New Delhi: Pakistan cricket team's senior batsman Shoaib Malik played a fiery innings even at the age of 40 against Scotland in the Group 2 game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday. The veteran scored a half-century as he played an unbeaten innings of 54 runs in 18 balls during which he hit 6 sixes and 1 four.
Shoaib Malik played an 18-ball 54 run knock to equal India's opener KL Rahul in terms of scoring the fastest fifty in the T20 World Cup 2021. Team India's star opener KL Rahul had recently completed his fifty off just 18 balls against Scotland.
Shoaib's excellent innings was also witnessed by his wife and India's ace tennis player Sania Mirza, who was present in the stands with her son. Pictures of Sania's animated reaction to her husband's remarkable knock has gone viral on social media.
Shoaib has now also become the fastest batsman to score the fastest half-century for Pakistan in T20 format. Umar Akmal is at number two in this list as he had scored a fifty off 21 balls in 2010 against Australia and off 22 balls in 2016 against New Zealand.
Stats show that Shoaib Malik loves to bat against Scotland. The senior batter played a stormy innings of 53 runs off 27 balls against Scotland in 2018, 49 runs off 22 balls against the same side in 2018 itself and now 18-ball 54 run knock this year in Sharjah.
India's legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who had hammered England's Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over to score a half-century off just12 balls in 2007 T20 World Cup, still holds the record for scoring the fastest fifty in the history of T20 Internationals.