Before 89 vs MI, Karun Nair's last IPL fifty had come 2,520 days ago and next is Travis Head with gap of 2,516 days between two fifties

Karun Nair has been the talk of town for quite some time now. His astronomical run in domestic 50-ver tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy led to the murmurs of him potentially being selected for India's Champions Trophy 2025 squad but it couldn't happen. The batter, however, didn't lose hope and got to play his first IPL match on Sunday (Apr 13) after nearly three years.

In his first outing for Delhi Capitals, Nair was on fire as he smacked 89 off 40 balls with 12 fours and five sixes to his name. It was not only his first IPL match in nearly 1,000 days but first fifty in nearly seven years as well.

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Nair's last fifty had come 2,520 ago for Punjab Kings against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 20, 2018 - it is the longest gap between two fifties in IPL history. In Nair defence, however, the batter only played six times during those seven years in exile.

On the second spot of the same list is SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) explosive batter Travis Head. The Aussie, a menace name for the bowlers since last couple of years, had went without a fifty in IPL for nearly seven years as well. The difference between his two fifties in IPL is 2,516 days.

After scoring a fifty for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2017, Head hit a fifty on May 7 - his last till 2024. The next fifty came for SRH on March 27 against MI. Aussie, however, didn't play in the IPL for all that time and hence the gap.

As for the match between DC and MI, Mumbai held their nerves amid Nair's onslaught and won the match 12 runs. Asked to bat first, MI put up 205 on board and DC were going strong, needing 93 in 60 balls with nine wickets in hand.

Nair's wicket then started a collapse and DC were bowled out for 193 in 19 overs - losing the match by 12 runs.