Fastest 50s in IPL history

#2 Yusuf Pathan – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2014, 15 balls

Yusuf Pathan scored 26 off Dale Steyn to power to his half-century

The Kolkata Knight Riders had a disastrous start to their 2014 IPL, winning only two of their first seven matches. However, they made a remarkable comeback by winning their next six matches and booking their place in the play-offs.

In their final league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Kolkata, the Knight Riders needed to win by a good margin to beat CSK to second position, while Hyderabad desperately needed a win to keep their hopes of reaching the play-offs alive.

KKR won the toss and Gautam Gambhir opted to field first. The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen were not playing very well, and in the end, it took a little cameo of Darren Sammy to take the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a total of 160, 21 of which were extras. The Knight Riders had to chase down 161 in 15.2 overs to attain second position in the table.

In reply, the Knight Riders were given a brilliant start by Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa who scored 41 and 28, respectively. When Yusuf Pathan came in to bat, the Knight Riders needed 106 from 47 to take them to second position in the table. In the 11th over, Pathan smashed 22 runs off Parvez Rasool and was dropped in the fifth ball of the over when he was batting on 14. The ball went towards Dale Steyn who dropped it and the ball landed over the boundary line for a six.

Pathan then smashed Ishant Sharma for two sixes to keep KKR in the fray for second position with 45 runs needed from 18 deliveries. The Baroda all-rounder then smashed Dale Steyn for 26 runs in the 13th over to score the fastest fifty in IPL history off just 15 deliveries. Pathan eventually perished on 72 from 22 deliveries, hitting five boundaries and seven sixes.

The Knight Riders eventually chased down 161 in 14.2 overs to claim second position in the table. Pathan was adjudged the Man of the Match for his monumental effort and his 15-ball half-century is yet to be bettered in the IPL.