Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton did not know if he would be playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, April 29. He was slotted into the side due to an injury to his compatriot Quinton de Kock. Drafted into the side, Rickelton made the best use of the opportunity, playing his best knock in the Indian Premier League.
With Mumbai looking to snap their poor run in the tournament, Rickelton hit a sensational hundred, his first in the IPL, in just 44 balls, helping them set the base for a huge total on Wednesday. The Wankhede Stadium saw some ridiculous hitting from the left-hander, also known as the junior Quinton de Kock.
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The batter hit 8 fours and 7 sixes en route to his 44-ball hundred, the fastest among Mumbai Indians batters in the history of the IPL. Rickelton broke the record of Sanath Jayasuriya, who had reached his milestone in just 45 balls, back in the opening edition of the tournament.
Fastest hundreds for MI
- 44 – Ryan Rickelton vs SRH, Wankhede, 2026
- 45 – Sanath Jayasuriya vs CSK, Wankhede, 2008
- 45 – Tilak Varma vs GT, Ahmedabad, 2026
- 47 – Cameron Green vs SRH, Wankhede, 2023
- 49 – Suryakumar vs GT, Wankhede, 2023
Rickelton kept things fairly simple at the Wankhede. He used the crease to perfection and played shots all around the stadium, leaving SRH reeling. He dominated the leg side, pulling the ball with devastating efficiency.
He hit two sixes down the ground as well, against Harsh Dubey, who was unlucky enough to be put to the sword against the left-hander. Whenever the SRH bowlers tried to correct their lines and bluff him with slower balls, Rickelton had the presence of mind to slap the ball through the off side.
The result was a devastating onslaught on the SRH bowlers, who simply did not have anything for the batter today. As a result, Mumbai crossed the 180-run mark in just the 15th over, setting themselves up for a massive total.
The SRH bowlers had done well in the last four matches of the IPL, but did not have any answers to Rickelton’s attack on Wednesday. The closest they came to picking his wicket was in the first half of the innings, when Rickelton nearly handed a catch to Praful Hinge standing at short fine leg. However, Praful failed to anticipate the ball and did not come forward enough to complete the catch.
Rickelton’s innings helped Mumbai Indians to a total of 243 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. At the time of writing, this is the highest total by the Mumbai side in this season’s Indian Premier League.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
