Out came Kusal Janith Perera to launch his mortar. Emulating his hero Sanath Jayasuriya, Kusal decided to take away a potential win from Pakistan.
A solitary boundary backed by another from Dilshan in the opening over was just the beginning. He ran riot against Rahat Ali, scoring 18 runs off the over. Another 12 runs came from Irfan’s over, taking Kusal to 35 off just 12 balls and the team total to 41/0 in 3 overs.
It was a scintillating display of batting, a reminiscence of Jayasuriya with identical stroke play. Almost every delivery disappeared to the boundary, leaving the strong Pakistani bowling attack gobsmacked, helpless and in shambles. Kusal’s pouncing was backed by the packed crowd at Pallekele, whose ardent roars resounded from the surrounding hills giving extra energy to the youngster. With consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Hafeez’s spin, Kusal reached his half ton in just 17 balls, the second fastest in ODI history, also equaling a 19 year old Sri Lanka record made by his childhood hero Sanath Jayasuriya.
Finally, he was removed at 68 which came in just 25 deliveries with 13 fours and 2 maximums, leaving Sri Lanka 92/1 in the 9th over, setting the foundation for a historic win, just as the ‘Master Blaster’ used to do back in the day.
Recalling the Fastest Fifties
Throughout the history of ODIs, there had been only 16 occasions where batsmen have scored a fifty in less than 20 balls with only 11 batsmen reaching the unique distinction. The explosive Shahid Afridi appears most number of times with 4 half centuries in less than 20 balls. New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum is behind him with 3 ODI half tons in less than 20 balls. Others include AB de Villiers, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kusal Perera, Simon O’Donnell, Glenn Maxwell, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Ross Taylor and David Hussey.
The earliest instance of a rapid half ton came in 1983 when Lance Cairns of New Zealand made a quick-fire 50 in 21 balls against Australia at the MCG. Chasing a target of 303, Cairns entered when the Kiwis were struggling at 44/6 as he salvaged some pride in a massive 149 run defeat. Few weeks later, his record was nearly broken by Kapil Dev who smashed a fifty against West Indies at Guyana that came in 22 balls. The Indian skipper went on to make 72 in 38 balls, masterminding a 27 run win for his team.
Lance Cairns’ cameo stood as the fastest ODI half century during the 1980’s until the Australian batsman Simon O’Donnell slammed a fifty in 18 balls against Sri Lanka during the Austral-Asia Cup semi-final at Sharjah in 1990. His 74-run carnage came in just 29 balls that included 4 fours and 6 sixes, overshadowing the century made by his teammate Dean Jones. It was also the first time a batsman made an ODI half century in less than 20 deliveries.
However the batsman from Victoria held the record for a mere 6 years as the ‘Master Blaster’ Sanath Jayasuriya steamrolled Pakistan at Singapore with his 50 in 17 balls during the Singer Cup final. It was also the first time that an opening batsman broke the record for the fastest half century. Chasing 216, the pinch-hitting pair Jayasuriya and ‘Little Kalu’ began the pursuit with a modest target on hand. Jayasuriya commenced his destruction taking the better of Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed and the restricted field settings. Nothing could have taken away from his rampage against the tough attack as sheer hitting took Sri Lanka to 70/0 before his partner was sent back to the pavilion. When Kaluwitharana departed, he was yet to open his account. Surprisingly, after Jayasuriya’s well-made 76 in 28 balls, Sri Lanka crumbled for 176, giving a 43 run victory and the Singer Cup to the Pakistanis.
Few months later in Nairobi, 16 year old Shahid Afridi on his batting debut, thumped the Sri Lankan bowlers scoring a half ton in 18 balls. Further he went on to convert it to the fastest ODI hundred in 37 balls, a record which stood for 18 years. Although it was his second ODI, it was the first time world saw the potential devastation by the Afridi willow. His 102 run wallop included 11 massive sixes that reached the stands at the Gymkhana. Afridi’s brisk ton also made him the youngest ODI centurion in history.
‘Boom Boom Afridi’ repeated the same feat (50 in 18 balls) in 2002 against The Netherlands during the Champions Trophy at Colombo before re-writing his name with two more half century innings in less than 20 balls. The remaining two included a 19-ball crushing against New Zealand in 2011 and another 18-ball torpedo against Bangladesh in 2014.
Brendon McCullum’s 3 half centuries includes the fastest 50 in a World Cup game (in 18 balls) where he made 77 against England at Wellington in 2015. His other two feature 19-ball half tons against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2007 and 2015 respectively.
ABD Shatters the Caribbean Party
In January 2015, AB de Villiers shattered the 19 year record by Jayasuriya, scoring the fastest fifty in just 16 balls. His flamboyant shots tormented the West Indian bowlers as he went on to break the record for the fastest ODI century (in 31 balls) set by Corey Anderson a year earlier. Following a 247-run opening stand between the centurions Hashim Amla and Rilee Roussouw, skipper de Villiers joined Amla with 12 overs left to play. It was ferocious batting from the beginning as ABD charged his way to a blistering 149 in 44 balls with 9 fours and 16 sixes while South Africa stockpiled 192 runs in the last 68 deliveries, taking them to 439 runs in 50 overs.
Venues
Out of the 16 venues that have been the setting for the fastest half centuries, 4 venues are in New Zealand (Hagley Oval, AMI Stadium, Westpac and Queenstown) while 3 (Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg) are in South Africa. Two Sri Lankan venues (SSC and Pellekele) have witnessed those innings while grounds in Mirpur, St Kitts and Bangalore have entertained one each. The other venues that have hosted these innings are in Singapore, Sharjah, Aberdeen and Nairobi. Although short boundaries play a key role in a fast paced fifty, not all of the above venues are small in size, giving the ultimate credit to the batsmen for their power and clean hitting.
At the Wrong End
It is a living nightmare even for the best bowling attack during such a pongo. The Sri Lankan bowlers had been at the receiving end on 3 occasions while Bangladesh and in West Indies have suffered twice. Amazingly, minnow nations have been at the wrong end only 3 times out of the 16 games, despite their bowling strength compared to the Test playing nations.
Propelling a lightning half century is by no means an easy task, it is an endeavour undertaken from ball one, and an effort requiring both consistency and firepower until you reach the eventual milestone.
