Riyan Parag becomes first-ever player to hit six sixes off successive balls in IPL history

Kolkata: Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag went past legends like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, becoming the first-ever batter to hit six sixes off consecutive deliveries in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Parag accomplished this milestone during the IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. During the match, while chasing 207 runs for his side, he came at 8/2 and braved the fall of wickets around him. When his side was reduced to 71/5, his 92-run stand with Shimron Hetmyer gave the team hope. He made an explosive 95 in 45 balls, with six fours and eight sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 211.11.

Against Moeen Ali in 13th over, from the second ball till the final ball of the over, Parag smoked him for a six for five successive balls, giving every part of the ground a feel of the cricket ball. In the 14th over, Hetmyer took a single on the first ball delivered by Varun Chakravarthy. Back on strike, Parag reverse hit Varun over deep backward point, scoring his sixth six on sixth successive delivery he faced.

He has gone past Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Tewatia, Ravindra Jadeja and Rinku Singh, who have all registered five balls in five successive sixes.

During the ongoing season, Riyan is RR's second-highest run-getter and overall at 11th, with 377 runs in 12 matches at an average of 37.70 and a strike rate of 170.58. He has managed only one half-century this season.

Coming to the match, KKR won the toss and opted to bat first. After Sunol was dismissed cheaply, a half-century stand between skipper Rahane and Gurbaz (35 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and a six) steadied the ship. A 61-run stand for the fourth wicket between Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44 in 31 balls, with five fours) and Andre Russell (57* in 25 balls, with four boundaries and six sixes) gave the innings much needed speed. Russell and Rinku (19* in six balls, with a four and two sixes) took KKR to 206/4 in their 20 overs.

Jofra Archer, Yudhvir Singh, Riyan and Maheesh Theekshana took a wicket each.

During the run-chase of 207 runs, RR was 71/5, but a 92-run stand between skipper Riyan Parag (95 in 45 balls, with six fours and eight sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer (29 in 23 balls, with a four and six) gave them a massive chance. Despite fireworks from Shubham Dubey (25* in 14 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Jofra Archer (12 in eight balls, with a four), RR fell short by a run, finishing at 205/8 in their 20 overs.

Varun Chakravarthy (2/32), Harshit Rana (2/41) and Moeen Ali (2/43) were the top wicket-takers for KKR.