Colombo:All-rounder Thisara Perera became the first Sri Lankan to hit six sixes in an over in any form of professional cricket.
Perera achieved the feat during his unbeaten 13-ball 52 while captaining Sri Lanka Army in a group match against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club in the Major Clubs Limited Over List A tournament at the Army Ground in Panagoda town on Sunday.
During his knock, which had eight sixes in it, he also smashed the second-fastest half-century in Sri Lankan List A cricket.
The record for fastest fifty is held by former Sri Lanka allrounder Kaushalya Weeraratne, who smashed a 12-ball half-century for Ragana Cricket Club against Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club in November 2005. That knock, an 18-ball 66, consisted of two fours and eight sixes, including five off a single over.
The 31-year-old walked in to bat at No 5 with 20 balls remaining in their innings that was truncated to 41-overs-a-side. Part-time offspinner Dilhan Cooray was the bowler at the receiving end of Perera's onslaught.
Cooray went on to concede 73 in four wicketless overs while the match was abandoned with Bloomfield struggling on 73 for 6 in their chase of 318.
Overall, Perera is the ninth cricketer in the world to have achieved this feat in professional cricket, after Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter and Kieron Pollard.(UNI)
