Rishabh Pant and Jos Butler have scored IPL fifties off 18 balls each, whereas as many as 12 players have scored fifties off 19 balls.
The quickest fifties in IPL seldom come by design. A batsman is feeling good about himself on a particular day, shots are coming off, the timing is there, the team has to chase a massive total, or he takes a liking to a couple of bowlers and bingo! It starts as a boundary bash, but a cameo turns into a half-century in a couple of overs.Given that the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League is in progress, let us refresh our memories with a list of the fastest fifties from 2008 to 2023.
Against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023, Jaiswal scored the fastest 50 off 13 balls, making a mockery of the KKR bowlers. He also remained unbeaten at 98, gifting a crucial win to Rajasthan Royal. The team reached the target of 150 in 13.1 overs.
In the IPL 2018, Rahul went completely berserk. He cracked a 14-ball fifty for Kings XI Punjab against the Delhi Capitals to break the record. In the second match of the 2018 season, Rahul registered the fastest fifty ever in IPL off just 14 balls. In 2022, Pat Cummins matched Rahul’s record by scoring fifty off 14 balls against the Mumbai Indians.
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Cummins celebrating his milestone
While Yusuf Pathan is a proper batsman, Sunil Narine is known for his agricultural swipes. But as long as the runs are coming, the manner doesn’t really count in T20 cricket.
Yusuf and Narine share the record for the second-fastest IPL fifty. Yusuf smoked the knock while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014. Narine took on the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers in 2017 to bring up a half-century off 15 balls. Pooran also scored fifty off 15 balls in 2023 against RCB.
With Chennai Super Kings chasing 227 against Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2014, Suresh Raina let loose. The southpaw took the Punjab bowlers to the cleaners and got to his fifty off just 16 balls. After bringing up the third-fastest fifty in the tournament’s history, he went on to smack 87 off just 25 balls.
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Ishan Kishan driving a ball over the boundary with all his strength
Ishan Kishan also holds the record for scoring fifty off 16 balls. His brilliant knock came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 2021.
Seeing the long list, it might seem child’s play, but each of the above batsmen has a pedigree. Seven batsmen have scored fifty off just 17 balls over the past editions of the IPL. The list includes three Mumbai Indian power players: Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard (former MI player), and Hardik Pandya.
Rishabh Pant and Jos Butler have scored IPL fifties off 18 balls each, whereas as many as 12 players have scored fifties off 19 balls.
It will be interesting to see if the 2024 edition will witness a new record.
