Mumbai, May 09: Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Ishan Kishan, today, scored the joint-fastest half-century by an MI player while playing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). It took only 17 balls to reach his fifty, as he equalled Kieron Pollard’s record. Ishan hit a flurry of sixes, four to be precise, consecutively to bring up his record-equalling half-century.

Ishan Kishan hit a total of 11 boundaries, in which hit 5 crisp Fours and 6 towering Sixes! His scintillating inning (of 62 runs off 21 balls) was cut short by KKR’s premier spinner, Sunil Narine, in the 15th over of the match. However, when his wicket fell, Mumbai Indians team were in the driver’s seat!

Two years ago, it was Kieron Pollard who had also hit a half-century, that too in 17 balls, against the same opposition. During IPL 2016, Pollard had hit 2 fours and 6 sixes in his innings of 51 runs (off 24 balls). Mumbai Indians were set a target of 175 runs and didn’t had a great start in their innings. However, it was Kieron Pollard who ran riot with a series of sixes and won his team the match with 2 overs to spare.

Ishan Kishan’s 17-ball half century is also fifth joint-fastest half-century in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Other players to have taken 17 balls to reach a half-century, over the years, are Chris Gayle (RCB vs PW, IPL 2013), Adam Gilchrist (DC vs DD, IPL 2009), Chris Morris (DD vs GL, IPL 2016), and Sunil Narine (KKR vs RCB, IPL 2018).

Going into a match which has to be won at any cost, Mumbai Indians have set up a huge target to scale for the Dinesh Karthik-led Kolkata Knight Riders team. Riding high on Ishan’s half-century, MI has set a target of 211 runs for KKR to win.

If one has to summarise Ishan Kishan’s innings tonight in only a sentence; well, it could not be better than – 0, 6, 1, 4, 0, 0, 4, 2, 4, 1, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 0, 6, W! It is hearty to see a 19-year-old player find its place in the records book. With all said and done, Ishan Kishan’s fiery innings of 62 runs off only 21 balls will be remembered for a long time!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).