Virat Kohli etched his name in the record books during the T20 World Cup 2024 final, but not for the reasons he would have hoped. In the high-stakes encounter against South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Kohli reached his half-century in a sluggish 48 deliveries, marking the slowest fifty of his T20I career.
This milestone, achieved in the 17th over of the Indian innings, also holds the unfortunate distinction of being the second-slowest fifty by an Indian in the history of the T20 World Cup. The dubious honor of the slowest Indian fifty in the tournament belongs to Suryakumar Yadav, who reached his half-century off 49 balls against the USA earlier in the competition.
The record for the slowest fifty in the T20 World Cup, however, belongs to Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, who took 52 deliveries to reach the mark against Canada.
While Kohli’s innings may have been slow by his usual standards, his contribution was crucial in helping India secure a victory in the final. However, the slow nature of his innings did raise questions about his form heading into the tournament.
