Rajasthan's Parag makes IPL history with six sixes in a row

Dubai: Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag yesterday showed his sublime form as he became the first person in IPL history to hit six sixes off six successive legal balls.

The 23-year-old's powerful knock almost took his team's run chase past the line against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Coming in to bat at 8 for two, Parag smashed 95 off 45 balls but despite his knock Kolkata won the match by just one run.

Parag smacked England spinner Moeen Ali for five sixes in an over and then, after his partner Shimron Hetmyer took a single, hit one over the fence off Varun Chakravarthy.

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 last over.

Needing 22 to win in the final over, impact substitute Shubham Dubey, a left-hand batter, hit two sixes and a four off Vaibhav Arora who defended three on the final ball with a run out of Jofra Archer as KKR celebrated.

Kolkata remain in the hunt for the play-offs with their fifth victory in 11 matches. Rajasthan are already out of the final-four race.

The top four teams from the league phase will move into the play-offs.

Parag joined an elite list of batters to have hit five sixes in an over in the IPL after Chris Gayle (2012), Rahul Tewatia (2020), Ravindra Jadeja (2021) and Rinku Singh (2023) achieved the feat in earlier editions.