The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by one wicket in a thrilling last-ball contest yesterday (April 10). RCB suffered a painful defeat yesterday as they were in control of the game.
At the end of their 20 overs while batting first, RCB had amassed a respectable score of 212/2, aided by half-centuries from Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell. LSG’s response got off to a terrible start and was down to 23/3 after 4 overs. Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran then unleashed pure mayhem as they led LSG to victory with two resounding half-centuries.
For RCB supporters, it followed a predictable pattern as their team lost a match in which they had a clear edge over their rivals. The RCB bowling lineup, which has significantly improved over the past three seasons, underperformed for the second straight game.
On that note, let’s take a look at the top 5 fifties in the history of the IPL.
5 Nicholas Pooran (LSG) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2023
Chasing 213, LSG were kept in the game via a half-century from Marcus Stoinis. However, it was Pooran (62 runs off 19 balls), who took the game away from RCB.
The West Indian completed his half-century in just 15 balls as he guided his team to an improbable last-ball win. The left-handed batter struck 4 fours and 7 sixes and completed his innings with a strike-rate of 326.32.
4 Sunil Narine (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2017
Chasing a below-par 159 on a flat M. Chinnaswamy wicket, Sunil Narine (54 runs off just 17 balls) struck the joint second-fastest fifty. He coupled with Chris Lynn (50 runs off 22 balls) to amass a whopping 105 runs in the powerplay.
Narine struck 6 fours and 4 sixes with a strike rate of 317.65 and completed his half-century in just 15 balls as his team chased down the RCB total with 29 balls to spare.
3 Yusuf Pathan (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2014
Veteran Indian all-rounder, Yusuf Pathan (72 runs off 22 balls) etched his name in IPL history, scoring the 2nd fastest half-century in the competition. The hard-hitting batter completed his half-century in just 15 balls.
He struck 5 boundaries and 7 maximums in his knock and had a strike-rate of 327.27. His effort was instrumental as KKR chased down SRH’s target in just 14.2 overs.
2 Pat Cummins (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2022
Pat Cummins (56* off 15 balls) matched Rahul’s performance as he struck an unbeaten half-century against MI, guiding his side to an easy 5-wicket win with 4 overs to spare.
The Australian struck 4 fours and 6 sixes, with a strike-rate of 373.33. In the same match, Cummins picked up the crucial wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav with the ball.
1 KL Rahul (PBKS) vs Delhi Capitals, IPL 2018
KL Rahul (51 runs off 16 balls) was in the form of his life in IPL 2018 as he struck the fastest fifty in the history of the competition. He took just 14 balls to reach the landmark as he struck 6 boundaries and 4 maximums in his innings.
He ended his innings at a strike-rate of 318.75 and provided the platform for an easy 6-wicket for his side that was chasing 167.