In modern day One-day international cricket, batsmen play an innovative stroke which troubles the bowlers and does not allow them to settle.
On 2nd July one of the greatest finisher of all time Mahendra Singh Dhoni struggled against the West Indies at Antigua. He scored was not able to finish the game and India lost the 4th ODI by 11 runs. Here we look at the 5 slowest fifty by an Indian in One-day internationals.
Here we look at the 5 slowest fifty by an Indian in One-day internationals:
- Sadagoppan Ramesh 110 balls
Sadagoppan Ramesh has the slowest half-century by an Indian in ODI format. He scored 50 in 110 balls against Kenya at Nairobi on 29th September 1999. R Vijay Bharadwaj scored a quick fire 41 off 30 balls while the other Indian batsmen struggled. The Indian team posted 220 for 7. Kenya was all out for 162 in 50 overs with top scorer by Thomas Odoyo with 33 runs as Men in Blue won the match by 58 runs.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni 108 balls
Mahendra Singh Dhoni one of the greatest finishers struggled against West Indies at Sir Vivan Richards Ground, Antigua on 2nd July. He came after losing the third wicket of Dinesh Karthik with 47 runs on the board. With India losing wickets at regular intervals, MS Dhoni played slowly and completed his fifty in 108 balls. With 14 runs required off 7 balls, he was caught and dismissed for 54 in 114 balls. India lost the match by 11 runs against a spirited bowling West Indies line-up.
- Sourav Ganguly 105 balls
Sourav Ganguly is third on the list of slowest half centuries by an Indian in ODI cricket. This knock came against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on 3rd August 2005. Stylish left-handed batsmen from Kolkata scored 50 in 105 balls as he was dismissed for 51 in 110 balls. Irfan Pathan, Kaif, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag scored runs. India posted 220 for 8 in 50 overs. Mahela Jayawardene contributed 94 not out and helped Sri Lanka to win the match by 4 wickets with 2 overs to spare.
- Sourav Ganguly 104 balls
Sourav Ganguly again features on the list of slowest fifties by an Indian during an ODI match. He played this knock against Bangladesh on 17th April 2007 at Port of Spain, Trinidad during World Cup held in West Indies. India won the toss and elected to bat. The left-handed opener struggled against the Bangladesh bowlers. With wickets falling, Ganguly held the innings and completed his half-century off 104 balls. India was bowled out for 191 in 49.3 overs. Chasing the target of 192, Tamim Iqbal, Rahim, and Al Hasan scored half centuries, as Bangladesh stunned India by 5 wickets.
- Mohammad Kaif 98 balls
Mohammad Kaif comes last in terms of the slowest half-century by an Indian. He played this knock against New Zealand during the super six stage at Centurion on 14th March 2003 held in South Africa and Kenya. India won the toss and elected to field. A great bowling by Indian fast bowlers especially by Zaheer Khan helped bowl out New Zealand for a paltry 146 in 45.1 overs.
Chasing the target of 147, India lost 3 early wickets for 21 runs. Mohammad Kaif played slowly with Rahul Dravid. He completed his half-century off 98 balls. Kaif remained not out on 68 off 129 balls while Rahul Dravid not out on 53 in 89 balls. India won the match by 7 wickets with 56 balls to spare.