Most Half-Centuries in ODIs: Batsmen with Highest Number of Fifties

In cricket and especially in its shorter formats scoring a fifty or a ton can play a crucial role in helping a team gain the upper hand. Top batsmen regularly accomplish these feats and that is why they are considered world-beaters. In ODIs, a quick fifty at any stage of the innings can be vital for the team. In this article, we review the batsmen who have scored the most number of half-centuries in ODIs and shed light on their overall ODI statistics as well.

Top-7 Batsmen ranked by most fifties in ODI cricket

Let’s take a look at the list of batters who have cracked the most number of fifties in ODIs:

Sachin Tendu

Sachin Tendulkar – 96 fifties

ps://www.cric-life.com/article/sachin-tendulkar-double-hundreds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sachin Tendulkar is a genius who has realised his immense potential thanks to the player’s hard work and dedication. He holds the record for the most number of fifties in ODIs with his 96. Throughout his career, the Mumbai star has had hopes of more than one billion Indians pinned on him and has managed to admirably stand up to all pressure. He has shown great results, scoring fifty-plus runs in an innings 145 times.

Overall, Tendlya has played in 463 ODIs, amassing 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83 and a strike rate of 86.23 with 49 hundreds and 96 fifties. His highest ODI score is 200 not out. It total, he has been awarded Man of the Match 62 times which is a record number. Moreover, Tendulkar has taken 154 wickets in one-dayers and has played a key role in the successes of India in many matches.

Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara – 93 fifties

a sublime lefthander, took the second place on our list with 93 ODI fifties. In his career, the player has often formed productive partnerships with his equally illustrious teammate Mahela Jayawardene to win many crucial matches for Sri Lanka.

Sangakkara has played in a total of 404 ODIs and scored 14,234 runs at an average of 41.98 and a strike rate of 78.86 with 25 hundreds and 96 fifties. His highest ODI score is 169. In addition, he has proved to be an excellent wicket-keeper with 402 catches and 99 stumpings in ODIs. Sangakkara has played for Sri Lanka for more than 15 years and has been awarded Man of the Match 31 times in ODIs.

J H Kallis – 86 fi

J H Kallis – 86 fifties

performed brilliantly with both bat and ball for South Africa in international cricket. He has been an author of many important knocks and has taken wickets by the dozen to help his side notch up numerous victories.

Throughout his career, Kallis has played in 328 ODIs and cracked 11,579 runs at an average of 44.36 at and a strike rate of 72.89 with 17 hundreds and 86 fifties. His highest ODI score is 139. Kallis has also had great results in wicket-keeping with his 273 at an average of 31.79 and a strike rate of 39.3. For his impressive performance in ODI format, this prolific all-rounder has received 32 Player of the Match awards.

Rahul Dravid – 83 fift

Rahul Dravid – 83 fifties

://www.cric-life.com/article/rahul-dravid-vs-sachin-tendulkar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rahul Dravid with a great run-scoring rate in ODIs has become one of the best players in this format despite his relatively calm batting style. In many games played for India, he has proved to be a vital all-rounder for his team. In 2003, his batting and wicket-keeping exploits helped his nation reach the final of the ODI World Cup.

In his career, Dravid has played in 344 ODIs, scoring 10,889 runs at an average of 39.16 and a strike rate of 71.23 with 12 hundreds and 83 fifties. He has received 14 ODI Man of the Match awards.

Inzamam-ul-Haq – 83 fiftie

Inzamam-ul-Haq – 83 fifties

r of an elegant style and, despite acting a bit slow between the wickets, has managed to clobber 83 fifties in ODIs. He has mastered an ability to hit the ball far and played many crucial ODI innings for Pakistan.

Overall, Inzy has played in 378 ODIs and amassed 11,739 runs at an average of 39.52 and a strike rate of 74.24 with 10 hundreds and 83 fifties. His match-winning score of 60 against New Zealand in the 1992 ODI World Cup semi-final is still remembered today. For his excellent results in ODIs, Inzy has won 24 Player of the Match awards.

R T Ponting – 82 fifties

R T Ponting – 82 fifties

man, who has been truly blessed with excellent timing skills. As a team’s captain and star batsman, he has played a key role in Australia’s dominance in international cricket during his career.

Ponting has starred in 375 ODIs, amassing 13,704 runs at an average of 42.03 and a strike rate of 80.39 with 30 centuries and 82 half-centuries. He has been awarded Man of the Match in ODIs 32 times. Punter has led Australia in 228 ODIs, 164 of which have been ended in victory, to hold the record for the best winning percentage as captain.

D P M D Jayawardene – 77 fifties

D P M D Jayawardene – 77 fifties

e has played a key role in the success of the Sri Lanka team in Tests and ODIs. A classy and prolific batter, he has also shown himself an authoritative and astute skipper.

Jayawardene has played in 448 ODIs, scoring 12,650 runs at an average of 33.37 and a strike rate of 78.96 with 19 hundreds and 77 fifties. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka has participated in 126 ODIs, winning 68 of them.

