Five Fastest Fifties By Indian Batsmen In ODI Cricket

If not as elusive as a three-figure mark, hitting fifty by batsmen is also an achievement on its own. Over the years, as cricket kept growing by leaps and bounds, especially in favour of batsmen, they found the much-needed confidence. The advent of T20 format has undoubtedly enhanced the batters’ audacity and range of shots to earn quick runs.

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Indian batsmen haven’t stayed behind either. Explosive batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni have been the trendsetters. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya are also destructive strikers of the ball. Also, some tailenders have emerged as competent and useful with the bat, making whirlwind half-centuries.

We take a look at five fastest fifties by Indian batsmen in ODI cricket:

Yuvraj Singh – 22 balls vs Bangladesh, 2004:

Former left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh smashed a half-century in a little more than three overs against Bangladesh in 2004 in Dhaka. At number six, Yuvraj came at number six when Rahul Dravid departed for a well-made 60 off 68 balls. The southpaw brought his fifty off 22 deliveries and finally finished with 69 off 32, consisting of three sixes and eight fours.

In the process, he also shared a stand of 93 off 47 balls with Mohammad Kaif. Other three-half centuries from senior batsmen in Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Virender Sehwag helped the men in blue to finish with 348 on the board. The tourists eventually won the match convincingly by 91 runs.

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Rahul Dravid – 22 balls vs New Zealand, 2004

It might be surprising to see Rahul Dravid in this list, but he does include amongst the ones to score the fastest fifty by an Indian. As a quintessential Test batsman with that technique, few can imagine him bashing bowlers all over the park. But “The Wall” did do that against New Zealand in 2003 in Hyderabad.

It all ensued after India endured a mini-collapse after Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar started strongly. With Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman departing early, it was on Dravid to make the hosts finish strongly. The Karnataka batsman launched a counter-attack to take his side to 353.

Dravid finished unbeaten at 50 off 22 balls with five fours and three sixes by accumulating 50 runs in the final six overs. Behind the stumps, he affected two dismissals and the men in blue beat the Kiwis by 145 runs.

Virender Sehwag – 22 balls vs Kenya, 2001

Yet another batsman, who made his fastest fifty at 22 deliveries is Virender Sehwag. Sehwag is one of those batsmen, often known for going after the bowlers from the get-go and not sparing them no matter where he bats. While he seldom plays at a spot other than the opening one, the Delhi batsman didn’t fail to bludgeon the Kenyan bowling at number three.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar put on an opening stand of 258 before Sehwag applied the finishing touches. Having made fifty off 22 deliveries, he eventually finished with 55 not out off 23 balls. The whirlwind knock consisted of seven fours and three sixes that carried India to 351 and deliver a win by 186 runs.

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Kapil Dev – 22 balls vs West Indies, 1983

All-rounder Kapil Dev reigned supreme against a more than capable bowling attack of West Indies, comprising of Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, and Malcolm Marshall in 1983 in Berbice. The top-order batsmen in Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, and Mohinder Amarnath all set the foundation for their skipper to go massive.

Months before winning the World Cup, the Haryana Hurricane took their decorated pacers to the cleaners, specifically Holding, who had an economy rate of 7. He brought his fifty off 22 deliveries and was dismissed for 72 off 38 deliveries with seven fours and three sixes. India finished with 282 in 60 overs, which proved too much even for the great Caribbean batting line-up, falling short of 27 runs.

Ajit Agarkar – 21 balls vs Zimbabwe, 2000

At the top of the list sitting pretty is Ajit Agarkar, who smashed a half-century off 21 deliveries against Zimbabwe in 2000. The speedster’s late pyrotechnics were much needed as India looked as if they would struggle to reach 250 when Hemang Badani was their sixth batsman to depart in the 44th over.

Agarkar joined hands with Reetinder Sodhi and added 75 runs in no time to push India past 300 in 50 overs. The Mumbai pacer eventually ended with an unbeaten 67 off 25 balls with seven fours and four sixes. With the ball, Agarkar took three wickets to deliver a victory by 39 runs and take the man of the match award.

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