Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Asghar Afghan – 121 vs ZIM | Afsar Zazai – 152 vs ZIM | Ismat Alam – 173 vs ZIM | Rahmat Shah – 186 vs BAN | Rahmat Shah – 198 vs ZIM |
Australia | Adam Gilchrist – 57 vs ENG | Jack Gregory – 67 vs SA | David Warner – 69 vs IND | David Warner – 78 vs PAK | David Warner – 82 vs WI |
Bangladesh | Tamim Iqbal – 94 vs ENG | Soumya Sarkar – 94 vs NZ | Mominul Haque – 96 vs SL | Mominul Haque – 98 vs NZ | Tamim Iqbal – 100 vs ENG |
England | Gilbert Jessop – 76 vs AUS | Jonny Bairstow – 77 vs NZ | Harry Brook – 80 vs PAK | Ben Stokes – 85 vs NZ | Ian Botham – 86 vs AUS |
India | Mohammad Azharuddin – 74 vs SA | Virender Sehwag – 78 vs WI | Shikhar Dhawan – 85 vs AUS | Kapil Dev – 86 vs ENG | Hardik Pandya – 86 vs SL |
Ireland | Lorcan Tucker – 149 vs BAN | Paul Stirling – 172 vs SL | Kevin O’Brien – 186 vs PAK | Curtis Campher – 209 vs SL | – |
New Zealand | Brendon McCullum – 54 vs AUS | Colin de Grandhomme – 71 vs WI | Brendon McCullum – 74 vs SL | Brendon McCullum – 78 vs PAK | Ross Taylor – 81 vs AUS |
Pakistan | Misbah-ul-Haq – 56 vs AUS | Majid Khan – 74 vs NZ | Shahid Afridi – 78 vs WI | Shahid Afridi – 78 vs IND | Sarfraz Ahmed – 80 vs AUS |
South Africa | AB de Villiers – 75 vs IND | Hashim Amla – 87 vs AUS | Denis Lindsay – 95 vs AUS | Jonty Rhodes – 95 vs WI | Shaun Pollock – 95 vs SL |
Sri Lanka | Mahela Jayawardene – 81 vs BAN | Sanath Jayasuriya – 90 vs ZIM | Tillakaratne Dilshan – 93 vs BAN | Romesh Kaluwitharana – 98 vs NZ | Kithuruwan Vithanage – 99 vs BAN |
West Indies | Viv Richards – 56 vs ENG | Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 69 vs AUS | Chris Gayle – 70 vs AUS | Roy Fredericks – 71 vs AUS | Brian Lara – 77 vs PAK |
Zimbabwe | Brian Bennett – 97 vs ENG | Sean Williams – 106 vs NZ | Neil Johnson – 107 vs PAK | Sean Williams – 115 vs AFG | Brendan Taylor – 117 vs NZ |
Note: Numbers in the table indicate the balls faced by the batter to reach the 100-run mark.
Key Insights
Brendon McCullum is the fastest Test centurion among all teams. The former New Zealand captain scored a quick 54-ball hundred against Australia in February 2016. McCullum’s ton is also the quickest for a captain in Tests.
McCullum bettered Viv Richards’ and Misbah-ul-Haq’s joint record of reaching the hundred off 56 balls, the fastest Test centuries for the West Indies and Pakistan, respectively. Richards attained the feat against England in 1986, while Misbah did so against Australia in 2014.
Richards was, in fact, the first batter to score a Test hundred in less than 60 balls. Adam Gilchrist is the other batter to bring up a ton in fewer than 60 balls. His hundred off 57 deliveries against England in 2006 is the fastest by an Australian batter and a wicketkeeper in Test cricket.
India’s Virender Sehwag reached the 100-run mark in 100 or fewer balls seven times, the most by a batter for a team in Tests. Three of those instances came against Sri Lanka, the most by a batter against a team.
Gilchrist is the only other batter with more than five instances of bringing up a Test hundred in fewer than 100 deliveries. All of his six instances came as a wicketkeeper, the most for a team.
Australia, India, England, the West Indies, and New Zealand have 15 or more instances of batters reaching their Test centuries in 100 or fewer balls.
Shikhar Dhawan has struck the quickest century on Test debut for a team. He achieved the feat in India’s jersey against Australia off 85 balls in 2018.
Tamim Iqbal is the only batter to reach the century mark in 100 or fewer balls against the same opposition in consecutive Tests. The two hundreds in question came against England on the 2010 tour, with the first being a 94-ball ton at Lord’s, followed by a century off 100 balls in Manchester. Iqbal’s 94-ball century is the fastest for Bangladesh.