“Wow, what a talent” – Virat Kohli reacts to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fastest 50 in IPL history
Virat Kohli heaped praise on Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed the fastest-ever fifty in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This came after Jaiswal struck a 13-ball half-century against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, May 11.
The 21-year-old broke the previous joint record held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins (14 balls), which came against the Delhi Capitals (2018) and the Mumbai Indians (MI), respectively.
The Mumbai-born batter smashed seven boundaries and three sixes to reach the landmark.
Reacting to Jaiswal’s record, Virat Kohli shared an Instagram story that read:
“Wow, this is some of the best batting I’ve seen in a while. What a talent @yashashvijaiswal28.”
The development came an hour after RR teammate Yuzvendra Chahal became the all-time leading wicket-taker in the IPL.
For the uninitiated, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been in sublime form with the bat in IPL 2023. The southpaw recently smashed his maiden IPL century against five-time champions Mumbai on April 30. He has also smashed four half-centuries.
Jaiswal is currently the only second batter to complete 500+ runs in the IPL this season, after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis. He has, so far, scored 575 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 167.15, only behind du Plessis (576 in 11 matches).
Jaiswal was retained by the Royals for ₹4 crore ahead of the IPL 2023 mini auction following his exploits with the bat last season, where he amassed 258 runs in 10 games, including three fifties.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's 98* off 47 balls helps RR beat KKR by nine wickets
A clinical batting performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson helped Rajasthan beat KKR by nine wickets.
Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 98 off 47 balls at a strike rate of 208.51, including 13 fours and five sixes. Samson also smashed 48* off 29 deliveries, including five sixes and two boundaries.
Earlier, the visiting side restricted KKR to 149/8 in their allotted 20 overs, with Chahal returning with figures of 4/25. Trent Boult also took a couple of wickets, while Sandeep Sharma and KM Asif scalped one apiece.
Venkatesh Iyer top-scored for the Knight Riders with 57 off 42 balls, including four sixes and two boundaries, as other batters failed to deliver.
Click here to check out the KKR vs RR scorecard.