Women's T20 Challenge: Kiran Navgire registers the fastest 50 in tournament's history

Making her debut in the Women's T20 Challenge, Velocity's Kiran Navgire smashed the fastest half-century in the history of the three-team tournament. The 26-year-old reached the 50-run mark in just 24 deliveries.

Navgire became the first Indian cricketer - male or female, to score more than 150 runs in a T20 innings. In Women's Senior T20 Trophy, she scored an unbeaten 162 for Nagaland against Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.

Tonight, she did not show any nerves on her big stage debut. In fact, she smashed the first ball she faced in the Women's T20 Challenge for a massive six over mid-wicket. Chasing a mammoth target of 191 runs, Navgire came out to the crease for Velocity following Yastika Bhatia's departure.

She pocketed a whopping 17 runs off her first five deliveries as she smashed Bangladesh spinner Salma Khatun for two sixes and a four at the start of her innings. Stepping up in the run-chase, she scored a blitzkrieg of 69 runs off 34 deliveries with a strike rate of 202.94. Her innings was laced with five 4s and five 6s. Navgire had to depart in the 17th over after she was stumped out by Trailblazers' keeper Richa Ghosh off a delivery by Sophia Dunkley.

Though Velocity lost tonight's game, as they finished off their innings scoring 174/9, their job was done as they needed 158 runs to reach the final of the Women's T20 Challenge 2022 backed by net run-rate.

Kiran Navgire shot to fame during the Senior Women's T20 earlier this year. Not finding a place in the Maharashtra team, she switched to Nagaland and scored big runs including a 76-ball-162 for the Northeast team. She continued her good run for the rest of the tournament, forcing the BCCI to name her in the Women's T20 Challenge. She initially took up athletics, before pursuing a career as a cricketer. She also represented Pune University in the athletic events of javelin throw, shot put and 100 meters.