Cricket witnesses numerous records taking place every year by the batsmen, bowlers and fielders alike. Among the three departments, batting is, perhaps, the most entertaining one. The way the number of centuries and half-centuries scored by a batsman is celebrated, is much larger than any other individual achievement of the game. Therefore, a list of the batsmen with the highest number of 50s in international cricket is a must-have with two back to back world cups happening in two consecutive years of 2023 and 2024.
List of 10 Cricketers with Most 50s
The following list consists of the names and basic statistics about the career of 10 cricketers, as well as batsmen, who scored the highest number of 50 runs, or more but less than 100, or a half-century in international cricket matches. It is important to note that the list is a result of the combined number of half-centuries in all the three formats of international cricket i.e. test, one day and twenty20- played by a batsman in his entire international career.
Please also note, no female cricketer’s name has been mentioned here for the obvious reason of not having enough number of half-centuries by any female batter to be on the list of top 10. In simple statistics, the highest number of 50s has been chosen as the base of this list, no ratio or comparison between the number of matches played has been considered. It is interesting to note that Virat Kohli is the only cricketer who is still officially playing international cricket and has made a place on this list with all the legendary players who have retired. Here goes the list:
| Sl No. | Batsman | Country | Span | Matches | 50s |
| 01 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 1989-2013 | 664 | 164 |
| 02 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 2000-2015 | 594 | 153 |
| 03 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 1995-2014 | 519 | 149 |
| 04 | Rahul Dravid | India | 1996-2012 | 509 | 146 |
| 05 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 1995-2012 | 560 | 146 |
| 06 | Virat Kohli | India | 2008-present | 522 | 139 |
| 07 | M Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 1997-2015 | 652 | 136 |
| 08 | Inzamam-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 1991-2007 | 499 | 129 |
| 09 | S Chanderpaul | West Indies | 1994-2015 | 454 | 125 |
| 10 | AB de Villiers | South Africa | 2004-2018 | 420 | 109 |
Another interesting fact is that many veteran cricketers of the pre-90s and 90s period like Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sourav Ganguly, Saeed Anwar, Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes, Graem Smith, Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, and the immensely popular & hard-hitter batsman like Chirs Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Shakib Al Hasan, Babar Azam, Shahid Afridi, Yuvraj Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and many other expected names are not on the list.
This is because of the changing formats of the game as well as the opportunities it is providing to the aspiring cricketers. As the rules are much more favorable to the batsman, scoring runs has become easier than before. In fact, it will not take long for the currently playing cricketers like Shubman Gill, Rachin Ravindra, Pathum Nissanka and the likes to take over completely. Let’s get into a little bit of details of the above-mentioned list.
Club of 150+ Fifties in International Cricket
Only 2 names from the above-stated list have made a place in this category which can safely be termed ‘the elite club of fifties in international cricket’: Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
Sachin Tendulkar: 164 Fifties in International Cricket
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is a living batting legend who started his career during his mid-teenage in 1989, facing seasoned bowlers like the Ws of Pakistan and others. He still holds the record of the highest number of centuries in international cricket: a 100 of 100s. Of the 164 half-centuries he scored, 96 came in ODI cricket and 68 came in test cricket.
His first international fifty or half-century came in 1989 when he was playing his career’s 2nd international test match and it was against Pakistan. He scored 59 runs before giving his wicket away in an LBW by Imran Khan. His first ODI half-century came in 1990 against Sri Lanka. He does not have any half-century in T20i.
Kumar Sangakkara: 153 Fifties in International Cricket
The Sri Lankan batting genius has changed the result of the match on numerous occasions. He started his international career in 2000 and his leadership almost cost India its second world cup championship in 2011. Sangakkara, unlike Sachin, have scored half-centuries in all the three formats of international cricket: 8 in T20, 93 in ODI and 52 in test matches.
Batsmen with 100-150 International Fifties
Jacques Kallis: 149 International Fifties
South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis was one of the most feared cricketers in his prime. He has played along with the greats like Sachin, Jayasuriya, Aravinda, Gilchrist, Ponting, Sourav and others. He is the only cricketer, in the history of cricket till date, who has scored more than 10,000 runs and scalped 250 wickets in both the 50-over one-day and 5-day test match formats of the game. He Has played very few T20 international matches and has scored 5 half-centuries there. He has 86 fifties in ODI and 58 fifties in test cricket.
