Top 5 Players Who Have Made Fastest 50 in T20 World Cup

When it comes to International cricket, the T20 World Cup is the biggest event which has seen a tonne of lethal batsmen break some unbelievable records. Who doesn’t love watching an explosive batsman that knocks the ball out of the park or for a boundary after every next delivery? They are a relish to watch especially if you are a cricket fan. 

During the course of years, the T20 World Cup event has seen some spectacular knocks by batsmen to reach the fastest 50. The current record for scoring the fastest half century in t20 is held by the Indian, Yuvraj Singh. It took him just 12 deliveries against England to get him not only the fastest 50 in t20, but also the fastest fifty in t20 international cricket history. This unbelievable event surprisingly took place in the very first edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. At this time, T20 cricket wasn’t as popular and famous as it is today, and was in its initial developing years.

Let us take a look at five of the fastest players in the world to reach the 50-run mark in the least number of deliveries.

List of Fastest Fifty in T20 World Cup

Rank	Batsman	Team	Balls	Against	Year	Location
1	Yuvraj Singh	India	12	England	2007	South Africa
2	Stephan Myburgh	Netherlands	17	Ireland	2014	Bangladesh
3	Glenn Maxwell	Australia	18	Pakistan	2014	Bangladesh
4	KL Rahul	India	18	Scotland	2021	UAE
5	Shoaib Malik	Pakistan	18	Scotland	2021	UAE

Yuvraj Singh (India)

Over the past decade, no cricketer has come remotely close to beating the impeccable record set by Yuvraj Singh. The maestro scored the fastest half century in t20 history and international cricket which took him no more than 12 balls to get his fifty against England. 

This memorable event took place in the very first T20 World Cup in 2007 in a match where India was up against England in a fiery match. This was the same game in which Yuvraj blasted the ball for six sixes off a single over against Stuart Broad. It all started in the previous over by Andrew Flintoff where Yuvraj started the heavy hitting which eventually led to the fastest 50 in world cup. 

After his bended-knee knock over midwicket and a spectacular strike over long-on off Broad’s final two deliveries, Yuvraj became the player with the fastest 50 in t20. Ever since not a soul has come close to breaking or matching his record. Yuvraj went on to remain unbeaten on 58 off just 16 balls. His unforgettable knock consisted of seven sixes and three fours which led to the fastest 50 in t20 international cricket history. This was also the first time a batsman ever hit six sixes in a single over in T20 Cricket. India ended up winning that match and eventually winning the World T20 champion title as well. Yuvraj Singh fastest fifty is probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and hence won’t be seeing something similar repeat anytime soon.

Stephan Myburgh (Netherlands)

The second fastest 50 in the t20 world cup came in 2014 by the Dutch international, Stephen Myburgh. Ireland set an intimidating target of 190 runs against Ireland which was quite a challenge to chase. Stephan Myburgh went on to get his half-century in 17 deliveries after having a strong start to his innings. He managed to get a total of 63 off 23 balls by the end of the match providing a major boost in the run chase against Ireland. His seven sixes and four boundaries proved to be a nightmare for Ireland, especially for bowler Andy McBrine who conceded four of those sizes. The remaining were conceded by Alex Cusack in the fourth over bowled by him. A majority of the runs were scored in the powerplay overs alone by Myburgh where he battered the ball. With 37 balls left to spare, the Netherlands comfortably went on to win the match, and Stephen  Myburgh achieved a spot in the book of records in t20 international cricket history.

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Glenn Maxwell (Australia)

The Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell is known for his aggressive batting style and is no surprise on this list of the fastest 50 in t20 cricket. His knocks are encapsulating and simply a delight to watch. His incredible performance against Pakistan in the 2014 T20 World Cup where he brought up his half century in just 18 deliveries was not enough for Australia to get the win.

Australia began their run chase with a terrifying score of just 8/2 while needing a total of 192 runs to win. Glenn Maxwell took matters into his hands to complete the run chase by starting off his heavy-hitting against spinners Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Hafeez before a few quick deflections behind point off Umar Gul’s pace. Bilawal Bhatti proved to be extremely unfortunate against Maxwell who smashed 2 sixes and 2 overs from him, conceding a massive 30 runs in that over. He then eventually brought up his half century in 18 deliveries, which also turned out to be the second fastest fifty in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the third fastest fifty in t20 cricket history. Maxwell went on to score a brilliant 74 runs off just 33 balls after which he was dismissed by Shahid Afridi. In spite of bringing the seemingly impossible run chase down to 66 runs from 50 balls for Australia, the remaining batsmen failed to reach the target.

KL Rahul (India)

In the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE, India was about to face an early elimination after losing to both Pakistan and New Zealand. However, their win against Scotland proved to be a day where KL Rahul stole the spotlight by scoring the third fastest fifty in t20 international cricket history.

The right-handed batsmen not only blew the minds of everyone in the Dubai International Stadium away but also of cricket fans all over the world. His stunning half-century off just 18 balls was simply out of this world and a treat to watch. KL Rahul is the second Indian on this list after Yuvraj Singh who holds this record.

KL Rahul started the innings strong and took on the Scotland bowlers along with his partner Rohit Sharma. His 50 runs included three sixes and six boundaries leading to India effortlessly breezing past Scotland and beating them by a whopping eight wickets! Right after bringing up his fifty, KL Rahul ended up getting dismissed on the 19th delivery that he faced.

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Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Shoaib Malik is a Veteran Pakistani cricketer who was about to be 40 when he was playing the T20 World Cup in 2021. He shocked the world with his jaw-dropping half-century against Scotland. He scored his fifty in just 18 balls, equalling Glenn Maxwell and KL Rahul’s record as the joint third fastest half century in T20. 

Pakistan managed to score a magnificent total of 189 in 20 overs out of which Shoaib Malik contributed to a marvellous 54 runs in 18 balls. He alone contributed to over 26 out of the 43 runs scored by Pakistan in the final two overs. Shoaib Malik is also the Pakistani player with the fastest half century in t20.

Conclusion

Chris Gayle and Hazatullah Zazai are the only players who have managed to match Yuvraj Singh’s record of scoring fifty in 12 balls. Gayle accomplished the feat while playing for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Striker in the Big Bash League in 2016. Whereas Hazratullah did so in the Afghanistani Premier League and ended up hitting six sixes in a single over as well. On the international stage, only the Austrian Mirza Ahsan has come close to beating Yuvraj’s record. He got the second fastest half century in t20 international cricket history against Luxembourg in 2019.

However, Yuvraj’s fastest fifty in t20 World Cup may not stay a record for a long time. Aggressive and explosive batsmen like Glenn Maxwell, Colin Munro, Hardik Pandya, Hazatullah Zazai, Andre Russel, and Hardik Pandya are some of the potential batsmen who are extremely capable of breaking this record. There could even be a surprising new talent that is not very well known who could just as easily break or match this record. Although, performing under pressure on the international stage in a competition as competitive as the T20 Internation World Cup is not everyone’s cup of tea