Inglis ramps up IPL magic but upstaged by record half-century

Josh Inglis has delivered one of the innings of the season for the struggling Lucknow Super Giants, but it proved in vain as the Indian Premier League's bottom club sunk to a seventh defeat in their past eight games.

Chennai Super Kings unleashed their own record-breaking champion in reply on Sunday as Urvil Patel hit the joint-fastest half-century in the league's history off just 13 balls before they earned a last-over victory by five wickets.

In just his second game of the campaign, Inglis was mesmerising, blasting 10 fours and six sixes, scattered at 360 degrees all around the Chepauk Stadium complete with a bewildering variety of scoops, ramps and authentic savagery.

It was his first half-century for the Justin Langer-coached outfit and came off only 17 balls, quite eclipsing his fellow opener, national skipper Mitch Marsh, who'd fallen for 10.

But once Inglis tried a scoop too far, feathering a touch behind off England pacer Jamie Overton and gone for 85 off 33 balls, there was an anti-climactic feel that he hadn't been the third Australian in the week to ton up after the prodigious efforts of Punjab's Cooper Connolly and Marsh.

Lucknow went on to 8-203, with Overton a match-turner with his 3-36, but when Chennai went to work, their No.3 Urvil delivered what opposition captain Rishabh Pant called a "fantastic and unbelievable innings – like Inglis".

Urvil hit the first 13 balls he received for 166666461061 and 1 to reach his fifty and equal Yashasvi Jaiswal's IPL record.

Urvil eventually fell for 65 off 23, and Chennai still needed another special effort at the death from Shivam Dube, who, after seeing two wides go by, clocked two sixes from the first two deliveries of the final over to earn the 11 needed.

In the day's later match at Raipur, Josh Hazlewood's Royal Challengers Bengaluru eked out the narrowest of two-wicket wins off the final ball to move top of the table and knock five-time champions Mumbai Indians out of contention.

Mumbai posted 7-166, with Hazlewood taking 1-33 to help restrict them after they'd been asked to bowl, but Indians' pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah kept them in the hunt with a superb penultimate over, conceding just three runs. 

Bengaluru, who lost Tim David for a golden duck in their stuttering chase, still managed to chase down the 15 needed in the final over with only two wickets standing, as an unlikely hero proved to be paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who crashed a six over extra cover off the fourth ball.

Even Krunal Pandya (73 off 46 balls) acknowledged his effort: "The shot Bhuvi played was the shot of the match."

Fastest IPL half-centuries

 

13 balls – Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan) v Kolkata, Kolkata, 2023

 

13 balls – Urvil Patel (Chennai) v Lucknow, Chennai, 2026

 

14 balls – KL Rahul (Punjab) v Delhi, Mohali, 2018

 

14 balls – Pat Cummins (Kolkata) v Mumbai, Pune, 2022

 

14 balls – Romario Shepherd (Bengaluru) v Chennai, Bengaluru, 2025

IPL 2026 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Men RCB	11	7	4	0	0	1.103	0	14
2 Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN	11	7	4	0	0	0.737	0	14
3 Gujarat Titans GUT	11	7	4	0	0	0.228	0	14
4 Punjab Kings KXI	10	6	3	0	1	0.571	0	13
5 Chennai Super Kings CSK	11	6	5	0	0	0.185	0	12
6 Rajasthan Royals RAJ	11	6	5	0	0	0.082	0	12
7 Kolkata Knight Riders KKR	10	4	5	0	1	-0.169	0	9
8 Delhi Capitals Men DEL	11	4	7	0	0	-1.154	0	8
9 Mumbai Indians MI	11	3	8	0	0	-0.585	0	6
10 Lucknow Super Giants LSG	11	3	8	0	0	-0.907	0	6

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Australians in IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))

Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)

Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)

Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)