Making a debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It requires immense mental strength to live up to the expectations and play well under pressure. A number of players have succumbed to the pressure and the massive price tags.
However, a few of the cricketers rose to the occasion and played without any fears. Some of the batters played match-winning hands on their IPL debut. The batters showed that they thrive under pressure and can deliver if the situation demands them to do so.
In the article, let’s look at 5 players who scored 50+ score on IPL debut
1. Gautam Gambhir
Before piling on records for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gautam Gambhir played three seasons for the Delhi Daredevils, now Capitals. In his very first IPL appearance, the southpaw showed his class after scoring a half-century against Rajasthan Royals (RR), the 2008 champions.
After being asked to chase down 130, the Daredevils found the going easy. Gambhir scored 58 runs off 46 balls with the help of seven fours and one six. He was also involved in an unbeaten partnership of 112 runs for the second wicket. Gambhir scored 43.94 percent of the team’s runs.
2. Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal had a thunderous IPL debut while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Back in September 2020, Padikkal scored 56 runs off 42 balls while opening the batting.
His knock was laced with eight fours and he played at a strike rate of 133.33. On the back of his knock, RCB racked up a decent score of 163 for five on the board. Thereafter, RCB restricted the David Warner-led Orange Army to 153 and won the match by 10 runs.
3. Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu made his IPL debut for the Mumbai Indians (MI) back in 2010, and he made an impact right away. While batting at No.5, the right-hander scored a half-century and guided his team to a four-run win. Rayudu came to bat after the Mumbai-based team lost Aditya Tare’s wicket with the score at 70.
Rayudu didn’t show any signs of nervousness during his knock and took the attack to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowling unit. Rayudu scored 55 runs off 33 balls and his knock was laced with six fours and two sixes. He played at a strike rate of 166.67 and got out to Amit Uniyal.
4. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan played for the Delhi Daredevils, now Capitals, in his maiden IPL season. The left-hander showed his class in the very first game as he notched a brilliant half-century on his IPL debut in the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Dhawan scored 52 runs off 41 balls with eight fours at a strike rate of 126.83. He stayed until the very end and made sure the Daredevils chased the target down in 15.1 overs. From there on, Dhawan didn’t look back and kept scaling greater heights in his illustrious career for India.
5. Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav made his IPL debut back in 2010 and made the right impression from the word go. He scored 50 runs off 29 balls with five fours and two sixes against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The right-hander was also the top scorer for his team.
On the back of his knock, the Capitals racked up a decent score of 183 for four on the board. In the end, the Daredevils won the game by 17 runs. Jadhav later went on to make his debut for Team India and played for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL.
