Aiden Markram is on fire for South Africa in their third Group D match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. In the fixture taking place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against New Zealand on Saturday
(February 14), the right-handed batter needed just 19 balls to score a half-century for the Proteas in the 176-run chase. The fifty by Markram in 19 balls against the New Zealand team helped him break the record of fastest half-century in the T20 World Cup by a batter from South Africa.
The previous record for fastest fifty in the T20 World Cup by a South African cricketer was 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.
Fastest 50 in T20 World Cup for South Africa
| PLAYER | BALLS | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Aiden Markram | 19 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad | February 14, 2026 |
| Quinton de Kock | 21 | England | Mumbai | March 18, 2016 |
| Quinton de Kock | 22 | England | Gros Islet | June 21, 2024 |
| AB de Villiers | 23 | England | Chattogram | March 29, 2014 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | 23 | India | Bridgetown | June 29, 2024 |
| Ryan Rickelton | 23 | Afghanistan | Ahmedabad | February 11, 2026 |
The 19-ball fifty by Markram also helped him equal the record of scoring the fastest half-century in T20 World Cup history by a captain. India’s Rohit Sharma also needed just 19 balls to score 50 against Australia in Gros Islet on June 24, 2024, and on February 12, 2026, Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka also slammed a 50 in just 19 balls against Oman in Pallekele.
Fastest 50 in T20 World Cup by captains
| PLAYER | TEAM | BALLS | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 19 | Australia | Gros Islet | June 24, 2024 |
| Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka | 19 | Oman | Pallekele | February 12, 2026 |
| Aiden Markram | South Africa | 19 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad | February 14, 2026 |
| Mohammad Ashraful | Bangladesh | 20 | West Indies | Johannesburg | September 13, 2007 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 21 | Kenya | Johannesburg | September 14, 2007 |
The record for scoring the fastest 50 in T20 World Cup history is in the name of India’s Yuvraj Singh. During the India-England 2007 T20 World Cup match played in Durban on September 19, Yuvraj reached the 50-run mark in just 12 balls.
Fastest 50s in T20 World Cup
| PLAYER | TEAM | BALLS | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Yuvraj Singh | India | 12 | England | Durban | September 19, 2007 |
| Stephan Myburgh | Netherlands | 17 | Ireland | Sylhet | March 21, 2014 |
| Marcus Stoinis | Australia | 17 | Sri Lanka | Perth | October 25, 2022 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 18 | Pakistan | Mirpur | March 23, 2014 |
| KL Rahul | India | 18 | Scotland | Dubai | November 5, 2022 |
| Shoaib Malik | Pakistan | 18 | Scotland | Sharjah | November 7, 2022 |
The world record for scoring the fastest 50 is held by Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee. Airee scored fifty in just nine balls for Nepal against Mongolia during the 2023 Asian Games match in Hangzhou.
In the ongoing match against New Zealand, Markram added 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.
If South Africa manage to get the better of New Zealand on Saturday, then they will become the first team from Group C to qualify for the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup 2026.
