Kolkata Knight Riders’ Pat Cummins hit the form of his life yesterday, hitting an unbeaten knock of 56 runs in just 15 balls. Not only was he able to cross the half-century in just 14 deliveries, but now has also become the quickest half-century record holder along with K.L. Rahul in the IPL.
Cummins also helped KKR register their third win of the tournament after beating Mumbai Indians, who lost their third straight match. This got us thinking, who are the other entries on the list to achieve this feat? Here’s what we found.
1) K.L. Rahul – 14 balls vs Delhi Capitals, Mohali (2018)
K.L. Rahul is known to be one of the best ball strikers in competition for quite some time now. This was put on display back in April 2018, when K.L’s team Punjab Kings were facing-off against Delhi Capitals. While chasing down Delhi’s target of 167, Rahul hit the half-century mark in just 14-balls, including 6 boundaries and 4 sixes!
2) Yusuf Pathan – 15 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata (2014)
While the all-rounder may be enjoying his retirement in the commentary box nowadays, no one can forget his memorable knock against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata back in 2014. The right-hander took the Hyderbad team’s bowler to the cleaners, after hitting 50 runs in just 15 balls. In the end, Yusuf walked away with 72 runs out of just 22 deliveries, with 5 boundaries and 7 sixes.
3) Sunil Narine – 15 balls vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru (2017)
Back in 2017, yet again Kolkata Knight Riders were given the task of chasing a target of 159 runs by Royal Challengers Bangalore. To start its innings, KKR sent in Sunil Narine to open the scoreboard. But what followed wasn’t expected by anyone. In just 15 deliveries, Narine managed to get his half-century, before eventually finishing off at 54 runs in 17 balls, consisting of 6 boundaries and 4 sixes.
4) Suresh Raina – 16 balls vs Punjab Kings, Mumbai (2014)
Arguably considered as one of the best batsmen in IPL, Raina’s talent was truly put to the test when Chennai Super Kings had to chase down a mammoth 227-run target against Punjab Kings in Mumbai. And well, Raina got cracking from the start, getting his half-century in just 16 balls. He then later went to score 87 off only 25 balls, with 12 fours and 6 sixes in total. However, it still wasn’t enough, as CSK lost the match by mere 24 runs. Although, it did give us one of the finest batting displays of all time.
5) Ishan Kishan – 16 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Abu Dhabi (2021)
Last year’s IPL saw most of the matches taking place in the UAE. While being away from the home crowd, Ishan Kishan made Mumbai Indians fans back home happy, as he scored fifty in just 16 deliveries. Eventually, Kishan went on to score 84 runs in total, consisting of 11 boundaries and 4 sixes.
