Swastik Chikara smashed 195 not out in 69 balls in the Ayodhya Premier League on Sunday (March 22).
21 sixes in 69 balls: Swastik Chikara misses out on double ton
Priyanshu Pandey and Chikara, the Gomti Thunder openers, batted through the innings to amass 307-0 in an Ayodhya Premier League game against the Hindon Titans.
Pandey remained unbeaten on 100 in 54 balls (12 fours, five sixes), but Chikara outscored Pandey by scoring 126 from sixes alone. Apart from the 21 sixes, he also hit 11 fours to score 195 not out in 69 balls. In fact, he needed 27 to reach a double ton when Pandey gave him the strike with five balls to go in the innings: Chikara hit six, six, four before missing a ball, then concluded the innings with a six.
In response, the Titans were bowled out for 218 as Shekhar Sirohi top-scored with a 33-ball 68. For the Thunder, Ritik Srivastava had 3-51 and Aravindra Verma 3-26, while Atif Sajid picked up 2-13 in his three overs.
Read: Swastik Chikara, Sameer Rizvi score 250s in national U23 tournament
Who is Swastik Chikara?
A hard-hitting batter who idolises Virender Sehwag, Chikara shot into limelight during his stint for the Meerut Mavericks at the 2024 Uttar Pradesh T20 League. He smashed 499 runs (the most in the league) at a strike rate of 186, and hit 47 sixes in 269 balls (more frequently than one an over).
Soon afterwards, Uttar Pradesh included him for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but he made 15 runs across four games. Nevertheless, he was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the 2025 IPL (Delhi Capitals did raise the paddle, but it came too late).
Despite not getting an IPL game, thus, Chikara was part of the RCB’s maiden-title-winning squad in 2025. However, they released him ahead of the 2026 auction, where he found no takers.
