South Africa captain Aiden Markram created history in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 by smashing a stunning half-century in just 19 balls, equalling Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest fifty by a captain in the tournament also breaking a 10-year-old South African record held by Quinton de Kock.
De Kock needed 21 balls to reach the 50-run mark for the Proteas against England in Mumbai on March 18, 2016
The record was first set by Rohit Sharma against Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup and has since been matched by Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka earlier in the 2026 edition against Oman on February 12, 2026.
In the last match against New Zealand, Markram added a quickfire 62 runs from just 28 balls for the first wicket with Quinton de Kock and 40
runs from 18 balls for the second wicket with Ryan Rickelton.
South Africa beat New Zealand with Ease
Markram's explosive innings came during South Africa's Group clash against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. Chasing a target of 176, the Proteas skipper led from the front with an unbeaten 86 off 44 balls, hitting boundaries at will and dominating the bowling attack.
South Africa successfully chased the target in 17.1 overs, winning by 7 wickets with 17 balls to spare. Earlier, New Zealand posted 175/7, with Mark Chapman (48) and Daryl Mitchell (32) contributing key runs, while Marco Jansen's four-wicket spell restricted the total.
With the victory, the Proteas became the first team to qualify for T20 World Cup Super 8s. They will be in action against UAE in their final group stage encounter.
