Zazai lets fly to equal fastest-50 T20 record

Hazratullah Zazai smashed a blistering half-century off just 12 balls in the Afghanistan Premier League on Sunday to equal the all-time T20 record held by his "idol" Chris Gayle and Yuvraj Singh, including hitting six sixes in a single over.

Left-arm orthodox spinner Abdullah Mazari conceded 37 runs in one over after the 20-year-old Zazai blasted his way to tying the mark for the fastest half-century in T20 cricket.

An opening batsman, Zazai launched two sixes before Mazari bowled a wide down the leg-side, followed by four more sixes for the 37-run over.

Zazai became just the sixth player in the history of competitive cricket to have achieved the feat, following on from Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh and Worcestershire batsman Ross Whiteley last year.

Gayle got a close-up look at Zazai's big-hitting as the West Indian star was in the opposing Balkh Legends team.

"It was a surreal moment for me to perform in front of my idol," said Zazai.

"I was trying to play my natural game and wasn't thinking of outshining anybody."

Left-hander Zazai, who has played for Afghanistan in both one-day and T20 internationals, was eventually out for a 17-ball 62 in just the sixth over, one of three wickets for Adelaide Strikers seamer Ben Laughlin, as his team Kabul Zwanan fell 21 runs short of a target of 245 against Balkh.

Gayle's own innings included plenty of fireworks as he launched 10 sixes in a 48-ball knock of 80 before he was run out.

The match set a new T20 record for the most sixes in a match with 37, just one short of the record for the most in any format of the game, set in an India-Australia ODI in Bengaluru in 2013.

"It's a very proud moment for me," said Zazai. "It's a very enjoyable moment for me that my name is now linked to so many big names of the game, the real legends."

His record-equalling innings came just five days after he scored 124 against Nangarhar Leopards in the same competition.