Sarfaraz Khan blazed to a 15-ball half-century against Punjab in round seven of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the quickest by an Indian in List A history.
The Mumbai batter eclipsed the joint mark of
16 balls shared by Abhijit Kale (1995) and Atit Sheth (2021), placing his knock as the fourth-fastest fifty globally, behind only Sri Lanka's Kaushalya Weeraratne's 12-ball effort in 2005-06.
Chasing 217 at Jaipur's Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Mumbai raced to 169/3 by the 18th over after openers Musheer Khan and Angkrish Raghuvanshi piled on 57 in 8.2 overs. Sarfaraz, entering for his brother, unleashed mayhem on Punjab's spinners - three sixes and three fours off skipper Abhishek Sharma in one over, followed by 19 runs in five balls against Harpreet Brar. His 62 off 20 balls-featuring seven fours and five sixes-ended lbw to Mayank Markande, but the collapse that followed, claiming Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and captain Shreyas Iyer, left Mumbai one run shy despite needing just four with four wickets remaining.
This gem cements Sarfaraz as Mumbai's top scorer in the tournament, with 303 runs in six innings at 75.75 average and a staggering 190.56 strike rate-including 157 against Goa on December 31 and another fifty versus Uttarakhand. Already knockout-bound, Mumbai rued the choke. Sarfaraz's white-hot streak continues with 329 runs at 203.80 strike rate in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Although the Mumbaikar has been denied an opportunity in India colours for now, he is knocking the India door harder than ever.
