Kings XI Punjab batsman Nicholas Pooran was on fire on Thursday as he scored the fastest fifty of the IPL 2020 during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The southpaw took just 17 balls to register his first fifty of the season, which is also the fastest so far.
Notably, Pooran smashed 28 runs (6,4,6,6,6,0) in the 9th over of the KXIP innings which was bowled by Abdul Samad and completed his half-century in the same over with a six.
Nicholas Pooran has just brought up his fifty from 1️⃣7️⃣ balls 🤯
He has cleared the ropes 6️⃣ times on his way to the landmark 🔥🔥🔥 #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/rmVRVKQoFY
— ICC (@ICC) October 8, 2020
He walked back to the pavilion after scoring 77 off 37 balls at a whopping strike rate of 208.11. His innings consisted of 5 fours and 7 sixes.
Interestingly, the fifty by the West-Indian’s is the second-fastest by a KXIP batsman.
Fastest IPL fifties for KXIP (balls)
- 14 KL Rahul vs DD 2018
- 17 N POORAN vs SRH 2020 *
- 19 KL Rahul vs CSK 2019
- 19 D Miller vs RR 2014
Overall, it’s the 9th fastest fifty in the history of IPL. KXIP skipper KL Rahul is top on the list having scored 51 runs off 14 balls in 2018 against Delhi Capitals.
Fastest fifties in IPL
| POS | Players | Against | BF | Runs | 6s | 4s | Venue | Date |
| 1 | Lokesh Rahul | DC | 14 | 51 | 4 | 6 | IS Bindra Stadium | 4/8/2018 |
| 2 | Yusuf Pathan | SRH | 15 | 72 | 7 | 5 | Eden Gardens | 5/24/2014 |
| 3 | Sunil Narine | RCB | 15 | 54 | 4 | 6 | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | 5/7/2017 |
| 4 | Suresh Raina | KXIP | 16 | 87 | 6 | 12 | Wankhede Stadium | 5/30/2014 |
| 5 | Chris Gayle | PWI | 17 | 175 | 17 | 13 | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | 4/23/2013 |
Earlier in the day, SRH skipper David Warner won the toss and opted to bat first at the Dubai International Stadium.
The Hyderabad side got off to an absolute flyer as openers Warner and Jonny Bairstow stitched 160-runs partnership for the first wicket.
Notably, Bairstow missed a century by whiskers as he was dismissed for 97. The English batsman hit 7 fours and 6 sixes during his innings.
However, after the dismissal of both the batsmen, SRH failed to add much to their scoreboard as they lost quick wickets. They were restricted to 201/6 in 20 overs by KXIP.
