New Delhi [India], November 9 : The fastest first-class fifty by Meghalaya batter Akash Kumar Chaudhary, brilliant knocks from Prithvi Shaw, Paras Dogra and Vijay Shankar were the highlights of the second day of the fourth round of Ranji Trophy fixtures on Sunday.
Akash achieved this accomplishment during his side's Plate Group Ranji Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh in Surat. During the match, he reached his half-century in just 11 balls, a record in the format, smashing eight sixes in a row -a feat unprecedented in first-class cricket, according to ESPNCricinfo.
During the second day of the match, he smashed six sixes in the 126th over bowled by left-arm spinner Limar Dabi, joining an elite club including Ravi Shastri and Garry Sobers.
Coming at number eight, Akash started with a dot ball and two singles. It was the calm before the storm as the next eight deliveries he faced went into the stands for eight successive sixes. His half-century is a ball faster than the previous record holder, Leicestershire's Wayne White, who hit a 12-ball fifty back in 2012.
Meghalaya declared at 628/6 with Akash making 50* in 14 balls, with eight sixes and a strike rate of over 357. Arpit Bhatewara (207 in 273 balls, with 25 fours and four sixes), skipper Kishan Lyngdoh (119 in 187 balls, with 14 fours and a six) and Rahul Dalal (144 in 102 balls, with 12 fours and nine sixes) smashed brilliant tons.
Meghalaya had won the toss and elected to bat first. In the second innings, AP was skittled out for 73 in 27.4 overs, with Aryan Bora (4/16) being the leading wicket-taker. Amit Yadav (16) was the top run-getter as no batter crossed the 20-run mark.
Coming to the clash between Tripura and Assam, a brilliant 156 from Hanuma Vihari and a top-knock from all-rounder Vijay Shankar (150* in 143 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes) pushed Tripura to 602/7 declared. In response, Assam ended the day at 67/4.
Shifting focus to the clash between Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland, UP started the second day at 301/1 and Madhav Kaushik (185 in 374 balls, with 14 fours) and Aryan Juyal (140 in 205 balls, with 18 fours) piled up big runs at the top, registering a 214-run stand for the second wicket. Towards the end, pacer Shivam Mavi (101* in 87 balls, with 14 fours and five sixes) fired a quickfire century, taking UP to 535/6 declared. Nagaland ended the day at 77/4, trailing by 458 runs.
The defending champions Vidharbha, after posting a Dhruv Shorey (144 in 298 balls, with 11 fours and a six) powered 286 in the first innings, were in a dominant position against Odisha, with the latter ending the day at 122/6, with skipper Subhranshu Senapati (41 in 112 balls, with three fours) top-scoring for Odisha.
Prithvi Shaw, celebrating his 26th birthday, scored 71 in 92 balls, with nine fours. Maharashtra ended the day at 200/6, with Jalaj Saxena (34*) and Vicky Otswal (4*) unbeaten, in response to Karnataka's first innings total of 313, powered by knocks from skipper Mayank Agarwal (80 in 181 balls, with seven fours and two sixes), Ravichandran Smaran (54 in 84 balls, with seven fours) and Shreyas Gopal (71 in 162 balls, with nine fours). Jalaj took a four-fer for Maharashtra.
In response to Saurashtra's first innings total of 160, Kerala took a 73-run lead, posting 233 in their first innings. Half-centuries came from Rohan Kunnummal (80 in 96 balls, with 12 fours and a six) and skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen (69 in 145 balls, with six fours and a six). Jayden Unadkat took a four-wicket haul for 42 runs. Saurashtra ended the day at 47/1, trailing by 26 runs.
During the clash between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, after the former's bundling out for 211 runs in the first innings courtesy a five-wicket haul from pacer Aquib Nabi, J&K continued their domination as their captain Paras Dogra (106 in 183 balls, with 11 fours and a six) posted his 33rd Ranji century, with Abdul Samad scoring a quick 85 in 115 balls, consisting of 12 fours and a six. J&K ended their innings at 310, leading by 99 runs. Simarjeet Singh (6/52) took a six-wicket haul for Delhi, who ended the day at 7/0.
The 42-time champions Mumbai, who ended the first day at 289/5, went on to score 446, powered by Shams Mulani (69 in 122 balls, with nine balls) and Tushar Deshpande (38 in 66 balls, with three fours and a six) playing vital knocks. In turn, they had their opponents Himachal Pradesh seven down for 94 runs at the end of the day.