Half-centuries in T20s showcase a batsman’s ability to build useful innings for his team in the quickest of environments. Only some batters can produce such efforts consistently.
There are few other who have reached more in one calendar year. But that is a topic for another article.
In World Cup games, where the pressure is at its peak, it takes a champion’s intent and skill to contribute to a team with 50+ scores. This article is about those champions who have managed to score fifties in bulk in one edition of the T20 World Cup.
This article lists the players who scored three or more fifty-plus in a single Men’s T20 World Cup edition.
Most 50+ Scores in a Single T20 WC Edition
| BATSMAN | 50+ SCORES | YEAR | INNINGS | RUNS SCORED | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 4 | 2007 | 6 | 265 | 73* |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 4 | 2014 | 6 | 319 | 77 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 4 | 2021 | 6 | 303 | 70 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 4 | 2022 | 6 | 296 | 82* |
| Gautam Gambhir (IND) | 3 | 2007 | 6 | 227 | 75 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 3 | 2009 | 7 | 317 | 96* |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 3 | 2010 | 6 | 302 | 100 |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 3 | 2012 | 6 | 222 | 75* |
| Marlon Samuels (WI) | 3 | 2012 | 6 | 230 | 78 |
| Shane Watson (AUS) | 3 | 2012 | 6 | 249 | 72 |
| Stephan Myburgh (NED) | 3 | 2014 | 7 | 224 | 63 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 3 | 2016 | 5 | 273 | 89* |
| Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 3 | 2021 | 6 | 281 | 79* |
| Pathum Nissanka (SL) | 3 | 2021 | 8 | 221 | 72 |
| KL Rahul (IND) | 3 | 2021 | 5 | 194 | 69 |
| David Warner (AUS) | 3 | 2021 | 7 | 289 | 89* |
| Suryakumar Yadav IND) | 3 | 2022 | 6 | 239 | 68 |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) | 3 | 2024 | 8 | 281 | 80 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 3 | 2024 | 8 | 257 | 92 |
Key Insights
Matthew Hayden, Virat Kohli, and Babar Azam are the only three players to accumulate four 50+ scores each in a T20 World Cup edition. Kohli did it twice, in 2014 and 2022, to make him the only batter to do so.
Kohli, 319 runs in 2014, is also the highest-ever run-scorer in a single T20 World Cup iteration. You can find the top ten list here.
2021 was the best edition for batters, with five finding their place in the list above.
Babar Azam became the fourth batter to score 300+ runs in a single World Cup edition in 2021. You can find the year-by-year top run scorer in the tournament in this article.
Interestingly, Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to score a century in that edition. He scored 100 off 64 balls against Zimbabwe in 2010.
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