Rahul Dravid: 146 International Fifties
Rahul Dravid is one cricketer in Indian cricket who has played more roles than anyone else has. Although he did not get as much success as a captain of the national team, he has played under the captaincy of legends like Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni. At present, he is the coach of the India National Cricket Team (male). He also did some wicket-keeping in the 2003 World Cup.
He has been titled the ‘the pillar’ for his prowess of staying calm & composed almost always when the team was in crisis as a very reliable and skilled batsman. 83 of his fifties were scored in the ODI format and 63 of those were scored in test cricket. He has played only one T20 international match in his entire career.
Ricky Ponting: 146 International Fifties
Ricky Ponting is surely one of cricket’s most talented players and a genius of a batsman. He played alongside the ‘Steve Waugh’ who is, arguably, the most successful captain in the history of cricket. He holds the record of leading a team winning the highest number of ICC tournaments. Under his leadership Australia won the 2003 and 2007 ODI Men’s World Cup.
He is one of those few players, among the retired ones, who has left a mark in all the three formats of international cricket. He has 82 half-centuries in ODI, 62 in test matches and 2 half-centuries in T20 cricket.
Virat Kohli: 139 International Fifties till February 2024
The only officially active batsman on the list is the Chaser Master Virat Kohli who mesmerized the entire cricketing world with scoring the 50th century of his one-day international career in 2023 ODI World Cup- the highest by any batsman so far. In the last 2 years from 2022, Virat has displayed a supreme level of fitness and form through his performance. He has played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, although he himself was not very successful as a captain.
Virat Kohli, till date, has the highest number of fifties in T20 international cricket with 37 half-tons. He has 72 half-centuries in ODI and 30 half-centuries in test matches. With the coming IPL followed by the T20i World Cup, there is much more to be seen from this magnificent cricketing genius.
Mahela Jayawardene: 136 International Fifties
One of the Sri Lankan batting excellence, Jayawardene led his team to the finals of the 2007 ODI Men’s World Cup. He is the first player in the history of Sri Lankan cricket to score more than 10,000 runs in test matches. Along with Sangakkara, he has scored most runs in a partnership for Lankan cricket.
Like many of his contemporaries, he also managed to leave a mark in all the three formats of international cricket. 9 of his international half-centuries came in T20 cricket. He scored 77 fifties in ODI and 50 fifties in test cricket.
Inzamam-ul-Haq: 129 International Fifties
Arguably the best batsman in Pakistan’s cricket history, perhaps only second to Saeed Anwar, Inzamam has created magic on the field as he was seen scoring boundaries after boundaries, especially in one-day international cricket. Playing alongside the legend Imran Khan, he was a crucial batsman in the team’s victory in 1992 World Cup. He also captained the national team but with not as much success.
Inzamam played only one T20 international cricket match. He has scored 83 half-centuries in ODI and 46 half-centuries in test cricket matches. He also coached the Afghanistan National Cricket Team for some time.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul: 125 International Fifties
Caribbean batting genius Chanderpaul was a dominating player in his prime. He has more than 20,000 runs in international cricket and his highest score in a single match was 203*. He never played in the T20i format. He scored 59 half-tons in one-day internationals and 66 half-tons in test cricket.
AB de Villiers: 109 International Fifties
One of the most legendary batsmen of IPL, for which he will be remembered the most for without a doubt, AB de Villiers is also one of the world’s most dominating batsmen, even though he retired from international cricket. This fact is proved by his records of scoring the fastest ton and half-ton in ODI from 31 balls and 16 balls respectively. He led the South Africa National Team in all the three formats of the game.
He is also known as the ‘Mr 360’ of cricket for his unconventional talent of scoring runs from every corner of the ground. He has been equally brilliant in T20, ODI and test cricket scoring 10, 53 and 46 half-tons in the three formats respectively.
Records and statistics of cricket are changing – broken and created – with every new international match being played. The players at the top today may not be there five years from now. Similarly, those who are too young to manage a place on this type of lists yet, may soon be leading them. But the joy & entertainment that come with cricket and such scores of fifties & hundreds will never cease to draw people to the stadium or in front of the television. That’s just the magic of the game called Cricket.
