Misbah-ul-Haq holds the record for the fastest fifty in Test cricket, off 21 balls. He made it for Pakistan against Australia at Abu Dhabi in November 2014, and the closest anyone has come since is David Warner’s 23.
That innings holds the other version of the record as well. Misbah reached fifty in 24 minutes, which is the fastest by time in Test history, and he went on to a 56-ball hundred — joint-second fastest in Tests, level with Viv Richards and behind Brendon McCullum’s 54.
Fastest fifty in Test cricket
Every Test fifty reached in 30 balls or fewer, complete to 8 September 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Balls | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | Australia | 21 | Abu Dhabi | 2014 |
| 2 | David Warner | Australia | Pakistan | 23 | Sydney | 2017 |
| 3 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | Zimbabwe | 24 | Cape Town | 2005 |
| 3 | Ben Stokes | England | West Indies | 24 | Birmingham | 2024 |
| 5 | Shane Shillingford | West Indies | New Zealand | 25 | Kingston | 2014 |
| 6 | Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | India | 26 | Bangalore | 2005 |
| 6 | Mohammad Ashraful | Bangladesh | India | 26 | Mirpur | 2007 |
| 6 | Dale Steyn | South Africa | West Indies | 26 | Port Elizabeth | 2014 |
| 9 | Yousuf Youhana | Pakistan | South Africa | 27 | Cape Town | 2003 |
| 10 | Foffie Williams | West Indies | England | 28 | Bridgetown | 1948 |
| 10 | Ian Botham | England | India | 28 | Delhi | 1981 |
| 10 | Chris Gayle | West Indies | New Zealand | 28 | Port of Spain | 2014 |
| 10 | Colin de Grandhomme | New Zealand | Sri Lanka | 28 | Christchurch | 2018 |
| 10 | Rishabh Pant | India | Sri Lanka | 28 | Bengaluru | 2022 |
| 15 | Bruce Yardley | Australia | West Indies | 29 | Bridgetown | 1978 |
| 15 | Tim Southee | New Zealand | England | 29 | Napier | 2008 |
| 15 | Rishabh Pant | India | Australia | 29 | Sydney | 2025 |
| 18 | Kapil Dev | India | Pakistan | 30 | Karachi | 1982 |
| 18 | Viv Richards | West Indies | India | 30 | Kingston | 1983 |
| 18 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | 30 | Galle | 2009 |
| 18 | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Pakistan | 30 | Sharjah | 2014 |
| 18 | Jonny Bairstow | England | New Zealand | 30 | Leeds | 2022 |
Misbah-ul-Haq’s 21 balls
The innings was 101 not out from 57 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes, in Pakistan’s second innings of the second Test at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Fifty came up off 21 of those balls and the hundred off 56 — the gap between the two numbers is the difference between balls to a milestone and balls faced in the innings.
Misbah had already made 101 in the first innings, from 168 balls, so the same Test gave him a hundred in each innings as well as both fifty records.
Fastest fifty in Test cricket by minutes
The older version of the record, and the one that lets pre-war innings into the reckoning. Balls faced were not recorded for much of Test history; minutes were.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Minutes | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | Australia | 24 | Abu Dhabi | 2014 |
| 2 | Mohammad Ashraful | Bangladesh | India | 27 | Mirpur | 2007 |
| 3 | Jack Brown | England | Australia | 28 | Melbourne | 1895 |
| 4 | Salim Durani | India | England | 29 | Kanpur | 1964 |
| 5 | Foffie Williams | West Indies | England | 30 | Bridgetown | 1948 |
| 5 | Bruce Taylor | New Zealand | West Indies | 30 | Auckland | 1969 |
| 7 | Bill O’Reilly | Australia | South Africa | 31 | Johannesburg | 1936 |
| 7 | Ben Stokes | England | West Indies | 31 | Birmingham | 2024 |
| 9 | Richie Benaud | Australia | West Indies | 32 | Kingston | 1955 |
| 9 | Hansie Cronje | South Africa | Sri Lanka | 32 | Centurion | 1998 |
Fastest fifty in Test cricket by an India batter
Rishabh Pant holds the India record with a 28-ball fifty against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in March 2022, in the second innings of a day-night Test. He hit seven fours and two sixes and beat Kapil Dev’s 30 balls, set at Karachi in 1982.
Pant then took second place on the India list himself, reaching fifty in 29 balls against Australia at Sydney in January 2025. He is the only India batter with two of the six fastest.
| Rank | Player | Opponent | Balls | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rishabh Pant | Sri Lanka | 28 | Bengaluru | 2022 |
| 2 | Rishabh Pant | Australia | 29 | Sydney | 2025 |
| 3 | Kapil Dev | Pakistan | 30 | Karachi | 1982 |
| 4 | Shardul Thakur | England | 31 | The Oval | 2021 |
| 4 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Bangladesh | 31 | Kanpur | 2024 |
| 6 | Virender Sehwag | England | 32 | Chennai | 2008 |
By time rather than balls, the India record is much older: Salim Durani reached fifty in 29 minutes against England at Kanpur in 1964, and that is fourth on the all-time list above.
Fastest fifty in Test cricket: quick answers
Who has hit the fastest fifty in Test cricket? Misbah-ul-Haq, off 21 balls for Pakistan against Australia at Abu Dhabi in November 2014.
What is the fastest Test fifty by minutes? The same innings — 24 minutes, also a record.
What is the fastest Test fifty by an Indian? Rishabh Pant’s 28 balls against Sri Lanka at Bengaluru in 2022.
What is the fastest Test fifty by an Australian? David Warner’s 23 balls against Pakistan at Sydney in 2017, which broke Bruce Yardley’s 29 from 1978.
Who has hit the fastest fifty in any form of cricket? See our list of the fastest fifty in cricket history.
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Author: William Paul
Featured photo: AFP / ISHARA S.KODIKARA