Sunil Narine scored the quickest fifty in BPL history.

Sunil Narine of the West Indies set a record on Wednesday when he hit the joint second-fastest fifty in Twenty20 cricket. Narine reached the milestone while opening the innings for Comilla Victorians against Chattogram Challengers at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur in the second qualifier of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2022.

Narine’s 13-ball fifty, which drove the Victorians to the final of the present Bangladesh Premier League, was also the quickest in the league’s history.

Sunil Narine smashed 5 boundaries and 6 sixes to help the Victorians chase down a target of 149 in 12.5 overs. Narine reached his fifty in the 13th ball, falling one delivery shy of the world record for the quickest fifty in T20 cricket.

Narine, who batted first, began the inning in sixth gear and never let up on the gas pedal. His inning breakdown was as follows: Dot, 6, 4, 6, 6, 4, 6, Dot, 4, 6, 1, 6.

Narine was dismissed for 57 in the sixth over, after which skipper Imrul Kayes (22), Faf du Plessis (30 not out), and Moeen Ali (0 not out) enabled the Victorians over the finish line.

Narine stated of his record-breaking performance: “No, when I was informed, I’d open, I was overjoyed, especially because there were only two fielders outside the ring. It was a wonderful pitch to bat on since there wasn’t much spin, especially with the new ball, and it came on beautifully.”

Since he is not part of the West Indies team playing a T20I series in India right now, Sunil Narine is sure to warm up to the Indian Premier League. Despite a strong showing in the IPL 2021, Narine was not selected for the T20 World Cup.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have retained Narine ahead of the IPL 2022 big auction. West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, and Venkatesh Iyer were all retained.