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Fastest fifties in Tests

March 28, 2005 16:14 IST
Shahid Afridi on Sunday raced to his fifty off only 26 balls in Pakistan's second innings of Bangalore Test.

Afridi now holds the record of scoring the fastest fifty for Pakistan bettering Yousuf Youhana's record. His fifty is also the second fastest in all Test cricket after Jacques Kallis' 24-ball fifty against Zimbabwe recently.

24 JH Kallis South Africa v Zimbabwe Cape Town 2004-05
26 Shahid Afridi Pakistan v India Bangalore 2004-05
27 Yousuf Youhana Pakistan v South Africa Cape Town 2002-03
28 IT Botham England v India Delhi 1981-82
30 Kapil Dev India v Pakistan Karachi 1982-83
31 WJ Cronje South Africa v Sri Lanka Centurion 1997-98
32 IVA Richards West Indies v India Kingston 1982-83
32 IT Botham England v New Zealand The Oval 1986
Note: Some of the sources mention that Ian Botham took 26
balls to complete his fifty against India at Delhi, which is incorrect.

Botham faced 28 deliveries, not 26, for his 50 at Delhi in 1981, which can be confirmed by careful checking of the scorebook (Botham faced two no-balls, which may have been overlooked at the time).

Rajneesh Gupta