Nearly 200 Twenty20 Internationals, only 3 century made. come down to Indian Premier League (a breakthrough TV success non International tournament) which has had over 200 games in three installments yet only 5 batsmen have gone on to touch three figure score.
Fact : 4 of above mentioned centurions batted as openers on those days.
Reason is simple := T20, 20 over per side cricket match, is little too less for batsman to construct a century brick by brick.. he has to get lucky!
Lets come down a level to make competition tougher = the half centuries (50s or fifty). another land mark we see batters raising their bat to and fans applauding. On an average, a Twenty20 Internationals see 2 fifties scored and is generally enough for better of the two to win man of the match.
Lets raise a level now.. the fastest half century in Twenty20 International match :=
Yuvraj Singh (India), took just 12 balls to complete his fifty, fours and 7 sixes (6 of the in one over from Stuart Broad) in his final score of 58 against England on 19 September 2007 in Twenty20 World cup in South Africa. Yuvraj again features in the list at 4th position with a 20 ball century against the Australians in semi-final of same tournament which India won.
David Warner, at number 2, scored that 19 ball fifty in his debut T20 match while the suprise element in following elite list is Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangaldeshi tiny batsman who notched up just 20 half century against West Indies and won the match for his country to send Caribbean team home from that same first twenty20 world cup.
Note : following list of fastest fifties in T20 cricket is limited to players who have scored faster than 25 balls.
| Fastest fifties in twenty20 internationals. |
| Batsman (Country) |
Balls |
Versus |
Venue |
Date |
| Yuvraj Singh (India) |
12 |
England |
Durban |
19 Sept 2007 |
| Paul Stirling (Ireland) |
17 |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
24 Mar 2012 |
| David Warner (Australia) |
18 |
West Indies |
Sydney |
23 Feb 2010 |
| David Warner (Australia) |
19 |
South Africa |
Melbourne |
11 Jan 2009 |
| Gautam Gambhir (India) |
19 |
Sri Lanka |
Nagpur |
9 Dec 2009 |
| Kieron Pollard (West Indies) |
20 |
Australia |
St Lucia |
27 Mar 2012 |
| Mohammad Ashraful (Bdesh) |
20 |
West Indies |
Johannesburg |
13 Sep 2007 |
| Yuvraj Singh (India) |
20 |
Australia |
Durban |
22 Sep 2007 |
| Yuvraj Singh (India) |
20 |
Sri Lanka |
Mohali |
12 Dec 2009 |
| Shane Watson (Australia) |
20 |
Sri Lanka |
Pallekele |
8 Aug 2011 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) |
21 |
Kenya |
Johannesburg |
14 Sep 2007 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) |
21 |
Sri Lanka |
Nagpur |
9 Dec 2009 |
| Cameron White (Australia) |
21 |
New Zealand |
Christchurch |
28 Feb 2010 |
| Umar Akmal (Pakistan) |
21 |
Australia |
Edgbaston |
5 July 2010 |
| Paul Stirling (Ireland) |
21 |
Canada |
Dubai |
22 Mar 2012 |
| Michael Hussey (Australia) |
22 |
Pakistan |
Gros Islet |
14 May 2010 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) |
23 |
New Zealand |
Wellington |
22 Dec 2006 |
| Chris Gayle (West Indies) |
23 |
Australia |
The Oval |
6 Jun 2009 |
| Aaron Redmond (New Zealand) |
23 |
Ireland |
Trent Bridge |
11 Jun 2009 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) |
23 |
New Zealand |
Colombo (RPS) |
2 Sep 2009 |
| Alex Obanda (Kenya) |
23 |
Canada |
Dubai |
10 Feb 2010 |
| Martin Guptill (New Zealand) |
23 |
Pakistan |
Auckland |
26 Dec 2010 |
| Tom Cooper (Netherlands) |
23 |
Scotland |
Dubai |
22 Mar 2012 |
| William Porterfield (Ireland) |
23 |
Kenya |
Dubai |
14 Mar 2012 |
| Md Hafeez (Pakistan) |
23 |
India |
Ahmedabad |
28 Dec 2012 |
| Paul Collingwood (England) |
24 |
New Zealand |
Christchurch |
7 Feb 2008 |
| Morne van Wyk (South Africa) |
24 |
India |
Durban |
9 Jan 2011 |
| Andrew Symonds (Australia) |
25 |
South Africa |
Brisbane |
9 Jan 2006 |
| Marlon Samuels (West Indies) |
25 |
England |
The Oval |
28 Jun 2007 |
| Nazimuddin (Bangladesh) |
25 |
Pakistan |
Nairobi |
2 Sep 2007 |
| AB de Villiers (South Africa) |
25 |
Scotland |
The Oval |
7 Jun 2009 |
| Graeme Smith (South Africa) |
25 |
England |
Centurion |
15 Nov 2009 |
| Loots Bosman (South Africa) |
25 |
England |
Centurion |
15 Nov 2009 |
| Richard Levi (South Africa) |
25 |
New Zealand |
Hamilton |
19 Feb 2012 |
| Imran Nazir (Pakistan) |
25 |
Bangladesh |
Pallekele |
25 Sep 2012 |
