Top 5 Fastest Fifties in ICC Champions Trophy History

The ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 is all set to start on February 19 in Pakistan. The first game will be between the defending champions, Pakistan and New Zealand. The tournament is returning after a hiatus of eight years, filling the players with excitement. There will be eight teams participating in the tournament based on their performance in the ODI World Cup 2023.

This time, Pakistan are given the hosting rights, but India will play their matches in Dubai. If we take a look at the records of the previous editions, there are many batters who scored blistering half-centuries and centuries. In this article, we'll talk about the players who scored the fastest half-centuries in the tournament. 

Here are the top five players who scored fastest fifties in Champions Trophy:

5. Yuvraj Singh

In the fourth match of the Champions Trophy 2017, India crushed Pakistan by 124 runs. On winning the toss, Pakistan decided to bowl first. Indian batters wreaked havoc on the bowlers, scoring 319 runs in the first innings. Rohit Sharma scored 91 runs off 119 balls, while Shikhar Dhawan scored 68 runs off 65 balls. However, it was Yuvraj Singh's fastest half-century that came in just 29 balls. He ended up scoring 53 runs in 32 balls, including eight boundaries and one six. Captain Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 81 runs off 68 balls. Yuvraj won the Player of the Match award for his blistering score. 

4. Jesse Ryder

New Zealand's opener Jesse Ryder was an epic batter who scored the fourth-fastest half-century in the tournament in 2009 against Sri Lanka. He slammed the half-century in 28 balls and ended up scoring 74 runs off 48 balls, hitting ten boundaries and one six in the game. Thanks to him and Martin Guptill (66), the Blackcaps scored 315 runs in the first innings. They went on to win the game by 38 runs. 

3. Eoin Morgan

England's former batter, Eoin Morgan, is the third-fastest half-century in 2009 against South Africa. Even though Owais Shah scored 98 runs, Morgan was the highlight of the game for his 50. He scored the half-century in just 26 balls. England scored 323 runs in the first innings and ended up winning the game by 22 runs. Owais Shah was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant batting in the top order. 

2. Craig McMillan

New Zealand's former middle order batter Craig McMillan was the second fastest half-century in 2004. He scored it against the USA. In the same game, Nathan Astle scored 145 runs in 151 balls. McMillan scored the 50 in just 21 balls, helping the Blackcaps score runs in the middle order. The New Zealand team scored 347 runs in the first innings. They won the game by 210 runs as the USA's batting lineup was destroyed by Jacob Oram who claimed a fifer. 

1. Shahid Afridi

Pakistan's former captain, Shahid Afridi, scored the fastest half-century of the tournament back in 2002 in just 18 balls against the Netherlands. He came down to bat at No.3 and scored an unbeaten 55 runs, to help Pakistan chase the target of 142 runs. Moreover, he also claimed three wickets in the first innings and hence ended up winning the Player of the Match award.