Stats: Instances when rival captains scored fifties in IPL

Steve Smith and Gautam Gambhir entered the stats book with a unique distinction when Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Rising Pune Supergiant at Pune. The match became the 11th instance in the history of the IPL when both captains hit fifties in the same match. The Kolkata Knight Riders were guided to a firm victory in the game with Gambhir playing the captain’s knock of 62 that anchored the run chase. Earlier in the game, Steve Smith had hit 51 in the match to help RPS post 182 on the board.

Interestingly, this was the fourth instance in the list of 11 mentions that features the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir. Needless to say, Gambhir looks like a prime player when playing against a team that is powered by their captain in the match.

The first instance of this happening was in the second edition of the tournament when Chennai Superkings played the Kings XI Punjab at Centurion. Two of the stalwarts of Indian cricket, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, had hit unbeaten fifties in that particular game. In the 2011 edition of the tournament, the second instance of rival captains scoring fifties took place.

After Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden T20 century against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala while playing for Mumbai Indians, Mahela Jayawardene hit a timely 56 to register an upset win for his team. The 2016 edition of the tournament saw this unique battle happen as many as on 6 instances. David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore registered this feat on two occasions in the previous edition of the tournament.

Here is the complete list of instances when rival captains scored fifties in IPL history:

Note: These stats are taken from hrgrcicstats.com.