Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Feb 23: West Indies star Shimron Hetmyer produced a breathtaking display of power-hitting, hammering the fastest half-century by a Caribbean batter in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup during their Super 8 Group 1 clash against Zimbabwe national cricket team at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
After West Indies were asked to bat first, Hetmyer blazed to his fifty in just 19 balls, smashing four fours and five sixes. In doing so, he bettered his own previous record for the quickest T20 World Cup half-century by a West Indies batter.
Earlier in the tournament, Hetmyer had scored a 22-ball fifty against Scotland at Eden Gardens, surpassing the long-standing 23-ball record set by Chris Gayle at The Oval in 2009.
Walking in after the early dismissal of Brandon King with the score at 17/1, Hetmyer initially built a steady 37-run stand with captain Shai Hope (14). He got going with boundaries off Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani and survived a dropped catch by Tashinga Musekiwa when he was on 10.
From there, the left-hander unleashed a brutal assault. He struck Ngarava for consecutive boundaries, then took apart Graeme Cremer with two towering sixes in the seventh over. The carnage continued in the following over as he smashed Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza for three sixes in four deliveries.
West Indies surged to 92/2 in just eight overs, with Hetmyer’s 19-ball fifty setting the tone for a dominant batting performance.