'It won't change much overnight, but boosts my confidence' - Akash Choudhary after shattering FC records

For the first time in nearly 200 years of first-class cricket and over 90 years of the Ranji Trophy, eight sixes were smacked on the trot and a half-century was recorded off just 11 deliveries - a 'did-that-really-happen' moment, especially considering the batter comes from the backwaters of Indian cricket, from a North-East state. But Akash Choudhary of Meghalaya, who pulled off that sensational feat, is somewhat like - whatever.

"It won't change much overnight," he says, brushing aside the accolades with a smirk of casualness. "I still have to keep doing the same things - go out there, bowl for my team, take wickets, and bat according to the situation." The Shillong-born Choudhary stays grounded, unaffected by the magnitude of the achievement. "It should boost my confidence," he tells Cricbuzz as an afterthought in a telephonic conversation.

In these days of T20 cricket, with ready-to-splurge franchise owners, ubiquitous scouts, data-driven analysts, clouting eight consecutive sixes is a big deal. With an IPL auction also just around the corner, one might expect Choudhary to be excited about the prospects of greener pastures. But Choudhary, whose father is welder and mother a tailor, seems unfazed about likely prospects.

"It might help me, but I'm not thinking about it. Because none of that is in my control. I'm just playing cricket and focusing on my performance. I'll think about it when the time comes, but I'm not taking any pressure on myself." He had enrolled for the 2022 auction with a base price of INR 20 lakh and went on unsold.

His restricted optimism is understandable since that series of sixes, which were mostly over long on and long off, came against Arunachal Pradesh (one of the weakest teams in the country) in a Ranji Plate match, first off a left-arm spinner, Limar Dabi, and then against an offie, T Mohit. "When I saw the batter who went in before us, he was managing to clear straight for six - the wind was in that direction too.

"The pitch didn't have much bounce, and the ball was coming on nicely. I just thought hitting straight would be the easiest option, so I kept trying to go that way." He went past the likes of Gary Sobers and Ravi Shastri, who had smashed six sixes in an over in first-class cricket.

After his innings, friends sent messages and the Chief Minister of the state posted a message for him on social media. But no calls or texts from the big names of Indian cricket. Choudhary (25), in fact, did not know he brought up the fastest half century - off 11 deliveries - in first class cricket, until a BCCI analyst told him at Tea break (on the second day of the match against in Surat a few days ago).

"At that time, I was not aware. At the break, the BCCI video analyst told me about it. It felt good. I didn't go in with any plan; I just wanted to bat with positive intent. That's why I scored so many. And yes, the match situation also helped me," says the 25-year-old economics graduate.

Meghalaya were in a good position and they were looking to declare on reaching 600. "We wanted to declare our innings as soon as possible, around the 600-run mark, so my aim was just to go out there and express myself." The team went on to comfortably complete an innings win.

A right-arm pacer - a Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya fan - he calls himself a bowling all-rounder. The indigenous North-East player started cricket with tennis ball matches, then went on to play some inter-school games and finally regional tournaments before he caught the attention of scouts in the trials organised by the BCCI/NCA for the North-East players. "The journey started from there." He made his debut for the state, in all three formats, in 2019.

So what next in the journey? "Nothing. We just have one league game left (vs Manipur) - and it's an important one for us. If we want to reach the final, we have to do well there. We've already lost (the opportunity to win) two games because of rain, so this last match really matters. As a team, our goal is to move up to the Elite group in all three formats - and stay there."