Urvil Patel matched the IPL record for the fastest fifty when he blazed to a half-century off 13 balls against Lucknow Super Giants at Chepauk, then celebrated with a message for his father tucked on a piece of paper: "This is for you, Papa."
Patel's surge helped Chennai Super Kings in a chase of 204 and tied him with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had also reached fifty off 13 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in IPL 2023. The innings was the joint-eighth fastest half-century in all T20 cricket.
Patel came in with Chennai Super Kings on 45 for 1 in 3.4 overs and made seven sixes and a four as he raced to 50 off 13 balls. He was eventually dismissed for 65 off 23 balls, having struck two fours and eight sixes, with Chennai Super Kings on 126 for 2 in 9.2 overs.
The knock mattered even more because it came in only Patel's fourth IPL 2026 match. He had managed scores of 4, 24 and 17 in his first three innings before Chennai Super Kings lost Ayush Mhatre to a hamstring injury and opened the door for him. Patel took that chance with an innings that changed the shape of the chase in a matter of deliveries.
Chennai Super Kings had been chasing a 204 target against Lucknow Super Giants, and the innings offered a rare burst of pace for a side that had not completed a successful 180-plus chase in the IPL in 15 attempts since 2019. Patel's dismissal slowed the charge, but by then the record had already been matched and the match had been turned on its head.
The larger question now is whether this was a one-night burst or the start of something longer for Patel, who has gone from a quiet opening run to a place in the record book in the space of a single evening.
