The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a cricketing festival characterized by explosive batting, thrilling finishes, and record-breaking performances. Of these exciting moments, few are as charged as a player scoring a half-century at record-breaking speed.
The fastest fifty in the IPL exemplifies raw power, aggressive batting, and the ability to dominate the bowlers from the first ball. These knocks from top players often shift momentum towards the batting team, and fans love it.
This article will explore such players who’ve scored the fastest 50 in IPL history.
The record for the fastest 50 in IPL is held by Yashasvi Jaiswal. He reached the 50-run milestone in just 13 deliveries. It was one of the most impressive performances by then uncapped Indians.
In a match against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023, Yashasvi Jaiswal blitzed to 50 with a flurry of sixes and fours. Here are the stats of the record-breaking knock of Jaiswal.
This fastest fifty in IPL is yet to be beaten despite there being many explosive knocks.
Now, let’s take a look at the top 10 fastest fifties in IPL history. Here is the complete list.
| S. No. | Player | Balls | Venue | Date |
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 13 | Kolkata | 11-May-23 |
| 2 | KL Rahul | 14 | Mohali | 08-Apr-18 |
| 3 | PJ Cummins | 14 | Pune | 06-Apr-22 |
| 4 | YK Pathan | 15 | Kolkata | 24-May-14 |
| 5 | SP Narine | 15 | Bangalore | 07-May-17 |
| 6 | Nicholas Pooran | 15 | Bengaluru | 10-Apr-23 |
| 7 | Jake Fraser-McGurk | 15 | Delhi | 20-Apr-24 |
| 8 | Jake Fraser-McGurk | 15 | Delhi | 27-Apr-24 |
| 9 | SK Raina | 16 | Mumbai | 30-May-14 |
| 10 | Ishan Kishan | 16 | Abu Dhabi | 08-Oct-21 |
Each of these innings has lit up the stadiums and is remembered for its sheer intensity and game-changing effect.
Now, let’s look at the individual fastest fifties in IPL.
The first on the list of highest individual score is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a fifty in just 13 balls. We’ve explained above how Jaiswal scored his fifty in a match against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
A brilliant powerplay takedown by Jaiswal gave Rajasthan a thumping win over KKR. Eventually, Jaiswal made a solid 98 runs in just 47 balls to take the team home.
Before Yashasvi broke the 14-ball record for the fastest fifty in IPL, KL Rahul held the record for five years. In a match against Delhi Daredevils in 2018, KL powered through an impressive fifty of just 14 balls to propel the Kings XI Punjab to victory.
KL thumped Delhi bowlers for 6 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. After scoring the fifty, he was out for 51 in just 16 balls.
Pat Cummins also scored the fastest half-century in IPL in just 14 balls. But his inning came later in the 2022 edition of the league. When Pat Cummins was with Kolkata Knight Riders in the capacity of a bowler.
He is a bowler who can bat occasionally. However, he has a good sense of hitting the big balls. Chasing a modest total, Pat Cummins came in to bat at five down and ran away with the match with his blitzkrieg. He made 56 off just 15 balls to take his team home in just 16 overs.
This innings from Yusuf Pathan is a blast from the past. Do you remember the times when Yusuf Pathan used to tear into bowlers and leave them gasping? In such a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Yusuf Pathan came into bat after two down and started to dismantle the bowlers. In just 15 balls, Yusuf Pathan raced to fifty in no time.
After that, he made sure that his team chased down an average 160-run target within 15 overs.
Sunil Narine is one of the most entertaining and explosive all-rounders from the Caribbean. He is a superstar who can tear into any bowling when on song. In this innings of 15 balls, fifty from Narine came against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Narine was sent to open the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders while chasing a mid-score.
His innings included five fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of over 300. He got out on the 17th ball and made 54 runs. It was his job to score quickly in the power play to accelerate the KKR innings.
Another Caribbean, Nicholas Pooran, is a freak of nature. Nicholas is a player of great caliber who can play at any spot. Batting at number six, Nicholas made a mockery of Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowlers by smashing them all around the park.
He reached the half-century in just 15 balls and went on to score 62 runs off just 19 balls. His innings proved pivotal in scaling down a mammoth total of 212 runs.
Jake Fraser McGurk, a player who lit up the 2024 edition of IPL, is another Australian with strong batting abilities. He was not selected in the IPL auction, instead, he was signed in as a replacement player for Lungi Ngidi.
The Australian batter wowed everyone by becoming one of the leading run-getters of the season. Coming to his innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jake came one down after the early departure of his fellow countryman David Warner. He used the powerplay to full effect and played one of the best innings of the last edition of the IPL. He made the fastest 50 in IPL for Delhi in just 15 balls.
As we’ve told you, Jake Fraser McGurk lit up the IPL with his batting prowess in the IPL. In another match against the Mumbai Indians, he opened the innings with Abhishek Porel. He went berserk from the word go and ended with another 15-ball half-century in the prestigious Indian Premier League.
Eventually, he played 27 balls and made 84 runs in return. With the help of his explosive innings, Delhi posted one of the highest IPL scores ever.
IPL veteran Suresh Raina is also on this list of the fastest 50 in IPL history. Raina is a legend when it comes to batting in the IPL for CSK. Chennai was up against Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 edition when they were asked to chase down a gigantic score of 226 runs.
Suresh Raina was up for the task as he came to bat early on after the loss of Faf du Plessis. Raina utilized the powerplay to the fullest and punished the Punjab bowlers. He made the fastest 50 in the IPL for Chennai in just 16 balls. He started accelerating even more after reaching his fifty. After 25 balls, he could only make 87 runs.
Opening the batting for Mumbai Indians, Ishan Kishan made a sparkling fifty off just 16 balls with the help of 4 sixes and 4 fours. His innings at the top of the batting order provided the required impetus to propel Mumbai to an enormous score.
After Ishan, Surya Kumar Yadav also played some brilliant shots to take Mumbai to a formidable 235 score.
The quickest 50s in IPL history are not mere figures. They are acts of bold ambition and enduring cricketing magnificence. From record-breaking Jaiswal’s 13-ball half-century to reliable strikers such as KL Rahul and Suresh Raina, these half-centuries have become a lasting legacy.
As the IPL grows and develops, we can anticipate even faster fifties and maybe even a sub-13-ball mark someday.
So, when you watch the IPL next time, keep your eyes open as the next fastest 50 is just maybe around the corner.
Ans: David Warner has more fifty-plus scores (66) than anyone.
Ans: Chris Gayle is the record holder of the fastest hundred in IPL history. He finished his century in just 30 balls.
Ans: The fastest 50 in the history of cricket is held by a player from Nepal, Dipendra Singh Airee. He made a 9-ball fifty against Mongolia in the Asian Games.
Ans: The record for the fastest fifty in IPL is held by Yashasvi Jaiswal. He made a 13-ball fifty in the 2023 edition of the IPL.