Not to be forgotten

There is no do

Not to be forgotten

the list of batsmen with the most number of ODI fifties should go to MS Dhoni who has clobbered 73 half-centuries in this format. He definitely has proved to be one of the best captains India has ever had. Throughout his career, Dhoni has appeared in 350 ODIs, scoring 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57 and a strike rate of 87.56 with 10 hundreds and 73 fifties. In his ODI career, he has been awarded Player of the Match 21 times.

The ninth place of the ranking goes to Sourav Ganguly with 72 ODI half-centuries. Ganguly has participated in 311 ODIs, cracking 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02 and a strike rate of 73.70 with 22 hundreds and  72 fifties. For his great performance in ODIs, he has won 31 Player of the Match awards.

Last but not least, the 10th place on our list is taken by the Matara Marauder’s Sanath Jayasuriya who has clobbered 68 ODI fifties. He has played in a total of 445 ODIs, amassing 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36 and an impressive strike rate of 91.20 with 28 centuries and 68 half-centuries. Jayasuriya has been awarded ODI Man of the Match 48 times.

List of batsmen with most half-centuriesList of batsmen with most half-centuries

100%; height: 1224px;"> # Player Team Mat Inn Runs Highest 100s 50s Avg 1 S R Tendulkar India 463 452 18,426 200* 49 96 44.83 2 K C Sangakkara Sri Lanka 404 380 14,234 169 25 93 41.99 3 J H Kallis South Africa 328 314 11,579 139 17 86 44.36 4 R Dravid India 344 318 10,889 153 12 83 39.17 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq Pakistan 378 350 11,739 137* 10 83 39.53 6 R T Ponting Australia 375 365 13,704 164 30 82 42.04 7 D P M D Jayawardene Sri Lanka 448 418 12,650 144 19 77 33.38 8 M S Dhoni India 350 297 10,773 183* 10 73 50.58 9 S C Ganguly India 311 300 11,363 183 22 72 41.02 10 S T Jayasuriya Sri Lanka 445 433 13,430 189 28 68 32.36 11 Mohammad Yousuf Pakistan 288 273 9,720 141* 15 64 41.72 12 P A de Silva Sri Lanka 308 296 9,284 145 11 64 34.90 13 B C Lara West Indies 299 289 10,405 169 19 63 40.49 14 S Chanderpaul West Indies 268 251 8,778 150 11 59 41.60 15 M S Atapattu Sri Lanka 268 259 8,529 132* 11 59 37.57 16 V Kohli India 248 239 11,867 183 43 58 59.34 17 M J Clarke Australia 245 223 7,981 130 8 58 44.59 18 M Azharuddin India 334 308 9,378 153* 7 58 36.92 19 D L Haynes West Indies 238 237 8,648 152* 17 57 41.38 20 A C Gilchrist Australia 287 279 9,619 172 16 55 35.89 21 A Flower Zimbabwe 213 208 6,786 145 4 55 35.34 22 C H Gayle West Indies 301 294 10,480 215 25 54 37.83 23 A B de Villiers South Africa 228 218 9,577 176 25 53 53.50 24 Yuvraj Singh India 304 278 8,701 150 14 52 36.56 25 L R P L Taylor New Zealand 232 216 8,574 181* 21 51 48.44 26 M E Waugh Australia 244 236 8,500 173 18 50 39.35 27 Javed Miandad Pakistan 233 218 7,381 119* 8 50 41.70 28 S P Fleming New Zealand 280 269 8,037 134* 8 49 32.41 29 A Ranatunga Sri Lanka 269 255 7,456 131* 4 49 35.85 30 Younis Khan Pakistan 265 255 7,249 144 7 48 31.25 31 T M Dilshan Sri Lanka 330 303 10,290 161* 22 47 39.27 32 Tamim Iqbal Bangladesh 207 205 7,202 158 13 47 36.74 33 G C Smith South Africa 197 194 6,989 141 10 47 37.98 34 Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh 206 194 6,323 134* 9 47 37.86 35 Saleem Malik Pakistan 283 256 7,170 102 5 47 32.89 36 E J G Morgan England 236 219 7,368 148 13 46 39.40 37 D M Jones Australia 164 161 6,068 145 7 46 44.62 38 M G Bevan Australia 232 196 6,912 108* 6 46 53.58 39 G Kirsten South Africa 185 185 6,798 188* 13 45 40.95 40 I V A Richards West Indies 187 167 6,721 189* 11 45 47.00 41 S R Waugh Australia 325 288 7,569 120* 3 45 32.91 42 Shoaib Malik Pakistan 287 258 7,534 143 9 44 34.56 43 R B Richardson West Indies 224 217 6,248 122 5 44 33.41 44 R G Sharma India 224 217 9,115 264 29 43 49.27 45 Saeed Anwar Pakistan 247 244 8,824 194 20 43 39.22 46 Misbah-ul-Haq Pakistan 162 149 5,122 96* 0 42 43.41 47 N J Astle New Zealand 223 217 7,090 145* 16 41 34.93 48 G W Flower Zimbabwe 221 214 6,571 142* 6 40 33.53 49 A D Mathews Sri Lanka 217 187 5,830 139* 3 40 41.94 50 H M Amla South Africa 181 178 8,113 159 27 39 49.47