Cricket loves its impossibilities: winning a Test after following on, defending 120 on a flat deck, or convincing fans that the DLS sheet actually makes sense. But among the sport’s rarest feats, nothing bends belief quite like an all-rounder scoring a half-century and taking a five-for in the same World Cup match. It’s a statistical unicorn in a field where even the greats often specialise in either bruising bowling figures or elegant batting carnage, but rarely both on the same day.
Deepti Sharma: Pressure Turns into Precision
Deepti Sharma
A World Cup final is supposed to expose nerves, not announce certainties. But Deepti Sharma, walking in at 171/5 in the 30th over against South Africa, looked less like a batter under pressure and more like a project manager fixing someone else’s mess. Her run-a-ball 58 didn’t blaze it stabilised. It ensured India wouldn’t repeat 2017’s heartbreak, where the Women in Blue lost their nerve at the final hurdle.
The context enhances the achievement: no player, male or female, had previously completed the 50 + 5 double in a World Cup knockout. Deepti not only completed the double; she did it in the biggest match India’s women have ever played, leading them to their first-ever title.
Her real knockout punch? Back-to-back overs removing Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen, the two scalps South Africa simply couldn’t afford to lose. Those dismissals turned a tricky chase into a slow slide.
Ending with 5/39, she didn’t just dominate; she dictated the script. Add a Player of the Series award, and Deepti’s final became the kind of performance that gets replayed for decades.
Shakib Al Hasan: The Prototype of Modern All-Round Excellence
Shakib Al Hasan
Go back to 2019, and you can see Shakib Al Hasan reminding us why he is regarded as one of the best all-rounders of this generation at that time in a quiet way, before Deepti Sharma and before the knockout rounds of the Cricket World Cup. At the time, Bangladesh had already lost an early wicket, and the Afghan spinners were squeezing a tight vice grip of pressure on them. In response to that, Shakib scored 51 runs from 69 deliveries with nothing but the perfect amount of disruption for his team. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t slow, it was just right.
With the ball, he was ruthless. His 5/29 included four of Afghanistan’s top five—a tactical dismantling, not a statistical accident. The 2019 World Cup became Shakib’s personal showcase: 606 runs at 86+, 11 wickets, and an economy rate below 5.40. It was the kind of tournament that forces commentators to invent new adjectives.
Yuvraj Singh: A Home World Cup Sparked by One Magical Day
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh’s 2011 campaign was already glowing with momentum, but his Bengaluru masterclass against Ireland was the moment the flame turned into a furnace. Ireland were 122/2 and comfortable; ten overs later, they were rubble thanks to Yuvraj’s astonishing 5/31, which remains one of the most economical five-fors by an Indian spinner in World Cups.
The Chase began for India; a small wobble occurred as this was India’s calling card during the 2011 Group Stage. However, Yuvraj provided a calming presence with an unbeaten 50 and continued his rhythm that had brought him so much success in the tournament. The match was never going to be exciting, and it did not have to be; it was simply clinical assurance from a player who was now in a rhythm to win tournaments.
By the end of the 2011 World Cup, he had been named Player of the Tournament after scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets, a combination that is still considered almost unbelievable by most cricket fans today.
Why These Feats Sit in a League of Their Own
At what time did someone (other than these 3 players) get anywhere near an all-round double like this? I am aware of some other lower-pressure international games, but World Cup competitions rarely offer a second opportunity if you make a mistake, and there is virtually no way to provide opportunities for one player to stand out in each of the disciplines. Kapil Dev, in 1983, provided an all-round tournament which exemplified his play in the 1983 World Cup; Shane Watson, in 2011, provided an all-round tournament for Australia in the 2011 World Cup; and Imran Khan, in 1992, provided an all-round tournament for Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup. However, nobody has achieved the feat of providing five wickets, with fifty runs in a single game. This is the reason Deepti, Shakib, and Yuvi are a special subset of cricket mythology – players who gave their team two match-winning performances on the same day.
Overall, bowlers have already made a difficult job even harder than before. For them, they have to be two players at once, two moods, and two solutions to two different issues. However, for Deepti, Shakib, and Yuvraj, these statistics were not just examples of how unusual they could be; rather, they were instances where the balance between the chaotic nature of cricket and the level of control that the game is able to provide was completely turned in their favor.
Key Takeaway
Only three cricketers have ever delivered a World Cup performance so complete it felt like they played two roles and aced both.
FAQs
- Why is a 50 + 5 performance so rare in World Cups?
Because conditions, pressure, and match context rarely allow one player to dominate both disciplines in the same high-stakes game.
- Who was the first player to achieve this feat?
Yuvraj Singh, during India’s 2011 home World Cup campaign.
- Is Deepti Sharma the only one to do it in a final?
Yes, she’s the only cricketer ever to achieve the double in an ICC knockout match.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
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