Since the World Cup is a once-every-four-years competition, everyone is anxious to seize every opportunity to accomplish something noteworthy. There have been many exceptional performances in both the batting and bowling categories during World Cup history. As a batter, it is always gratifying to score runs, but it is even more impressive when the runs come swiftly and consecutively. One thing that provides a batter immense joy and confidence is scoring fifty runs as quickly as possible.
Here are the five fastest 50s in World Cup cricket history:
| Rank | Balls | Player | Opposition | Venue | Date |
| 1 | 18 | Brendon McCullum | England | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | 20 February 2015 |
| 2 | 20 | Brendon McCullum | Canada | Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet | 22 March 2007 |
| 3 | 20 | Angelo Mathews | Scotland | Bellerive Oval, Hobart | 11 March 2015 |
| 4 | 21 | Glenn Maxwell | Afghanistan | Perth Stadium, Perth | 4 March 2015 |
| 5 | 21 | Mark Boucher | Netherlands | Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre | 16 March 2007 |
| 6 | 21 | Brendon McCullum | Australia | Eden Park, Auckland | 28 February 2015 |
Brendon McCullum (18 balls)
This former New Zealand captain is known as one of the best batsmen in the game. He holds the record for the fastest fifty in the history of the World Cup. This blow occurred when he shattered his record and struck a scorching fifty off 18 balls against England in the 2015 World Cup group stage. In 12.2 overs, New Zealand reached England’s target of 124 while only losing eight wickets. Brendon McCullum was the attack’s architect, scoring 77 off 25 balls while remaining unbeaten with eight fours and seven sixes.
Angelo Mathews (20 balls)
Brendon McCullum batted lower to provide the decisive blow for New Zealand in the 2007 match against Canada in Gros Islet and the 2011 World Cup. New Zealand amassed a massive score of 363 thanks to a century from Lou Vincent and a lightning-fast 52 from McCullum off just 21 balls. McCullum scored fifty runs off of twenty balls, which included five sixes and a four. New Zealand defeated Australia in a convincing victory with a score difference of 114 runs.
Brendon McCullum (20 Balls)
Brendon McCullum batted down the order to provide the decisive blow for New Zealand in the 2007 game against Canada in Gros Islet in the 2011 World Cup. New Zealand scored a whopping 363, thanks to McCullum’s lightning-quick 52 off 21 balls and Lou Vincent’s century. Including five sixes and a four, McCullum hit fifty off 20 balls. New Zealand defeated Australia by an easy score of 114 runs.
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Mark Boucher (21 Balls)
Mark Boucher hit 50 runs off 21 balls in the last over of South Africa’s innings against the Netherlands, a more excellent performance than he had shown against the West Indies. Herschelle Gibbs scored 72 runs off of 40 of his pitches with assistance. In comparison, Jacques Kallis scored 128 runs off of 40, becoming the first cricketer to score six sixes in a single over against Dan van Bunge in the history of international cricket.
Boucher faced 21 pitches and connected on four home runs and nine 4’s.
Brendon McCullum (22 Balls)
In the first semi-final, South Africa set a 298 (DLS) target for New Zealand to reach in 43 overs. McCullum came out strong and scored the third-fastest fifty of the competition in only 22 balls despite the challenging target and big prizes. He contributed with his bat, scoring 25 runs in Dale Steyn’s over. Nevertheless, McCullum was out in the seventh, despite scoring 59 runs off just 26 balls. Thanks to the skill of Grant Elliott (84*) and Corey Anderson, McCullum’s efforts were not in vain (58). With one ball left, New Zealand took four wickets to make their first-ever trip to the final game.
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