5 times a wicket-keeper scored four consecutive half-centuries in ODIs
Ishan Kishan has been in good batting form in ODIs in the recent past. He scored three consecutive half-centuries against the West Indies in the recently concluded ODI series in the Caribbean.
The left-handed keeper batsman continued his purple patch with the bat against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Kishan, batting at number five, played a brilliant innings of 82 from 81 balls that included nine boundaries and two maximums and guided India to a respectable total.
Kishan is the second Indian wicket-keeper after MS Dhoni to score four consecutive half-centuries.
Here is a look at five cricketers other than Kishan who have achieved this feat:
#1 Shai Hope
The current West Indies ODI skipper has the distinction of scoring six consecutive half-centuries in the 50-overs format. All the said scores were against Sri Lanka across two ODI series.
The first ODI series was in Sri Lanka during February-March 2020, when Hope had impressive scores of 115, 51, and 72. Unfortunately, Hope was the only warrior for his team with the bat and West Indies lost all three ODIs.
Sri Lanka were once again on the receiving end when they toured West Indies in March 2021 and Hope scored 110, 84, and 64 in the said ODI series that West Indies won 3-0. Accordingly, Hope scored 496 runs in the said six matches at an average of almost 84.
Hope is the only keeper-batsman to score six consecutive half-centuries, a record which is tough to breach.
#2 Andy Flower
Andy Flower was one of the most consistent players for his team in the ODI format. In 1997, he scored five consecutive half-centuries and was the first-ever keeper-batsman to achieve this feat.
In a tournament featuring Kenya, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe, Flower had impressive scores of 81, 72, 70, 66, and 79 and ensured that his team won the tournament with ease. Courtesy of the batting of Flower, Zimbabwe were unbeaten throughout the tri-series.
Apart from his heroics with the bat, Flower took five catches behind the wicket and had a dream tournament.
#3 Alec Stewart
Alec Stewart had an incredible career as a keeper-batsman for England in the 1990s and early 2000s. Apart from being a flawless keeper, he was perfectly equipped to open the batting in ODIs and scored plenty of runs for his team at the top of the order.
Stewart was in incredible touch with the bat during the 2000 Natwest series and had four consecutive fifty-plus scores in the said tournament, including two brilliant centuries.
His first half-century was an unbeaten 74 against the West Indies at Chester-Le-Street, guiding his team to a 10-wicket win. Thereafter, he scored two consecutive centuries against West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively (101 and 100*). He followed it up with a match-winning innings of 97 against Zimbabwe in the final at Lord's.
Another half-century (87*) followed against Bangladesh in the ICC Knockout Trophy that year.
#4 M S Dhoni
The former India skipper is the first Indian keeper-batsman to score four consecutive half-centuries in ODIs. All the said scores were against England in 2011, three being in England and one in India.
The first three scores of 69, 78*, and 50* were at the Oval, the Lord's, and Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground, respectively. England won two of the said matches and the one at Lord's ended in a tie.
Dhoni continued his rich form with the bat when England toured India later in 2011. He scored 87 in the first ODI at Hyderabad and guided India to a comfortable victory by 126 runs.
#5 Scott Edwards
Scott Edwards is the only keeper-batsman to score four consecutive half-centuries on two occasions in ODIs.
He scored three impressive half-centuries against England in 2022 (72*, 78, and 64). However, the Netherlands were no match for a strong English team and they went down 3-0 in the four-match series. He followed up the three half-centuries with another one against the visiting Pakistan team.
Edwards was also instrumental in guiding the Netherlands to a famous spot in the World Cup 2023 in India and scored four consecutive half-centuries in the World Cup Qualifiers. He scored 83 against Zimbabwe in the first game and followed it up with three scores of 67 (two unbeaten) against the United States, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.
The fact that Edwards has achieved the feat twice and against quality oppositions makes the achievement more respectable.