Yashasvi Jaiswal smashes fastest half-century in IPL history for Rajasthan Royals

He once lived in tents and sold street food to pursue his cricketing dream. Now, sizzling talent Yashasvi Jaiswal is the toast of the Indian Premier League.

On Thursday, the 21-year-old continued his remarkable season by smashing the fastest fifty in IPL history off just 13 balls on his way to 98 not out in Rajasthan Royals' nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.

He beat the previous record of 14 balls held jointly by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins.

It was Jaiswal's fourth half-century of this year's tournament, with his final total coming off just 47 balls, including 12 fours and five sixes.

“Wow this is some of the best batting I've seen in a while. What a talent,” Indian star batsman Virat Kohli wrote on Instagram.

Last month, Jaiswal also plundered 124 off 62 balls in front of a huge crowd in Mumbai, the city he moved to as a child from a poor family in Uttar Pradesh.

This kid is special. Thoroughly enjoyed his clean striking. #YashasviJaiswal pic.twitter.com/x5H67eLSHe

“He has got real talent. The kind of domestic season he has had, he has taken that form into the IPL. Good for him, good for Indian cricket and good for RR as well,” India's all-format captain Rohit Sharma said.

Jaiswal is in the hunt to finish the IPL campaign as leading run-scorer, sitting just one run behind South African veteran Faf du Plessis with 575 runs from 12 matches.

His strike rate of 167.15 is lower only than Suryakumar Yadav's in the top 15 run-scorers this season.

Jaiswal moved to Mumbai – without his parents – when he was just 11. “I used to sleep in a dairy and then stayed at my uncle's place but it wasn't big enough and he asked me to find a different place,” Jaiswal told AFP in an interview in 2020.

Fastest FIFTY in