Fastest Fifty in ODI
| No | Player | Match | Total Runs | Deliveries taken to score 50 |
| 1 | AB de Villiers | South Africa v West Indies | 149 | 16 |
| 2 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka v Pakistan | 76 | 17 |
| 3 | Kusal Perera | Sri Lanka v Pakistan | 68 | 17 |
| 4 | Martin Guptill | New Zealand v Sri Lanka | 93 | 17 |
| 5 | Liam Livingstone | England v the Netherlands | 66* | 17 |
| 6 | Simon O’Donnell | Australia v Sri Lanka | 74 | 18 |
| 7 | Shahid Afridi | Pakistan v Sri Lanka | 102 | 18 |
| 8 | Shahid Afridi | Pakistan v the Netherlands | 55* | 18 |
| 9 | Glenn Maxwell | Australia v India | 60 | 18 |
| 10 | Shahid Afridi | Pakistan v Bangladesh | 59 | 18 |
The limited-overs game has evolved rapidly since its introduction in 1971 and finds itself in an entirely unexpected shape and form in 2022. Last January marked 5 decades since the emergence of One Day cricket and now, we have unique formats like T10 and Hundred. The question remains, which is the batsman with the fastest fifty in ODI cricket?
Batters have become more and more explosive as the game kept evolving. As a result, a Sanath Jayasuriya record many believed which would never go down (17-ball fifty), eventually went down and it won’t be a surprise if AB de Villiers’ current record gets broken in the times to come.
Despite the evolution that we witnessed, scoring a fifty inside 20 deliveries is still not a very common occurrence and we have only seen a handful of them. Here’s a look at the 10 fastest half-centuries in ODI cricket, knocks that are etched in fans’ memory.
1. AB de Villiers vs West Indies, January 2015 – 16 balls
There has not been carnage in international cricket as vandalizing and brutal as AB de Villiers’ knock against West Indies on 18th January 2015, when Johannesburg adorned the pink jerseys. He came out to bat with less than 13 overs remaining, with Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw already scoring centuries.
De Villiers got going from ball number 1, and in next to no time, he had the Windies bowlers on their knees. The South African scored the fastest fifty in ODI cricket, getting there in 16 deliveries with a six over long-off. De Villiers then scored the fastest hundred in international cricket, in just 31 balls. He scored 149 runs in just 44 balls, a knock that included 16 sixes and 9 fours.
2. Sanath Jayasuriya vs Pakistan, April 1996 – 17 balls
There have been many explosive cricketers in world cricket, very few as threatening in stature as Sanath Jayasuriya. During the Singer Cup final in 1996 against Pakistan, the southpaw went after the bowlers and it seemed like the side will chase the 216-run target in no time.
Jayasuriya made 76 runs in just 28 balls, and recorded the fastest fifty in ODI cricket in just 17 deliveries. His knock included 8 fours and 6 sixes, but after he was dismissed, Sri Lanka collapsed and lost the game eventually. It took nearly 2 decades for another cricketer to break this record and when it happened, it happened in some style.
3. Kusal Perera vs Pakistan, August 2015 – 17 balls
A batter likened to the great Sanath Jayasuriya quite often, it was quite fitting that Kusal Perera equalled his idol’s record of getting to a fifty in 17 balls. As it turns out, both Perera and Jayasuriya did it against the same opponent – Pakistan.
Sri Lanka needed 288 runs to win the game in Pallekelle, and got a blazing start from Perera. He exploited the field restrictions well and got to his fifty in 17 balls. He finished with a 25-ball 68, which included 13 fours and 2 sixes.
4. Martin Guptill vs Sri Lanka, December 2015 – 17 balls
During the second ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka of their bilateral series in Christchurch, Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan bowled the visiting side out for just 117 runs when they batted first.
Guptill, who had a sensational World Cup campaign a few months ago, was in beast mode during the innings, smashing an unbeaten 93 in just 30 balls. His knock included 9 fours and 8 sixes. He nearly broke the fastest 100 record set by AB de Villiers, but there weren’t enough runs to chase. He did get to fifty pretty quickly though, getting there in just 17 balls.
5. Liam Livingstone vs Netherlands, June 2022 – 17 balls
England’s Liam Livingstone also holds the joint second-fastest record for an ODI half-century after reaching his milestone in 17 deliveries. He was involved in a trailblazing partnership with Jos Buttler who was also trying to break his own record of the fastest ODI century by an English batter, but ended up failing.
Livingstone remained unbeaten on 66 off 22 balls as England set the highest-ever ODI innings total – going past its own record of 481 for six against Australia.
6. Simon O’Donnell vs Sri Lanka, May 1990 – 18 balls
When Simon O’Donnell launched a blitzkrieg attack on Sri Lanka in the Austral-Asia Cup 1990, he set the record for the fastest fifty in ODI cricket and it was the first instance in international cricketer where a batter completed his fifty inside 20 deliveries.
Dean Jones got a sensational hundred, and Donnell had all the freedom in the world to go berserk. He hit 6 sixes and 4 fours enroute a 29-ball 74, and in the process, he got to his fifty in just 18 balls.
7. Shahid Afridi vs Sri Lanka, October 1996 – 18 balls
Surprise, surprise. It is him again. Shahid Afridi is omnipresent in such lists but this knock was perhaps the most special among all of them. Batting first against Sri Lanka in Nairobi, the Pakistani swashbuckling batter announced his abilities to the world with this knock.
He got the second-fastest fifty and fastest hundred (37 balls) during this knock, records which got bundled in the time to come. He hit 6 fours and a whopping 11 sixes enroute to a 40-ball 102, and completed his half-century in 18 deliveries.
8. Shahid Afridi vs Netherlands, September 2002 – 18 balls
Pakistan ran past Netherlands in the 2002 ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, and once again, it had a bit of Shahid Afridi magic in it. Pakistan restricted the Dutch to 136 runs when they batted first and the target was no problem at all for the Asian side.
Afridi came out to bat at number three for Pakistan and provided a nightmare to the Netherlands side. He tonked the bowlers to all sides and smashed 6 sixes and 4 fours, enroute an 18-ball 55. Pakistan won the game by 9 wickets and 202 balls remaining.
9. Glenn Maxwell vs India, November 2013 – 18 balls
In what turned out to be a sensational 7-match ODI series between India and Australia towards the end of 2013, both sides were chasing a series win in the Decider in Bengaluru. Australia had a mammoth 384-run target after Rohit Sharma smashed his first double-century, but they weren’t fazed by it.
Maxwell especially, provided a sensational cameo coming in at number 6. Australia lost some quick wickets, but the Victorian all-rounder showed no mercy to the Indian bowlers. He got a fifty in double-quick time, getting there in just 18 deliveries. He finished with a 22-ball 62 and his party was halted by Vinay Kumar.
10. Shahid Afridi vs Bangladesh, March 2014 – 18 balls
The Pakistani all-rounder is known to produce pyrotechnics with the willow in hand, and Bangladesh got a good taste of that in Mirpur during the Asia Cup, 2014. During a group stage fixture, with Pakistan needing 327 runs to win, it seemed like the 1992 World champions will find it difficult, but Afridi had other plans.
He added a crucial partnership with Fawad Alam, and got himself a 25-ball 59. Against all the odds, Pakistan chased the total and in this procession, Afridi got to his fifty in 18 deliveries.
Also Read: Top 10 Batsmen With Most Runs in T20 Cricket
