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Feature

Racing to 50 in under 20

The fastest fifties in IPL history, featuring some of the world's mightiest hitters

ESPNcricinfo staff
Updated on 11-May-2023
Yashasvi Jaiswal takes a bow after his unbeaten 98  •  BCCI

Yashasvi Jaiswal takes a bow after his unbeaten 98  •  BCCI

Yashasvi Jaiswal, 21, ripped up the IPL record books, slamming the league's fastest half-century, off 13 balls. He made a two-paced pitch look like a belter to reignite their IPL campaign. Surprisingly, KKR captain Nitish Rana gave himself the new ball and the move backfired, with Jaiswal hitting 26 runs off the opening over. The other Rana - Harshit - wasn't spared either as Jaiswal chopped the fast bowler behind point and flat-batted him down the ground for fours. Jaiswal also laid into Shardul Thakur and brought up his half-century inside three overs. Jaiswal threatened to convert it into a hundred, but the target wasn't big enough. Eventually, Royals hunted down 150 with nine wickets and almost seven overs to spare.
Chasing 162, KKR slipped to 83 for 4 in 12 overs on a challenging Pune pitch. Pat Cummins, though, came in at No.6 and hoicked the second ball he faced for six. In the next over, Cummins took Jasprit Bumrah for a six and a four to raise KKR's hopes. He then smashed Daniel Sams for 6,4,6,6, 2 (nb), 4,6 to zoom to 56 off 15 balls and seal victory for his side.
For nearly four seasons, the record for the fastest fifty in the IPL stood at 15 balls, before KL Rahul went berserk with a flurry of boundaries on his debut for Kings XI Punjab. A fortunate top-edged six off Trent Boult kicked things off, before he unveiled an array of exquisite cover drives and pulls off Mohammad Shami's first over. At 27 off nine balls, the fastest fifty seemed some way away, until he smashed Amit Mishra's undisciplined first over for 24 runs to eclipse the previous mark by a single ball. He soon got out trying to whip Boult through the legside, only to be caught at short third man off the leading edge. By then, though, he had taken his place at the very top of a list of the IPL's elite hitters.
After their destructive opener Chris Lynn injured his shoulder early in the 2017 season, Kolkata Knight Riders experimented with Sunil Narine as a pinch-hitting opener. He got them off to some quick starts and showed enough ability to retain his position as an opener when Lynn returned. Chasing 159 in Bengaluru, Lynn and Narine decided they wanted to try and finish the game inside 10 overs. Both went ballistic, but it was Narine who raced Lynn to a 50. He went after fellow Trinidadian Samuel Badree, hitting him for three sixes in a row, before smashing three fours in a row off S Aravind. When he lofted seamer S Aravind into the stands beyond long-on, Narine equalled the record for the fastest half-century in the IPL.
Yusuf Pathan's innings came in his side's final league game, in which they had to chase 161 in 15.2 overs to get two shots at qualifying for the final. After being dropped twice early on in his innings, Yusuf made the most of it, mowing Dale Steyn for 26 runs in an over, ensuring Knight Riders closed out the chase in just 14.2 overs.
Chasing a mammoth 213 against Royal Challengers, Pooran came in with Super Giants still needing 114 from 56 balls. From 10 off five deliveries at one stage, Pooran ended with a 19-ball 62; seven of those deliveries were dispatched for six, while four went for fours. He reached his half-century off just 15 deliveries, mercilessly going after every bowler. By the time he was dismissed, Super Giants needed just 24 off 18, and would end up edging a one-wicket win.
Suresh Raina (16 balls), Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab,2nd Qualifier, IPL 2014
Raina's 87 off 25 arguably remains the best IPL innings in a losing cause, and his blistering hits took his side to the highest ever Powerplay score in IPL history. If not for a mindless run-out in the 7th over, Raina was well on his way to the fastest hundred in T20 history and putting the game to bed.
Gayle's innings is the only one on this list which resulted in a hundred. He went on to smash the fastest T20 hundred off 30 balls and finished with the format's highest score - an incredible 175 off 66 balls. Technically, his second fifty was even faster, taking him from 50 to 100 off just 13 balls. Among all his dominant IPL performances over the years, this innings remains his magnum opus.
Adam Gilchrist (17 balls), Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils, 1st semi-final, IPL 2009
Gilchrist's big-match temperament came to the fore once again, as he punished Delhi's bowling attack to get to what was then the fastest fifty in IPL's two-year history. He took particular exception to Dirk Nannes' first over, with five hits to the fence. By the time he got out, a Chargers win was all but sealed with nearly ten overs to go.
Morris walked in with Daredevils wobbling at 57 for 4 chasing 173, and hit 7 of his first 17 balls for monstrous sixes down the ground. However, even his fighting knock was not enough to overcome their slow start, as they lost a thriller by 1 run.
Sunil Narine (17 balls), Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2018
Just a year earlier, Narine had equalled the IPL record for the fastest fifty against the same opponent. This time, on home turf at the Eden Gardens, he reaffirmed his reputation as one of the most destructive T20 hitters going around. Virat Kohli threw all his spin-bowling options at him: first, Yuzvendra Chahal was carted all over the park, followed by some damage to Washington Sundar's reputation as a gun Powerplay bowler. It took the introduction of former KKR team-mate Umesh Yadav to halt his progress, by which time his 17-ball half-century had put Knight Riders in a position of strength: 65 for 2 after just 5.2 overs in a chase of 177.
Pollard put on one of his regular Wankhede exhibitions, swatting Knight Riders' hapless bowling attack, having coming in with 69 to get off 42 in a chase of 176. Rohit Sharma, who had already scored a half century when Pollard walked in, was left with little to do, as his partner's power and finesse reduced their tricky chase to a canter past the finish.
Fresh off some big scores in the Big Bash League, Chris Lynn continued his Twenty20 form in IPL 2017, scoring 93 off 41 balls in the tournament's third game. His knock contained eight sixes, five of which came before he reached 50. He and Gautam Gambhir chased 184 without losing a wicket, a record in the IPL.
On a batting-friendly track in Sharjah, after Glenn Maxwell had set up a tall chase of 192 with a marauding 89 off 45 balls, Miller walked in with 66 to get off 37 balls. His innings featured six hits over the fence, four of which came off Dhaval Kulkarni's final over.
This was Royal Challengers before the Gayle-AB de Villiers era, at a time when Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid were part of their top order. In pursuit of 204, Kallis and a 20-year old Manish Pandey put on 74 off 8 overs to keep the chase alive. Uthappa's innings was just the impetus they needed, as he carted the likes of Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla to every corner of the M Chinnaswamy stadium. When he finally perished, the game was RCB's to lose. Man-of-the-match Kallis and a young Virat Kohli duly completed the formalities.
Russell's knock came against a Kings XI side desperately looking for a win, having lost 8 of their 10 previous games. After putting up 183 on the board, they had dismantled the Knight Riders top order by the 11th over. Coming in as the last recognised batsman, Russell put on a magnificent display of power-hitting, before getting out with 25 to get off 19 balls. The lower-order almost managed to fluff it up, but Piyush Chawla's cameo at the end was enough for a 1-wicket win.
Daredevils vs Kings XIIPL

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