Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Yashavi Jaiswal hit the fastest fifty in Indian Premier League history against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens. Jaiswal was a man on a mission when he came out to chase the 150-run target set up by KKR. He stepped out on the first ball of the chase to hit off-spinner Nitish Rana for a six. He followed it up with another maximum. The third and fourth balls of the over were hit for two fours as Jaiswal looked in top form. The fifth ball of the over went for 2 runs before Jaiswal finished the over with another boundary.
By the end of the first over, Jaiswal has hit the second-most runs in the first over of an IPL inning. This record belongs to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who had done it in 2011 vs Mumbai Indians (MI).
Image Credit: TOI
Fastest Fifties in IPL: Yashasvi Jaiswal is now on top of the list
Yashasvi eclipsed KL Rahul from the top of the fastest fifties in the IPL list. Rahul scored a fifty in IPL 2018 against Delhi Capitals (DC) off just 14 balls. Jaiswal did it in just 13 balls to script history. In third place now is Pat Cummins, who did in 14 balls too vs Mumbai Indians in 2022.
Jaiswal appeared to be on a six-hitting spree vs KKR. Everything he touched went for boundaries on the night as if he had a magic wand in his hand.
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Buttler's wicket did not lead to Jaiswal losing his focus
Not to forget, Jaiswal was responsible for the loss of Jos Buttler's wicket too as he made a poor call to run his fellow opener out. Buttler was fuming as he walked back to the dressing room for a duck. Jaiswal, however, did not lose his focus and continued stroking the shots. In the same over in which Buttler fell, Jaiswal pulled the wicket-taker Harshit Rana for a massive six over fine leg region. That shot was a statement from Jaiswal that he wanted to play a big knock here and not just a blinder.
Earlier in the game, Yuzvendra Chahal became the leading wicket-taker in IPL history, surpassing Chennai Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo's tally of 183 wickets. Chahal picked up four wickets in the game to break the KKR batting and also ended up getting the Purple Cap for the first time in the season.
