Virat Kohli’s half-century in the 2024 Men’s T20I World Cup final against South Africa was one of the slowest by an Indian player in T20Is. Even so, his innings was vital as it helped India recover from early problems to post a competitive score.
This performance was key in helping India win the T20 World Cup 2024, ending their long wait for an ICC trophy. Indian batsmen are known for their impressive records, but some also hold less desirable ones.
T20 cricket is famous for its fast pace. Nowadays, favorable conditions often let batsmen score quickly, dominating bowlers.
However, there have been many times in T20I cricket where batsmen have taken much longer to score runs, which is usually seen as unacceptable in modern cricket.
This can happen for various reasons, like losing early wickets, slow pitches, tough conditions, or a strategic plan to take the game deep.
Here are the 5 Slowest Half-Centuries Scored by an Indian:
1. Gautam Gambhir, BAN vs IND, 2009
India played against Bangladesh in the fourth Group A match of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2009 in Nottingham.
India batted first and scored 180/5. Gautam Gambhir was the top scorer with a half-century, making 50 runs off 46 balls, with four boundaries. India defended their total well, keeping Bangladesh to 155/8 and winning by 25 runs.
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2. Virat Kohli, SA vs IND, 2024
Virat Kohli scored 50 runs from 48 balls in the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, making it the fourth-best performance in the match. With India losing early wickets, including Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav, Kohli stepped up to use his experience.
He played an important innings, scoring 76 runs from 59 balls after taking his time to settle in. India defended their total successfully, restricting South Africa and winning by seven runs, ending an 11-year wait for an ICC trophy. Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match for his outstanding performance.
3. Suryakumar Yadav, USA vs IND, 2024
Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten half-century from 49 balls is third on this list. In their Group A match of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, India bowled first and limited the USA to 110/8.
Despite losing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant early in a tough chase, Suryakumar Yadav stayed strong and scored a crucial fifty. His performance helped India win against a strong USA bowling team.
India won with seven wickets left, reaching the target in 18.2 overs with 10 balls remaining. Known for his aggressive batting, this innings by Suryakumar Yadav was different, showing he can play a steady and anchoring role in T20 cricket.
4. Gautam Gambhir, AUS vs IND, 2012
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is second on the list. This happened during the second T20I between Australia and India on February 3, 2012, in Melbourne.
Australia batted first and were all out for 131 runs in 20 overs. Praveen Kumar and Rahul Sharma each took two wickets for India. India started their chase steadily but lost Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli early.
Gambhir held the innings together, scoring his fifty from 54 balls. He remained unbeaten on 56 from 60 balls, helping India win by eight wickets in the final over.
5. KL Rahul, IND vs SA, 2022
KL Rahul has the record for the slowest T20I fifty by an Indian batsman. This happened in the first game of the series against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram in 2022.
India chose to bowl first and kept South Africa to 106/8. The pitch was tough for batting, and India scored only 17 runs in the first six overs of their chase.
Even though he struggled, Rahul hit a six that helped India win by eight wickets. He finished unbeaten on 51 runs from 56 balls, just crossing the 50-run mark.
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