West Indies star batter Shimron Hetmyer broke down legendary batter Chris Gayle's record to score the fastest T20 World Cup half-century for the West Indies. He reached the milestone in just 22 balls, as compared to 23, which Gayle took to score a fifty in the mega event.
After being asked to bat, West Indies openers Brandon King and captain Shai Hope gave their team a steady start, putting on 54 runs for the first wicket. The innings slowed slightly as West Indies slipped to 58 for 2 in the 10th over, but things quickly changed once Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell came together. The pair added a crucial 81-run stand and shifted the momentum back in the West Indies’ favour.
Hetmyer wasted no time settling in. On just the second ball he faced, he launched Oliver Davidson for a six over long-off. He kept attacking the bowlers and brought up his half-century in just 22 balls, with Davidson again on the receiving end.
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That knock put Hetmyer close to a long-standing West Indies record. Chris Gayle had earlier reached a fifty in 23 balls against Australia at The Oval in 2009. In that match, chasing 170, Gayle and Andre Fletcher stitched together a massive 133-run opening stand. Gayle set the tone early with two boundaries off Brett Lee in the opening over and reached his half-century with a single off James Hopes in the seventh. He eventually scored 88 off 50 balls as West Indies won comfortably by seven wickets.
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Coming back to Saturday’s match, Hetmyer’s aggressive 64 helped West Indies post a strong total of 182 for 5 in their 20 overs. After Powell was dismissed by Brad Currie, Hetmyer added another 36 runs with Sherfane Rutherford for the fourth wicket. His innings finally came to an end when Safyaan Sharif got him out, thanks to a sharp catch by Brandon McMullen.
Speaking at the innings break, Hetmyer talked about the challenging weather conditions. “It was good and bad because of how hot it was. I didn’t feel it much, but when I asked the umpire, he said it wasn’t that bad for him. I think it’s just about getting used to playing day-night games again,” he said.