Hardik Pandya delivered a blistering show with the bat in the fifth T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad, producing one of the fastest half-centuries ever scored by an Indian in the format. The all-rounder walked in after the dismissal of captain Suryakumar Yadav in the 13th over and immediately shifted the tempo of the innings. He began his knock with a towering six and kept the momentum going from the very first ball.
Pandya unleashed a fierce counterattack, smashing boundaries at will. In just his first seven deliveries, he had already hammered three fours and three sixes, leaving the South African bowlers under immense pressure. Maintaining an aggressive approach throughout, he continued to find the gaps effortlessly and kept the scoreboard racing.
He brought up his half-century in only 16 balls, earning a rousing standing ovation from the home crowd. With this innings, Pandya now holds the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in T20Is, moving ahead of Abhishek Sharma’s 17-ball effort earlier this year. The only Indian above him on the list remains Yuvraj Singh, who smashed a 12-ball fifty during the 2007 T20 World Cup, famously hitting six sixes in an over.
