Hardik Pandya & Konstas (Source: Gareth Copley/Getty Images and Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Test cricket is the format that demands patience and resilience from the batters. There are no limitations with the ball count and the batter has the option of taking his time to settle in, see through the good balls and punish the bad ones. Such has been the tradition and it’s the way the format has been played over the years.
But, there are some batters who have defied the norms and taken their game to a different level when it comes to the longest format. These are the batters who have tackled the lethality of the bowlers with equal retort as they do in white-ball cricket. Some of them have even notched up half centuries on their debut in no time with the conservative approach taking a back seat.
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Here are the fastest fifties (by balls taken) on Test debut –
5. Sam Konstas vs India in Melbourne, 2024 (52 balls)
Sam Konstas (Image source : getty images)
Sam Konstas grabbed attention by scoring twin hundreds against South Australia. He became the youngest to do so in the Sheffield Shield since former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting. As Australia were set to face India in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he received a maiden national call up.
The 19-year-old was on song from the word go. He took on the number one Test bowler, Jasprit Bumrah and brought reverse scoops against the pacer. His knock was not only filled with some outrageous shots but calculated punches towards the on side. He reached his maiden half-century in just 52 balls and ended up scoring 60 runs off 65 balls laced with six boundaries and two maximums.
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4. Shikhar Dhawan vs Australia in Mohali, 2013 (50 balls)
Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
Shikhar Dhawan made his international debut quite late. Aged 26, he played his first game for the Indian team with a Test against Australia in Mohali. He opened the innings with Murali Vijay and the duo put up a 289-run stand for the first wicket. Meanwhile, the southpaw reached his half-century in just 50 deliveries.
He continued the onslaught to smash a maiden century in his debut game and joined the coveted list of players with a century in the debut Test. A double ton was expected from the Delhi batter as he looked unstoppable at one point. But Australia drew curtains on his dreamy knock and he walked back scoring 187 off just 174 balls with 33 boundaries and two maximums.
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3. Sarfaraz Khan vs England in Rajkot, 2024 (48 balls)
Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)
Sarfaraz Khan had to play the waiting game despite prolific outings in the domestic cricket for Mumbai. The right-handed batter used to score double tons for fun before the Indian team was forced to take notice of him. He was eventually drafted into the squad and made his debut in the Rajkot Test against England earlier this year, which was the third Test of the series.
He batted at number six and made most of the opportunity and batted with ease after his nerves were settled. He reached his half century in just 48 deliveries and was cruising towards a maiden ton before he was unfortunately run out at the non-striker’s end. But the right-handed batter did his job with 62 runs off just 66 deliveries with nine boundaries and one maximum.
2. Hardik Pandya vs Sri Lanka in Galle, 2017 (48 balls)
Hardik Pandya plays a shot. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Hardik Pandya made his international debut for India in a T20I against Australia in 2016. It took just one year for him to get entrusted with an all-rounder’s job in whites. He made amends in his very first game and went all guns blazing against the Sri Lankan bowling attack. He batted at number eight, providing India with a late assault.
Pandya scored at a brisk rate and reached his half century in just 48 balls. Unfortunately, he had to cede his innings the very next ball after being caught out. In his brief stay at the crease, he smashed five boundaries and three maximums. Incidentally, the right-handed batter has only played 11 Tests for India and his last one came in 2018.
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1. Yuvraj of Patiala vs England in Chennai, 1934 (42 balls)
Yuvraj of Patiala (Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo)
Yadavendrasingh aka Yuvraj of Patiala, played just one Test in his very short international career. That came against the touring England team in 1933-34. It is worth noting that, he played 52 First Class games. Coming to the match, India were provided a massive target of 452 runs and the struggle of the Indian batters continued after getting bowled out for just 145 runs in the first innings.
While chasing the target, Yuvraj batted at number seven and took on the English bowling attack in a game that was slipping away from India’s hands as the overs passed. He reached his half century in just 42 balls and went on to score 60 runs before perishing. India eventually lost the game by 202 runs and this was also the last game of the Yuvraj for the Indian team.