KL Rahul on Friday hit an 18-ball half-century during a group match against Scotland powering India to a crushing eight-wicket win. The fifty was the second fastest by an Indian in the format as Rahul bettered the earlier record held by Gautam Gambhir who scored it in 19 deliveries.
In a small chase of 86 against Scotland in Dubai, Rahul slammed six fours an clubbed three sixes during his assault as he combined with Rohit Sharma for a 70-run stand for the first wicket in just 4.5 overs before perishing.
Rahul holed out on 50 off 19 as India went on to overhaul the target in 39 deliveries to boost their net run rate to 1.619 that saw them jump to the third spot in the Group 2 standings behind topper Pakistan and second-placed New Zealand.
Overall, the record for the fastest fifty in T20Is continues be held by the legendary Yuvraj Singh whose made it in just 12 deliveries during his famous assault against England at the inaugural World T20 in 2007.
At the world cups, Rahul’s effort is the joint-third fastest in terms of balls taken behind Yuvraj (12) and Stephan Myburgh (17).
India’s highest total in Powerplays
India sprinted to 82/2 in six overs during the chase which is the highest they have scored in the Powerplay overs of a T20I match. They surpassed their earlier tally of 78/2 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2018.
In T20 world cups, India’s Powerplay tally is the fourth best behind Netherlands (91/1), England (89/3) and West Indies and South Africa (both 83/0).
Third biggest World Cup win (in terms of balls to spare)
When Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning six on Friday, India were left with 81 deliveries to spare which is the third best win in terms of balls remaining. Sri Lanka had beaten Netherlands in 2014 in just five overs and were left with 90 deliveries which is the most in terms of balls to spare.
Source: News 18
