Shimron Hetmyer blasts fastest fifty by a West Indies batter in T20 WC
Mumbai, Feb 23
West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer put on a dazzling display of power-hitting, racing to a record fastest half-century for a Caribbean batter in the T20 World Cup in their Super 8 Group 1 clash against Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Asked to bat first, Hetmyer reached the milestone in 19 balls, hitting four boundaries and five maximums in the process, improving on his own record for the fastest fifty by a West Indies batter in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Hetmyer had earlier blasted a half-century in 22 balls against Scotland in the opening match of this World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, breaking the previous record of fifty in 23 balls by Chris Gayle at the Oval in 2009.
Hetmyer came in to bat after the fall of Brandon King in the third over, with the West Indies at 17/1. Hetmyer shared a 37-run partnership with skipper Shai Hope (14).
Hetmyer started with a four off Richard Ngarava in the third over and another off Blessings Muzarabani in the next over. He got a life when Tashinga Musekiwa grassed a straightforward chance at long-leg on a swivel pull off Muzarabani.
Hetmyer was on 10 at that time and launched a blitzkrieg soon after, hitting Ngarava for back-to-back boundaries in the fifth over, blasting sixes off successive balls off Graeme Cremer in the seventh over, the first one a swipe across the line that landed in the deep mid-wicket stand and the next over the cow corner.
In the next over, he hammered Zimbabwe skipper Sikander Raza for three sixes in four legal deliveries as West Indies raced to 92/2 in the eighth over, reaching his half-century in 19 balls.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Amazing to watch from the Wankhede stands! The atmosphere was electric. He made it look so easy. Zimbabwe's fielding let them down big time with that dropped catch.
Breaking Chris Gayle's record is no small feat. That's the Universe Boss we're talking about! Hetmyer is in some serious form this tournament. Hope he saves some of those big hits for the knockouts.
While the hitting was spectacular, I have to say the bowling and fielding from Zimbabwe looked quite ordinary. At this level, you can't afford to drop a batter like Hetmyer when he's on 10. The match was lost right there.
The way he targeted Sikandar Raza was brutal! Three sixes in an over from the opposition captain. That's a real statement. T20 cricket at its most explosive. 🇮🇳 fans love this kind of entertainment!
Records are meant to be broken, but beating Gayle's record twice in one tournament? That's something else. Just shows the evolution of the game. Batting has become even more aggressive.
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