Aiden Markram equaled Rohit Sharma’s world record by scoring a explosive fifty against New Zealand.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram led his side from the front in the recently concluded game against New Zealand in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He scored a half-century in 19 balls and the Proteas crushed the Black Caps.

31-year-old Aiden Markram looked worried about maintaining his form. Since he is one of the most experienced and proven talents for the team, expectations from him are also high. The match against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad turns out to be a must-match match for the Proteas to make a solid statement in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

Aiden Markram led from the front to help South Africa overcome a tough challenge

South Africa started their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with back-to-back wins against Canada and Afghanistan respectively. A third consecutive win will seal their place in the last eight. The task became more challenging for them with the early dismissal of in-form batsman Quinton de Kock.

While Quinton de Kock was out after scoring only 20 runs off 14, Markram stayed on the track for longer periods. He faced only 19 balls to reach the half-century mark while chasing the target of 176 runs. Markram remained unbeaten on 86 off 44, confirming a much-needed win over a strong New Zealand team. The right-handed batsman decorated his innings with eight fours and four sixes.

Apart from the captain, the middle-order batsmen supported their innings with brief but effective innings. Another experienced batsman David Miller remained unbeaten on 24 runs till the end of the match. Ultimately South Africa won the match by 7 wickets with 17 balls remaining. On the other hand, New Zealand had to face its first defeat in the tournament.

Markram equals Rohit Sharma’s T20 World Cup record

With a half-century in 18 balls, Aiden Markram equaled Rohit Sharma’s record in T20 World Cup as captain. Sharma also needed 19 balls to complete his half-century. During the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit took only 19 balls to complete his half-century in the tournament against Australia at Gros Islet on June 24.

Two years later, in the ongoing T20 World Cup, two batsmen have so far equaled the Hitman’s record of scoring the fastest half-century in the history of the tournament. Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanak also did the same against Oman on February 12, 2026. Within days, South Africa’s Aiden Markram also joined the elite list. In this endeavour, he left behind some stalwarts like Mohammed Ashraful and Mahela Jayawardene, who also scored explosive half-centuries in the T20 World Cup as captains of the respective national teams.

List of fastest half-centuries scored by a captain in the history of T20 World Cup

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