Harbhajan Singh breaks a few IPL batting records

Harbhajan Singh hitting a boundary during his knock of 64

No batsman was able to stay out there for long, none of them were hitting boundaries and the runs were coming at the pace of a Test match. In the end, it was a Punjabi who blasted the Kings XI Punjab bowlers for the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Indians were chasing the target of 178 set by Kings XI Punjab and lost their skipper Rohit Sharma on the second ball and the team was on the back-foot straightaway. The wickets kept falling and the team could get to only 17/3 at the end of powerplay and 32/4 at the end of 10 overs.

The home team needed 118 runs in the last six overs to win the match with four wickets in hand. There was no hope of any miracle to happen either. But the vastly experienced Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh decided to deal with the situation on his own. He just played in his natural style – smashing whatever he could. He began by hitting three consecutive fours in the four balls he faced.

Harbhajan ended up with 64 in 24 balls with five fours and six sixes. He got to his 50 in just 19 balls batting at No.8 and broke some important batting records in his innings. The team fell short by 18 runs.

Here are some of his feats:

Fastest half-centuries for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League

Balls	Batsman	Final score	Against	Venue	Date	Result
19	Harbhajan Singh	64 (24)	Kings XI Punjab	Wankhede	12-Apr-15	Lost
20	Kieron Pollard	66* (27)	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Wankhede	13-May-13	Won
21	Dwayne Smith	68 (28)	Chennai Super Kings	Delhi	21-May-13	Lost
23	Sachin Tendulkar	63 (32)	Delhi Daredevils	Delhi	17-Mar-10	Won
25	Sanath Jayasuriya	114* (48)	Chennai Super Kings	Wankhede	14-May-08	Won
25	Corey Anderson	95* (44)	Rajasthan Royals	Wankhede	25-May-14	Won

Harbhajan Singh now holds the record of scoring the fastest 50 in IPL despite the team having had players like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Rohit Sharma in it.

Fastest half-centuries in the Indian Premier League

Balls	Batsman	Final score	For	Against	Venue	Date	Result
15	Yusuf Pathan	72 (22)	Kolkata Knight Riders	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Kolkata	24-May-14	Won
16	Suresh Raina	87 (25)	Chennai Super Kings	Kings XI Punjab	Mumbai (WS)	30-May-14	Lost
17	Adam Gilchrist	85 (35)	Deccan Chargers	Delhi Daredevils	Centurion	22-May-09	Won
17	Chris Gayle	175* (66)	Royal Challengers Bangalore	Pune Warriors India	Bangalore	23-Apr-13	Won
19	Robin Uthappa	51 (21)	Royal Challengers Bangalore	Kings XI Punjab	Bangalore	16-Mar-10	Won
19	Harbhajan Singh	64 (24)	Mumbai Indians	Kings XI Punjab	Mumbai (WS)	12-Apr-15	Lost

Harbhajan Singh is the only lower order player to score 50 in less than 20 balls in the IPL.

Highest individual scores batting at No.8 in T20 cricket

Runs	Batsman	Fours	Sixes	S/R	Team	Opposition	Venue	Date	Result
79* (44)	Abongile Sodumo	7	4	179.54	Border	E. Province	East London	13-Nov-11	Lost
65 (26)	Ruchira Palliyaguruge	2	8	250.00	Saracens	Chilaw	Colombo (Bloomfield)	03-Mar-07	Won
64 (24)	Harbhajan Singh	5	6	266.66	Mum Indians	Kings XI	Mumbai	12-Apr-15	Lost
63* (27)	Robbie Frylinck	4	6	233.33	Dolphins	Lahore Lions	Bangalore	27-Sep-14	Lost
63 (44)	Tyron Henderson	4	3	143.18	Kent	Hampshire	Beckenham	02-Jul-06	Won

No batsman had scored 50+ while batting at No.8 or lower in the IPL. Harbhajan became the first to do so and his 64 (24) is the third highest individual score at No.8 in overall T20 cricket.