The Indian Premier League is the most exciting cricket league in the world, and this is largely due to the quick-fire batting performances by the batsmen on a regular basis. Apart from a few, almost all the matches are graced by incredible knocks by some of the best batsmen in the world.
It’s very rare that we get to see a batsman scoring at or below a-run-a-ball in the tournament. The fact that only a handful of batsmen have taken 50 or more deliveries to score a half-century in IPL history is a testimony to that.
Everyone, perhaps, knows who has scored the fastest half-century in the IPL, but a few know the slowest IPL fifty. This is surprising given that the tournament has seen some half-centuries which have consumed an extraordinarily high number of balls with respect to modern T20 standards.
Here, we look at the top 10 slowest fifties scored in IPL history.
Slowest Fifties in IPL
| Player | Balls Taken to 50 | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Duminy (MI) | 55 | Kings XI Punjab | Durban | 29 Apr 2009 |
| Parthiv Patel (CSK) | 53 | Kings XI Punjab | Chennai | 21 Mar 2010 |
| Brendon McCullum (KKR) | 52 | MI | Eden Gardens | 19 Apr 2010 |
| Robin Uthappa (Pune Warriors) | 52 | Delhi Daredevils | Pune | 24 Apr 2012 |
| Matthew Hayden (CSK) | 51 | MI | Gqeberha | 16 May 2009 |
| Jacques Kallis (RCB) | 51 | Delhi Daredevils | Johannesburg | 19 May 2009 |
| Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils) | 51 | CSK | Chennai | 15 Apr 2010 |
| Vijay Shankar (SRH) | 51 | RR | Dubai (DICS) | 22 Oct 2020 |
| Murali Vijay (CSK) | 50 | Kings XI Punjab | Mohali | 10 Apr 2013 |
| David Warner (SRH) | 50 | CSK | Delhi | 28 Apr 2021 |
Key Insights
JP Duminy holds the unwanted record of scoring the slowest fifty in the IPL. The South African batter took 55 balls to reach the 50-run mark for Mumbai Indians (MI) against Kings XI Punjab in 2009.
JP Duminy’s super slow knock cost his side an easy game against. Chasing a small total of 120, Duminy scored 59 off 63 balls for MI as they could only score 116/7 in 20 overs and bottled what looked like a certain victory.
Duminy also registered another record during this knock as his strike rate of 93.65 is the lowest strike rate for a 50+ score in IPL.
In contrast, Yashasvi Jaiswal has brought up the fastest half-century off 13 balls in the IPL. He scripted history against Kolkata Knight Riders on his way to an unbeaten 98 in a 2023 game.
Speaking of centuries, Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli, both for RCB, have scored the joint slowest ones in the league. Both needed 67 deliveries to score the 100th run against Deccan Chargers in 2009 and Rajasthan Royals in 2024, respectively.
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