In a thrilling encounter in IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured their playoff berth with a nail-biting two-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). This match saw Romario Shepherd etch his name in IPL history with a stunning half-century off just 14 balls.
Sports News: The explosive batting of Caribbean all-rounder Romario Shepherd played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) thrilling win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Shepherd smashed an unbeaten 53 off just 26 balls, accumulating 56 runs in the final 14 deliveries.
Of these runs, only three were extras – a wide, a no-ball, and a run scored by Tim David. Shepherd's aggressive innings set a challenging 215-run target for Chennai.
The Final Two Overs Changed the Game
At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, when Shepherd arrived at the crease in this high-voltage match, RCB's score was 159/5 after 18 overs, and it seemed unlikely they would reach 200. However, Shepherd's unbeaten 53 off 14 balls dramatically turned the game around. In the 19th over, he plundered 33 runs off Khaleel Ahmed’s bowling, including four sixes and two fours – the most expensive over of the season. He then continued his onslaught in the final over against Pathirana, smashing two sixes and two fours to complete his whirlwind half-century.
Third Fastest Half-Century Record
With this explosive innings, Romario Shepherd became the third-fastest batsman to score a half-century in IPL history, following KL Rahul and Pat Cummins. This was also the fastest fifty by any overseas all-rounder for RCB.
After winning the Man of the Match award, Romario Shepherd said, "I did what I was sent out to do. I didn't look at the scoreboard; I just focused on hitting every ball to the boundary. The team needed me, and I delivered."
