode on November 9 in the Ranji Trophy Plate group clash against Arunachal Pradesh. Choudhary scripted history as he unleashed an astonishing display of power-hitting, scoring his half-century in just 11 balls, a new world record for the quickest fifty in red-ball cricket. Batting at no.8 with his side already in a dominant position and seized the opportunity, powering Meghalaya to a massive first-innings total and a commanding lead.
Akash Choudhary's bold take on cracking 8 consecutive sixes
The 25-year-old's innings was particularly remarkable for his consecutive six-hitting. During his onslaught, Choudhary struck six sixes in one over. More incredibly, he hit eight sixes in a row, setting a new world record in first-class cricket and surpassing the feats of legends like Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri, and Mike Procter.
Akash opened up about his record-breaking innings, claiming he had initially aimed to hit 12 sixes. However, the opposing bowler made a clever change of plans, resulting in Choudhary playing three consecutive dot balls before his captain ultimately decided to declare the innings, bringing his whirlwind knock to an end.
"It's nothing like that, bowling is easy or not, but we were in a good situation, our team. So, my job was to accelerate the run. So, I hit the first two balls for sixes. Then my non-striker guy told me, Bhaiya, you can go for six. And that time I thought, I can go for six. Then by God's grace, I could have done 6 sixes. Then the seventh one, it was like my natural instinct took over. The seventh one wasn't planned," Akash told Times Now.
"The wicket was good. I was telling myself, hit straight, you can hit the ball for six. I was just going with the flow. And just trying to get as many runs for my team. Because this is a very important game for us. Because we have to get all the seven points. Yeah, I wanted to hit it (12 sixes). But the bowler said, let's hit 3 more. Then the captain declared," he added.
Akash revealed that his first brush to the cricket came through tennis ball cricket. He also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the significant role played by BCCI in fostering his improvement and development as a player.
"I used to play tennis ball cricket in Shillong. Then I played for my school. From school cricket, my association picked me up. And they backed me really well. Naba sir and all, Gideon sir, now secretary. They are very good with me. They support me. And the coaches I've played under, they just improved me. Thanks to BCCI, they conduct our NCA camps. Right from the 19, I'm doing NCA camps. And now senior also, they have also conducted NCA camps for us. It's very helpful for me, for a cricketer. As a cricketer, I'm improving day by day," the 25-year-old further said.
Yeah, definitely, Yuvraj Singh was on his mind: Akash
He then shared the mindset behind his record-breaking innings, revealing that as he neared the milestone of hitting six sixes in an over, two cricketing greats were on his mind: Yuvraj Singh and Ravi Shastri. He specifically mentioned Shastri, who was the only Indian player before him to achieve the incredible feat of hitting six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket.
"Yeah, definitely (Yuvraj Singh was on his mind). Because we have seen in Ravi Shastri also. I knew somewhere in red-ball cricket, Ravi Shastri was there. He hit 6-6s. After the third, I was going like, yeah, 6. I can hit, I can hit. You can see my video. After 6, I was like ya ya I did it," he concluded.