The Indian all-rounder, Krunal Pandya had a dream debut on Tuesday as he broke the world record for the fastest fifty by a debutant in ODI cricket. The Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder got to his fifty in just 26 balls as he provided the much-needed momentum in the slog over to India in the ongoing first ODI of the ongoing three-match series against England in Pune.
Krunal Pandya also became the 15th Indian batsman to register a score of more than 50 runs on debut in ODI cricket. He is the first batsman since Faiz Fazal in 2016. He is also only the third India batsman to hit a fifty on debut while batting at No. 7 or below after Saba Karim and Ravindra Jadeja.
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Here is the list of Indian players with 50-plus scores on their ODI debut:
- Brijesh Patel – 1974
- Ajit Wadekar – 1974
- Sandeep Patil – 1980
- Raman Lamba – 1986
- Navjot Sidhu – 1987
- Pravin Amre – 1991
- Saba Karim – 1997
- A Khurasiya – 1999
- Robin Uthappa – 2006
- Ravindra Jadeja – 2009
- Ambati Rayudu – 2013
- Manish Pandey – -2015
- KL Rahul – 2016
- Faiz Fazal – 2016
- Krunal Pandya – 2021
Fastest ODI debut scores of 50+ (runs per 100 balls):
255.00 ShahidAfridi
187.10 KPandya
136.96 JMorris
136.84 RButcher
131.25 BHollioake
128.21 LWright— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) March 23, 2021
Krunal Pandya had walked into bat at No. 7 when the hosts were reeling at 205/5 in the 41st over of the game. Team India had lost Shikhar Dhawan (98) and Hardik Pandya (1) in quick succession in the 39th and 41st over respectively and they were \in desperate need of late impetus.
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And that’s exactly what the Mumbai Indians all-rounder provided along with KL Rahul, who was going through a rough patch during the recently-concluded five-match T20I series. Krunal looked in complete control from the word go as he added 112 runs from just 57 balls with Rahul.
Krunal hit as many as 7 boundaries and 2 sixes for his 31-ball 58 not out on ODI debut. Krunal’s late blitz helped India post 317 for 5 in 50 overs.
Ramto rehje, Krunal 👏
Your father will be very proud of the way you batted today! 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDvENG @krunalpandya24 @hardikpandya7pic.twitter.com/FdjNXictAH
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 23, 2021
Watching Krunal Pandya smash it on his ODI debut and was thinking that since Australia, every Indian player who has made his debut in a format has made significant contributions. Natarajan, Sundar, Shardul, Siraj, Ishan, Surya, Krunal…
Remarkable.— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 23, 2021
Krunal Pandya dedicates 50 on debut to his father, who passed away recently. Some very emotional scenes. He couldn’t get his words together in the post-inns interview. Deserved this hug. #IndvEng pic.twitter.com/mxYtwffl5q
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 23, 2021
Bouquets for advocating KL Rahul's inclusion. And brickbats for questioning Krunal Pandya's selection. That's the evening for me in a nutshell #IndvsEng
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) March 23, 2021
Oh wow. I’m sure we all want to give Krunal a hug right now. Such raw emotion. This means so much to him. #INDvENG
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) March 23, 2021
That interview
This photo
My heart 😩😩❤️Pure emotion from Krunal Pandya after his maiden 50 👏🏽👏🏽
Class. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/cqXQ8J362a— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) March 23, 2021
– Lost his father earlier this year
– Makes ODI debut today and recieves the Cap from his brother
– Fastest 50 by a cricketer on ODI debut.Pretty sure the entire country is proud of Krunal Pandya! 💛🔵#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/pq2St7TrgZ
— Pulkit 🔰 (@OleTrain) March 23, 2021
