World Record: Abhishek Nayar bowls a 17-ball over

World records are generally something to cherish. In Abhishek Nayar’s case though, his world record is one he will probably want to forget. Nayar, the Mumbai allrounder, was bowling for West Zone against South Zone in the semifinals of the Deodhar Trophy at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati yesterday, when he was called for a wide. The umpire’s decision appeared to unsettle him, according to the Mumbai Mirror, and Nayar proceeded to compound the error by bowling a further nine wides and a no-ball, in a 17-ball over, tying the record for the longest over in first-class 50-overs cricket. The over actually started on a high, with Nayar bowling GH Vihari. It was his third delivery that was called a wide and started the meltdown. ”Off the next ball, an appeal for lbw was turned down and then started the torrent of wides,” the Mumbai Mirror reports. “He bowled three wides, all on the off side. A dot ball followed by another off-side wide. The legitimate fifth ball was a dot ball but he bowled the sixth ball seven times, in which there was a no-ball and an obvious free hit. Thirteen runs were scored off the 17-ball over.” After the match, Nayar blamed the wides on a lack of cricket. “These things happen. I had a bad day and I was not provoked by the umpire’s call,” he told the paper. “I was a little rusty initially but I’m happy with my figures for the day,” You can read the full story here