Scoring a century in ODI cricket is a daunting task. Virat Kohli might give you a different idea, though.
For most batsmen, they start with deft touches to get settle, gain momentum, shift gears, cross the 50-runs mark, and finally battle ‘nervous nineties’ to get their three-digit milestone. However, few don’t believe in these procedures.
Centuries win matches one might say. To be honest, some centuries have ended in losing causes too. Cricket, as a team game, needs more than an individual’s contribution to winning.
However, sometimes, an individual innings is what it takes to carry the day. Fastest centuries are of that kind.
Imagine this: a new ‘walking-in’ batsman starts to hit the opposition bowlers all over the ground, and to add more pain, gets a quick century to take things off their hand. What you must have felt is a pure dominance.
And, in this blog, we will talk about the top ten fastest hundreds in ODI cricket.
Fastest Centuries in ODI
| Player | Balls Taken for 100 | Final Score | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 31 | 149 | West Indies | Johannesburg | 2015 |
| Corey Anderson (NZ) | 36 | 131* | West Indies | Queenstown | 2014 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 37 | 102 | Sri Lanka | Nairobi | 1996 |
| Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 40 | 106 | Netherlands | Delhi | 2023 |
| Asif Khan (UAE) | 41 | 101* | Nepal | Kirtipur | 2023 |
| Mark Boucher (SA) | 44 | 147* | Zimbabwe | Potchefstroom | 2006 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 45 | 117 | Bangladesh | Dhaka | 1999 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 45 | 102 | India | Kanpur | 2005 |
| Jesse Ryder (NZ) | 46 | 104 | West Indies | Queenstown | 2014 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 46 | 116* | Pakistan | Dubai (DSC) | 2015 |
Stats Insights
- All these hundreds (the top 10) came in the winning cause.
- 9 out of 10 times, the batsmen featuring the fastest hundreds won the Man of the Match award in that match. The only exception is due to the fact that two of these above hundreds came in a same match.
- On the New Year day in 2014, New Zealand’s Corey Anderson (2nd in the list) and Jesse Ryder (7th in the list) scored centuries against West Indies in a quick pace that they both entered this list of the quickest ODI hundreds. The fact, both these centuries came in a rain-shortened 21-overs game, makes the stat look more incredible. New Zealand made 284 in the 21 overs that game. Can you believe that?
- The fastest ever ODI century came when AB de Villiers was playing against West Indies in a Pink ODI. Find here ABD’s fantastic stat whenever South Africa played in Pink.
- Shahid Afridi’s 6th placed 45-ball century against India in 2005, is the fastest ODI century that came while chasing.
- Jonny Bairstow of England, who is not in this list, scored the fastest century in ODI in a losing cause. The 54-ball hundred came against Scotland, who scored 371 in that match to restrict England at 365 despite the Bairstow show.
- Afridi’s 37-balls century against Sri Lanka in 1996 stood at the top for almost 18 years before Corey Anderson overcoming it in 2014.
- One can see, there are two instances from Shahid Afridi and Jos Buttler in this list, along with two South African and two New Zealanders. Sri Lanka and West Indies have one entry each.
- Rohit Sharma, the three times double century scorer in ODI, and Sachin Tendulkar who holds the record for the most centuries in ODI (49) are not part of this list. In fact they are not in the top 5 fastest Indian century list too.
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