0,2,0,6,4,4,6,4,1,4,6,6,4,4 – No, that’s not someone’s extended International phone number, it was KL Rahul’s ball by ball scorecard in his debut game for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
For nearly four seasons, the record for the fastest fifty in the IPL history stood at 15 balls, before Rahul went berserk with a flurry of boundaries against the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the 2018 edition.
A fortunate top-edged six off Trent Boult kicked things off before KL 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 the KXIP opener smashed Amit Mishra’s undisciplined first over for 24 runs to break the previous record, scoring his half-century off just 14 balls.
He, however, soon got out trying to whip Boult through the leg-side, only to be caught at short third man off the leading edge.
Here’s the video:
Happy Birthday @klrahul11 https://t.co/JK0JnAYfRZ
— Kumar Sourav (@AdamDhoni1) April 18, 2020
KL Rahul was the top scorer for his team in that game, as Kings XI Punjab claimed a comfortable six-wicket victory over their Northern rivals.
“I just went in there and I just took off. I didn’t plan this innings. I was just watching the ball and getting into good positions. It’s an opener’s responsibility to get the team off to a good start. Really happy that it came off today,” said Rahul in the post-match interview.
