In an elite tournament like the T20 World Cup, putting out consistent performances is paramount for any batter.
Consistency, more often than not, takes centre stage in T20Is as it shows a batter’s exceptional talent and temperament. That alone is sufficient to classify them as the best in the business.
The T20 World Cup has seen batters own the stage by scoring fifties in back-to-back games, showcasing their remarkable persistence.
In this article, we’ll list the batters with the most consecutive fifties in T20 World Cup history.
Most Consecutive Fifties in T20 World Cup
| Player | No. of 50s | Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 3 | 81 | New Zealand | Providence | 30 Apr 2010 |
| 100 | Zimbabwe | Providence | 3 May 2010 | ||
| 98* | West Indies | Bridgetown | 7 May 2010 | ||
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 3 | 82* | Australia | Mohali | 27 Mar 2016 |
| 89* | West Indies | Wankhede | 31 Mar 2016 | ||
| 57 | Pakistan | Dubai (DICS) | 24 Oct 2021 | ||
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 3 | 51 | Afghanistan | Dubai (DICS) | 29 Oct 2021 |
| 70 | Namibia | Abu Dhabi | 2 Nov 2021 | ||
| 66 | Scotland | Sharjah | 7 Nov 2021 | ||
| KL Rahul (IND) | 3 | 69 | Afghanistan | Abu Dhabi | 3 Nov 2021 |
| 50 | Scotland | Dubai (DICS) | 5 Nov 2021 | ||
| 54* | Namibia | Dubai (DICS) | 8 Nov 2021 | ||
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 2 | 88 | Kenya | Johannesburg | 14 Sep 2007 |
| 61 | New Zealand | Johannesburg | 15 Sep 2007 | ||
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 2 | 67* | England | Cape Town | 14 Sep 2007 |
| 73* | Bangladesh | Cape Town | 16 Sep 2007 | ||
| Gautam Gambhir (IND) | 2 | 51 | New Zealand | Johannesburg | 16 Sep 2007 |
| 58 | England | Durban | 19 Sep 2007 | ||
| Shoaib Malik (PAK) | 2 | 57 | Sri Lanka | Johannesburg | 17 Sep 2007 |
| 52* | Australia | Johannesburg | 18 Sep 2007 | ||
| Yuvraj Singh (IND) | 2 | 58 | England | Durban | 19 Sep 2007 |
| 70 | Australia | Durban | 22 Sep 2007 | ||
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 2 | 58* | Sri Lanka | Cape Town | 20 Sep 2007 |
| 62 | India | Durban | 22 Sep 2007 | ||
| Gautam Gambhir (IND) | 2 | 75 | Pakistan | Johannesburg | 24 Sep 2007 |
| 50 | Bangladesh | Nottingham | 6 Jun 2009 | ||
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 2 | 53 | Australia | Nottingham | 8 Jun 2009 |
| 74 | West Indies | Nottingham | 10 Jun 2009 | ||
| Dwayne Bravo (WI) | 2 | 51 | Sri Lanka | Nottingham | 10 Jun 2009 |
| 66* | India | Lord’s | 12 Jun 2009 | ||
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 2 | 51 | South Africa | Nottingham | 18 Jun 2009 |
| 54* | Sri Lanka | Lord’s | 21 Jun 2009 | ||
| Kevin Pietersen (ENG) | 2 | 73* | Pakistan | Bridgetown | 6 May 2010 |
| 53 | South Africa | Bridgetown | 8 May 2010 | ||
| Umar Akmal (PAK) | 2 | 51 | South Africa | Gros Islet | 10 May 2010 |
| 56* | Australia | Gros Islet | 14 May 2010 | ||
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 2 | 54 | Australia | Colombo (RPS) | 22 Sep 2012 |
| 58 | England | Pallekele | 27 Sep 2012 | ||
| Shane Watson (AUS) | 2 | 72 | India | Colombo (RPS) | 28 Sep 2012 |
| 70 | South Africa | Colombo (RPS) | 30 Sep 2012 | ||
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2 | 54 | West Indies | Mirpur | 23 Mar 2014 |
| 57* | Bangladesh | Mirpur | 28 Mar 2014 | ||
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 2 | 62* | West Indies | Mirpur | 23 Mar 2014 |
| 56 | Bangladesh | Mirpur | 28 Mar 2014 | ||
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2 | 72* | South Africa | Mirpur | 4 Apr 2014 |
| 77 | Sri Lanka | Mirpur | 6 Apr 2014 | ||
| Max O’Dowd (NED) | 2 | 51 | Ireland | Abu Dhabi | 18 Oct 2021 |
| 70 | Namibia | Abu Dhabi | 20 Oct 2021 | ||
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 2 | 71* | Australia | Dubai (DICS) | 30 Oct 2021 |
| 101* | Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 1 Nov 2021 | ||
| Kusal Mendis (SL) | 2 | 79 | Netherlands | Geelong | 20 Oct 2022 |
| 68* | Ireland | Hobart | 23 Oct 2022 | ||
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2 | 82* | Pakistan | Melbourne | 23 Oct 2022 |
| 62* | Netherlands | Sydney | 27 Oct 2022 | ||
| Suryakumar Yadav (IND) | 2 | 51* | Netherlands | Sydney | 27 Oct 2022 |
| 68 | South Africa | Perth | 30 Oct 2022 | ||
| Glenn Phillips (NZ) | 2 | 104 | Sri Lanka | Sydney | 29 Oct 2022 |
| 62 | England | Brisbane | 1 Nov 2022 |
Key Insights
In 2010, Mahela Jayawardene became the first batter to score 3 consecutive fifties in the T20 World Cup. Apart from him, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, and KL Rahul have notched up fifties in 3 successive innings.
Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are the only 2 batters with consecutive half-centuries across 2 T20 World Cup editions. Kohli’s streak of 3 fifties spanned 2 editions, with 2 coming in 2016 and the remaining one in 2021. Likewise, Gambhir ended the 2007 iteration with a 75-run knock and opened the 2009 campaign with a fifty.
Jayawardene, Jos Buttler, and Glenn Phillips are the 3 batters who have scored a fifty and a century in their respective consecutive innings in the T20 World Cup.
Also Read | List of Centuries in T20 World Cup
Babar Azam and KL Rahul brought up 3 back-to-back fifties in the 2021 T20 World Cup edition against the same 3 opponents. Both batters scored a half-century each against Afghanistan, Namibia, and Scotland.
Virat Kohli is the only batter with 4 or more instances of scoring fifties in 2 or more consecutive innings. Gautam Gambhir and Matthew Hayden have achieved this feat twice.
The Netherlands Max O’Dowd is the only batter from an associate team to score consecutive half-centuries in the T20 World Cup. He attained the feat in 2021 by accumulating 51 against Ireland and 70 against Namibia in back-to-back innings.
6 Indian batters have racked up fifties in 2 or more consecutive innings in the T20 World Cup — the most batters from any team.
