Cricket World Cup History : 5 batsmen with most fifties in World Cups

One major dream for every cricketer, right from the time they are introduced to the sport is to feature in a World Cup while representing their nation. Once a player gets a place in the team's World Cup squad, their sole goal is to contribute as much as they can to the team's cause.

A number of quality players have made a mark in the World Cup and led their teams to title victories. With the game of cricket slowly inclining towards favoring the batsmen with the change in rules, a number of batsmen have notched up excellent knocks in the past.

Australia are the most successful team in the history of the World Cup with five titles while India and West Indies have two titles each. However, in the path to the various triumphs, quite a few batsmen have made a massive mark.

Here are five such batsmen, who have the most number of half-centuries in the history of the World Cup.

Note: Players who have the same number of fifties are ranked based on fewer innings played.

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#5 Michael Clarke (Australia) - 8 fifties

Australia Cricket World Cup Squad Announcement

Michael Clarke played in three World Cups in his career and finished on the winning side on two of them. He is one of the few players to have won the World Cup both as a player and a captain. In 2007, he was a relatively new player in the squad but that did not stop him from contributing to the team's cause.

Clarke slammed four half centuries in his maiden World Cup campaign. His first half century came against the Netherlands, which was followed by 92 versus South Africa, 55* vs England and 60* against South Africa in the semifinals.

The classy right-hander registered two 50+ scores in the 2011 World Cup while in the 2015 World Cup, he scored 68 vs Sri Lanka before ending his ODI career with a magnificent knock of 74 in the final of the tournament.

#4 Graham Gooch (England) - 8 fifties

Graham Gooch

English batsman Graham Gooch kicked off his World Cup career in the year 1979. He scored his first fifty in his debut game against Australia. Gooch scored one more half ton in the semifinal match against New Zealand to take his team home.

He missed the 1983 World Cup but made an enthralling comeback in the 1987 World Cup. Gooch scored half centuries in both the games against Sri Lanka besides a 92-run knock versus the Windies in Jaipur. In the 1992 World Cup, the right-handed batsman registered 3 50+ scores in his first 4 innings.

With scores of 51, 65 and 58 against India, West Indies and Australia respectively, it looked like Graham will take England to glory in the 1992 World Cup.

However, unfortunately, he could not carry his form in the later stage of the tournament. In the World Cup final against Pakistan, Gooch played a slow knock of 29 (66) to end his World Cup career on a losing note.

#3 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) - 9 fifties

India v South Africa: Group B - 2011 ICC World Cup

One of the best all-rounders of the modern era of cricket, Jacques Kallis was one of the cornerstones of the South African team from 1996-2013. He performed exceptionally well in both the departments which saw South African cricket reach great heights.

Kallis made his World Cup debut in the year 1996, but he did not score big for his side. He kicked off his 1999 World Cup campaign with a fine knock of 96 runs versus India. The all-rounder registered three more half-centuries in the same edition, including a half-ton in the memorable game against Australia.

Playing the 2003 World Cup at home, the right-handed batsman struggled to score runs which saw him fail to notch up a single solid score. However, Kallis bounced back to form in the 2007 World Cup, where he scored four half centuries and one century.

In the 2011 World Cup, Kallis hit 69 versus India to help South Africa win the group stage match and then he scored 69 once again in South Africa's final league game versus Bangladesh.

#2 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) - 9 fifties

Shakib Al Hasan celebrates a half-century

Very few fans may remember that Shakib Al Hasan scored a half-century on his World Cup debut in a group stage match against India. The left-handed batsman announced his arrival in international cricket with that half century. He even hit a half-ton against England in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 World Cup.

He scored a half-century once again versus India, 4 years later in the opening match of ICC World Cup 2011. However, the all-rounder could not continue his form in the other fixtures which had a major impact on Bangladesh's performance. In the 2015 World Cup, Shakib crossed the 50-run mark in the games against Afghanistan and Scotland.

The all-rounder has matured with time and he has delivered his best ever World Cup performance at the ongoing 2019 World Cup. Shakib has registered four half centuries and two centuries already in this World Cup and has emerged as one of the most consistent players from this edition of the tournament.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 13 fifties

Sachin Tendulkar in action during the 2011 World Cup

The man who has achieved everything a batsman can in the world of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar sits atop this list as well. He holds the record of scoring the most hundreds in World Cups and the Little Master also owns the record of most half-centuries.

Tendulkar made his World Cup debut in 1992. In the testing conditions in Australia, Tendulkar hit a match winning 54* versus Pakistan in only his fourth match.

He added two more half centuries to his name in that World Cup and in the 1996 World Cup, the Mumbai-born batsman scored three fifties and two tons. In his third World Cup campaign, Tendulkar crossed the 50-run mark once but he went on to score 140* in that game. His second best score in the 1999 World Cup was 45.

Opening the batting for India in the 2003 World Cup, his consistency show him emerge as the leading run scorer of the tournament. He achieved the record of scoring the most half centuries in a single World Cup edition by slamming six fifties in the 2003 World Cup.

Sachin played only three innings in the 2007 World Cup. He added one more World Cup half century to his name in the fixture versus Bermuda. In his final World Cup, Sachin scored 53 and 85 in India's knockout matches against Australia and Pakistan respectively to lead the team to the final.

Though he could not play a big innings in the final, Sachin's dream of winning the World Cup came to fruition from that edition as India claimed the title after 28 years.