Ishan Kishan
Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Ishan Kishan on Friday slammed the fastest half-century of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) edition.
The left-handed wicketkeeper reached his fifty in just 16 balls, hammering eight fours and two sixes against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in his team's last league stage fixture of the season in Dubai.
Ishan's fifty was also the fastest half-century for the Mumbai outfit. The 23-year-old Patna lad had also smashed a 17-ball fifty against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) back in 2018.
Overall, Ishan is fifth in the list of fastest half-centuries in IPL history. KL Rahul had hit a 14-ball 50 against Delhi Capitals in 2018. Ishan's blitz is now the joint third-fastest in the IPL. He ended up scoring 84 off 32 deliveries, with 11 fours and four maximum in an absolute carnage against Hyderabad.
Fastest IPL 50s for Mumbai Indians
- 16 Ishan Kishan vs SRH Abu Dhabi 2021 *
- 17 Kieron Pollard vs KKR Mumbai 2016
- 17 Ishan Kishan vs KKR Kolkata 2018
- 17 Hardik Pandya vs KKR Kolkata 2019
- 17 Kieron Pollard vs CSK Delhi 2021
Ishan had a poor IPL 2021 where managed just 107 runs from eight games so far this season with an average of 13.37 and a strike rate of 86.99. He found his mojo against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday where he hit a 25-ball 50, helping Mumbai gun down the 92-run target in just 8.2 overs.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat. The Mumbai skipper said that that it was a no-brainer to bat first as his team needs to beat Hyderabad by 171 runs to seal the fourth spot.
"The numbers are pretty scary, but we are going to give it our all. Let's hope we can come out and do what we love to do. It's important to enjoy the game as well. It's been an on and off-season for us. This is a great opportunity for us to do something that's never been done before. Our batters haven't come collectively and performed as a team in the UAE leg," said Rohit at the toss.
