New Zealand's Muhammad Abbas Breaks Krunal Pandya's World Record Of Scoring Fastest 50 On ODI Debut
The 21-year-old right-handed batter scored 52 runs from 26 balls for Kiwis on Saturday. During his stay at the crease, he hammered three fours and three sixes.
21-year-old right-handed batter Muhammad Abbas, who made his ODI debut for New Zealand on Saturday (March 29) against Pakistan at McLean Park in Napier, entered his name in the history books by scoring the fastest half-century on debut. After coming out to bat at No. 6 for the Michael Bracewell-led side, Abbas crossed the 50-run mark in just 24 balls. Before him the record for scoring the fastest fifty on ODI debut was in the name of Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya.
Krunal, on his ODI debut for India against England at MCA Stadium on March 23, 2021, scored a half-century in 26 balls.
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#StatChat | 21-year-old Muhammad Abbas rocketed to the fast-ever fifty on ODI debut. His fifty came from just 24 balls, beating the record of 26 balls previously held by Krunal Pandya. #NZvPAK #CricketNation 📷 = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/ZpUqrVoo30— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 29, 2025
Fastest 50s on ODI debut
- Muhammad Abbas (New Zealand) – 24 balls vs Pakistan, Napier (2025)
- Krunal Pandya (India) – 26 balls vs England, Pune (2021)
- Alick Athanaze (West Indies) – 26 balls vs UAE, Sharjah (2023)
- Ishan Kishan (India) – 33 balls vs Sri Lanka, Colombo (2021)
During his stay at the crease on Saturday, Abbas faced a total of 26 balls and, with the help of three fours and three sixes, scored 52 runs. His half-century on debut helped New Zealand post a total of 344/9 on the board, which in the end proved to be enough for the hosts to secure a win by 73 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Babar shines
In the first ODI of the three-match series, Babar Azam came out to bat at No. 3 for Pakistan and scored 78 runs from 83 balls. He hammered five fours and three sixes during his stay at the crease and added 76 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan (30 from 34 balls) and 85 runs for the fourth wicket with Salman Ali Agha (58 runs from 48 balls).
He was the fourth Pakistani batter to get out on Saturday, and his wicket triggered a shocking collapse. From 249 for 3 in 38.3 overs, Pakistan got all out for 271 in 44.1 overs.
Nathan Smith finished with figures of 4 for 60 in 8.1 overs, and Jacob Duffy accounted for the dismissal of two Pakistani batters for 60 runs in his quota of nine overs.
Abbas also bowled seven overs on his ODI debut for the two-time ODI World Cup losing finalists and picked Rizwan’s wicket, who was caught by wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay.
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