India vs England: Debutant Krunal Pandya sets world record with 26-ball 50 in 1st ODI

All-rounder Krunal Pandya had a dream One-Day International (ODI) debut as he set a world record on Tuesday during the opening game between India and England.

After being asked to bat, India were off to a great start. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put up 60-plus runs for the opening wicket before the Mumbai batsman was sent back to the pavilion. Dhawan then shared a crucial 105-run partnership with skipper Virat Kohli to bring India's innings back on track. While Kohli scored his 61st half-century in the ODIs, Dhawan, unfortunately, missed a deserving hundred as he fell short by two runs. It was Dhawan's second ODI fifty against England.

At 205 for 5, Krunal walked in to bat as he joined KL Rahul at the crease. The two shared an unbeaten 112-run stand and helped India reach 317 for 5 in 50 overs.

Krunal struck two sixes and seven fours as he scored 58 not out from 31 balls. En route the total, Krunal registered the fastest fifty by a debutant in the ODIs – 26 balls. Krunal also became the 15th Indian to score a half-century on his ODI debut.

The last Indian to score a fifty on ODI debut was one-ODI man Faiz Fazal, who had achieved the feat during a game in Zimbabwe in 2016.

5⃣0⃣ on ODI debut! 👏👏@krunalpandya24 notches up a 26-ball half-century. 👍👍

Cracking knock from the left-hander as #TeamIndia move closer to 300! 🔥🔥@Paytm #INDvENG

Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/MiuL1livUt pic.twitter.com/JHRjNmbiYc

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 23, 2021

Indians with 50 or more runs on ODI debut:

Brijesh Patel - 1974

Ajit Wadekar - 1974

Sandeep Patil - 1980

Raman Lamba - 1986

Navjot Sidhu - 1987

Pravin Amre - 1991

Saba Karim - 1997

A Khurasiya - 1999

Robin Uthappa - 2006

Ravindra Jadeja - 2009

Ambati Rayudu - 2013

Manish Pandey - -2015

KL Rahul - 2016

Faiz Fazal - 2016

Krunal Pandya - 2021

Karnataka batsman Rahul remains the only Indian batsman to register a century on ODI debut.

Meanwhile, Krunal's 26-ball half-century put him level with former Indian captain MS Dhoni in the list of fastest ODI fifties for India against England. Dhoni had scored a 26-ball half-century in Cardiff in 2011 against the English team.

Fastest ODI fifties for India vs England:

26 balls - MS Dhoni, Cardiff, 2011
26 balls - Krunal Pandya, Pune, Today
29 balls - Yusuf Pathan, Indore, 2008
29 balls - Kedar Jadhav, Pune, 2017#INDvENG

— ESPNcricinfo stats (@ESPNcric_stats) March 23, 2021

Krunal, who fought back tears on receiving the ODI cap from his younger brother Hardik Pandya, broke down again during an interview after his memorable knock as he remembered his late father. He dedicated his record-breaking innings to his father, who succumbed to cardiac arrest in January 2021.

"His father would be super proud of his achievement. Krunal was very emotional when he was getting the cap. Hardik presented the cap to Krunal. That was an excellent gesture from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri to allow Krunal's brother to give him that cap," former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman said on Star Sports at the mid-innings break.