On Thursday, 26 September 2013, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of Chennai Super Kings, achieved a new feat by scoring the fastest fifty in the history of Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) in just 16 balls. Dhoni achieved this against Sunrisers Hyderabad in front of his home crowd in Ranchi, largely at the expense of Thisara Perera, and helped his team secure a 12-run victory.
This belligerent fifty of Dhoni’s beat the previous CLT20 record held by Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians, who had scored a fifty in 18 balls in the 2009 edition while playing for Trinidad and Tobago against New South Wales.
In Ranchi, Mahendra Singh Dhoni showcased his typical style and also smashed 34 runs off Thisara Perera’s over, which happens to be the highest number of runs scored in an over in the tournament.
Moreover, Dhoni broke Kieron Pollard’s record by scoring a fifty in just 16 balls, all thanks to his aggressive approach against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Chennai Super Kings set a target of 202 runs against Hyderabad with the help of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 63 off 19 balls, which included one four and eight sixes. Suresh Raina, CSK’s middle-order batsman, also played a crucial role in the innings with his 84 off 57 balls. Despite Hyderabad’s valiant effort, they fell short and were only able to score 190 runs, resulting in a narrow defeat for them.