KL Rahul set the stage on fire at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday as he hit an 18-ball 50 in their 8-wicket win over Scotland in a Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup 2021. KL Rahul joined an elite list of Indian batter as he smashed the 2nd fastest fifty by an Indian batsman at the World Cups.
KL Rahul hit 3 sixes and 6 boundaries as he and Rohit Sharma took the Scotland attack to the cleaners on Friday in their must-win match. India needed to get to the target of 86 to overtake New Zealand and Afghanistan in terms of Net Run Rate as they stay alive in the semi-final race.
KL Rahul got to 50 in just 17 balls before he got out in the 18th ball but India had already done the job, posting 82 for 2 in the powerplay, the highest total in the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup in the first 6 overs. India got the job done in jus 6.3 overs to give themselves a sniff.
Fastest fifties for India at T20 World Cups
Yuvraj Singh – 12 balls in 2007
KL Rahul – 18 balls in 2021
Gautam Gambhir – 19 in 2009
Yuvraj Singh – 20 in 2007
This was also the third biggest win in T20 World Cups (in terms of number of balls to spare) as India got the job done in just 6.3 overs.
Biggest wins in T20 World Cups
90 – Sri Lanka vs the Netherlands in 2014
82 – Australia vs Bangladesh in 2021
81 – India vs Scotland in 2021
KL Rahul did struggle in the first two matches of T20 World Cup 2021 as India lost their opening match to Paksitan and then went on to lose to New Zealand.
However, against Afghanistan KL Rahul smashed 69 runs in just 48 balls as he and Rohit Sharma set a new Indian record with a 140-run opening stand. India posted 210 on the board before sealing a 66-run win to keep their hopes alive.
India will take on Namibia in their final Super 12 match on Monday in Dubai. However, the team will keep an eye on Sunday’s match between Afghanistan and New Zealand will have a huge bearing as India are still dependent on an Afghanistan win to keep their hopes alive.
