Pakistan captain Fatima Sana scripts fastest women’s T20I fifty

Karachi, May 15 Fatima Sana rewrote the record books with a breathtaking display of power-hitting as the Pakistan captain smashed the fastest half-century in women’s T20 internationals during the third T20I against Zimbabwe in Karachi.

The 24-year-old reached her fifty in just 15 balls, beating the previous record jointly held by Sophie Devine, Phoebe Litchfield and Richa Ghosh who all scored their fifties in 18 deliveries.

Sana’s phenomenal innings also matched the record for the fastest fifty in women’s T20 cricket, equalling the achievement of Marie Kelly for Warwickshire in 2022 and Laura Harris for Otago earlier this year in New Zealand’s Super Smash competition.

Sana walked out to bat with Pakistan in a comfortable position of 152 for 4 in the 17th over after electing to bat. What followed was a vicious assault on Zimbabwe’s bowling attack.

She opened her account with a four off Michelle Mavunga and then bowled a brilliant spell against Kudzai Chigora, smashing four on the trot.

Sana completely tore apart Nomvelo Sibanda in the second last over of the innings. The Pakistan captain slammed 4, 4, 6, 6 and 4 in a destructive over that yielded 24 runs and propelled her to 48 off just 14 balls. If Sana had two runs to get for the record, she was in a cool frame of mind, nudging Zimunu for a couple on the second ball of the last over to bring up her historic half-century. She was not done yet, adding two more boundaries to end on a sensational 62 off just 19 balls to remain not out. In her innings, she struck 10 fours and two sixes. It took Pakistan to 223 for 4, their second highest total in women's T20Is, after the 237 they scored earlier in the same series.

Before Sana’s explosive innings, the record for fastest fifty by a Pakistani in T20Is was held by Nida Dar who achieved the feat in 20 balls against South Africa in 2019.

Sana’s form in 2026 has been unreal. She is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is this year, with 229 runs from five innings at a stunning strike rate of 206.30 – the best among all women’s T20I batters in 2026 who have faced more than 10 deliveries.

She had already registered her highest T20I score of 90 off 41 balls against South Africa earlier this year.

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