Srinagar: Talented batter and Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag wrote his name in history books as he become first ever player to hit six sixes off six consecutive balls in the history of IPL. However, Parag’s effort went in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan by one-run at the Eden Gardens.
Chasing 207 for victory, Rajasthan had slipped to 71-5 in the eighth over. Captain Parag then waged a lone battle, smashing 95 off 45 balls which included six consecutive across two overs in Kolkata.
The 23-year-old’s blitz, which included a wide in between the fourth and fifth six, began with him smashing former England spinner Moeen Ali for five sixes in an over. Then, after his partner Shimron Hetmyer took a single, he hit one over the fence off Varun Chakravarthy in the next over.
He went past Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Rinku Singh, who all had hit five successive sixes. Coincidentally, all these instances came during the second innings of the match.
Parag, who is leading the team in the absence of regular skipper Sanju Samson, added 92 with Hetmyer but after their departures Rajasthan finished on 205-8 after a tense final over.
Chasing 207, RR were 102 for 5 in 12 overs. Shimron Hetmyer took a single off the first ball of the 13th, bowled by Moeen Ali, to bring Parag on strike. Parag deposited the next four deliveries over either the long-on or square-leg boundary. Trying to get away from Parag’s hitting arc, Moeen ended up bowling a wide next up. There was no respite, though, as Parag launched the next delivery over long-off. In the next over, Hetmyer once again took a single first ball, and Parag reverse-swept Varun Chakravarthy over backward point to make it six sixes in a row. RR, though, lost the match by one run.
Kolkata remain in the hunt for the play-offs with their fifth victory in 11 matches while Rajasthan are already out of the qualification race.
All-rounder Andre Russell had set up victory for three-time champions Kolkata as he struck form with an unbeaten 57 off 25 balls that took Kolkata to 206-4.
In reply, Moeen and fellow spinner Chakravarthy took two wickets each to dent the Royals.
Fourteen-year-old IPL sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the first to go on four for his second successive flop after he became an overnight sensation with his 35-ball ton earlier this week.
Moeen struck on his fifth ball in the second over of the chase and soon got the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Chakravarthy then snared two wickets in three balls including wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga, both out for a duck.
Parag and Hetmyer, who hit 29, then brought Rajasthan back into the contest, but fast bowler Harshit Rana removed both players in two overs.
Earlier, Kolkata’s Afghanistan opener Rahmanaullah Gurbaz and captain Ajinkya Rahane set the pace in their second-wicket partnership of 56 after Sunil Narine’s early departure.
Gurbaz made 35 and Rahane hit 30 before Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who hit 44, and Russell upped the scoring.
After the match, Rajasthan captain Parag said the record did not mean much to him as his team lost.
“I was just too sad about myself getting out. Probably a miscalculation from my side, I should have finished it. I think we could have found better options in the last six overs,” Parag said.
“I think they were 120 or 130 and our spinners did really well. Maybe we could have cut down their runs, but the game was in our hands. We should have finished this.”
