Jammu & Kashmir cricketer Bandeep Singh smashes fastest 50 in Ranji Trophy history

Bandeep Singh’s knock came in just 15 balls

Jammu-Kashmir batsman Bandeep Singh etched his name in the record books by hitting the fastest half-century in Ranji Trophy cricket tournament. Singh’s cameo knock came in just 15 balls, beating the previous record of 18 deliveries, reports IBN Live.

Bandeep achieved the milestone against Tripura in their Group C encounter in Agartala. The previous record for the fastest fifty was jointly held by Himachal Pradesh’s Shakti Singh in 1990-‘91 and Baroda's Yusuf Pathan in 2012-‘13, who both achieved the feat in 18 balls.

The 26-year old’s heroics came into light in the second innings, when Jammu & Kashmir had obtained a healthy first innings lead of 204 runs. In their first innings, J&K had managed to score 428, mainly due to a classy knock of 130 by former Indian cricketer Parvez Rasool and a handy 96 from Mithun Manhas.

Bandeep Singh too had chipped in with a useful 63 which came in 132 balls. In reply, Tripura never really put up a fight and were dismissed for just 224 runs, handing J&K a 204-run lead. The visitors capitalised on the lead and further made the Tripura bowlers sweat in their second innings.

All-time fastest 50s in first class cricket

Bandeep was the hero of the second innings for J&K as he recorded the fastest 50 in the history of the tournament, reaching the landmark in a mere 15 balls. His cameo included 6 boundaries and 4 huge sixes, to push his team to a score of 163-3, before the captain decided to declare their innings, setting the hosts an unlikely target of 368 runs to win.

Tripura replied strongly in their second outing and they finished at 243-2, before a draw was agreed upon by both captains. J&K earned 3 crucial points because of their first-innings lead, while the hosts had to settle for a solitary point.

The record for the fastest fifty in first-class cricket is Pakistani first-class cricketer Khalid Mahmood, who also reached his fifty in 15 balls. However, since the number of balls weren’t accounted for in the early 20th Century, it is widely believed that Middlesex batsman CIJ Smith holds the all-time record for reaching the landmark in 11 minutes time, which may have taken about 12 balls, way back in 1938.