IPL 2024: Fastest fifties in IPL history from 2008 to 2024

In the dynamic format of the Indian Premier League (IPL), fortunes can shift dramatically within a few overs, making it exceedingly challenging for teams to stage a comeback once they lag behind significantly. Sometimes, a batter can change his gears at an exceptional rate leaving no chance for the opposition to control the flow of runs.

In the match between PBKS and RCB, Rajat Patidar scored fifty in 21 balls at Dharamsala. Earlier when SRH and LSG  played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, unstoppable openers of SRH Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma hit the fastest fifty in 19 and 16 balls respectively for the second time this season. 

In a blitzkrieg act, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis clobbered GT bowlers for fun during the run chase in match 52 of the IPL 2024. Du Plessis took the visiting bowlers to the cleaners as he smacked the joint 6th fastest fifty in the league's history. So far, the South African has 35 fifties to his name which led to getting past the 300-run mark in the ongoing IPL season. Notably, in the current season, Plessis' strike rate stands at an impressive 160 with two half-centuries in the ongoing cricket extravaganza already.

Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal created an all-time IPL record in the 56th match of IPL 2023, as he smashed a 13-ball half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders. He ended up unbeaten on 98 off 47, with 12 fours and 5 sixes.

Jaiswal bettered Pat Cummins' record from the 14th match of the 2022 IPL edition. He pummeled a 14-ball half-century against the Mumbai Indians (MI) while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. It was some exceptional hitting from Australia’s Test captain on the day as he ended up unbeaten on 56* off just 15 deliveries with four fours and six maximums, as he belted Daniel Sams for a massive 35-run over to finish off in style to win the game for his side with four overs to spare.

Further, Indian opener KL Rahul also scored a half-century in 14 balls against the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) on his debut for the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in an IPL 2018 match. Rahul blasted 51 runs off 16 balls in this innings with the help of six fours and four sixes. The Punjab team chased down the target of 167 runs in 18.5 overs, winning the match by six wickets. 

The record for the fastest fifty in the IPL that Rahul had broken in his innings was held jointly by Yusuf Pathan and Sunil Narine. In an IPL 2014 game, Yusuf Pathan played one of the most stunning T20 innings of all time when Kolkata Knight Riders were chasing 161 and needed to do it in 15.2 overs to reach the second spot in the points table to get two chances of reaching the final of the tournament, which they ultimately won, clinching their second title in their IPL history. Yusuf smashed 72 runs off only 22 balls and reached his 50 runs in only 15 balls during his innings. Yusuf's extraordinary hitting propelled KKR to reach the total in just 14.2 overs, securing the second position on the points table in the process.

In the 46th match of IPL 2017, KKR were chasing a target of 159. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine completely demolished the RCB bowling attack in a blistering 100-run partnership in only six overs. Narine slammed his half-century in only 15 balls, the then joint-fastest. KKR chased down the required total comfortably in 15.1 overs and won the match by six wickets.

Explosive West Indian batter Nicholas Pooran is joint third with Yusuf and Sunil for smashing the fastest half-century in just 15 deliveries in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The swashbuckling batter, playing for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), achieved the feat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match no. 15 of IPL 2023 in Bangalore. Batting first, the Challengers set a massive target of 213 for the Super Giants and Pooran's innings just took the game away from the home side. Coming in to bat at No. 6 after the fall of Marcus Stoinis's wicket at 10.4 overs, Pooran hammered 62 off just 19 with the help of four fours and seven towering maximums at a deadly strike rate of 326.32. Notably, Stoinis also smashed 65 off 30 and courtesy of the duo, LSG chased down the target on the final ball of the match.

If the all-time non-hundred IPL innings of players are listed out, Suresh Raina’s tremendous knock played in the IPL 2014 qualifier will end up on the top. In this crucial encounter, CSK were chasing a huge total of 227 runs to ensure a place in the final. CSK were off to a flyer as they smashed 100 runs in the powerplay to put KXIP on the backfoot. Among these 100 runs, 87 were scored only by Raina. However, he got run out on the first ball of the seventh over leaving his team’s hopes in tatters. Raina slammed a fifty in only 16 balls and hit 12 fours and six sixes in total. CSK could manage 202/7 in their 20 overs and lost the clash by 24 runs. 

The most expensive player in the Mega Auction of 2022, Mumbai Indian’s Ishan Kishan also slammed a blistering fifty in just 16 balls in the 2021 edition against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi. Mumbai batted first and Ishan scored 84 off 32 balls, which included 11 fours and 4 maximums. MI narrowly missed out on a spot in the Playoffs courtesy of their net run rate.

In the ongoing 2024 edition, Jake Fraser-McGurk holds the record for the fastest fifty in the league, reaching the landmark in a freaking fifteen deliveries. The young Australian batter achieved this feat not just once but twice. He hit a sensational half-century against SRH in Match 35 of IPL 2024 and went on and did it again in Match 43 against MI. This time he smashed Mumbai bowlers and made a score of 87 off 27 with the help of 11 fours and 6 sixes.

Additionally, SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma are also wreaking havoc in the current season Both the SRH batters reached the landmarks in 16 balls, respectively, which is the joint-second-fastest. While Abhishek scored a 16-ball fifty against Mumbai Indians, it was the Aussie opener who took on Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals in match no. 35 played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.

In a record-breaking thriller at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during match 42 of the league, four players including the likes of Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Shashank Singh, Sunil Narine, and Prabhsimran Singh made it to the list of fastest to half-century mark thus far.

Also Check: Orange Cap in IPL 2024

Fastest fifties in IPL history from 2008 to 2024