Scoring a century is a dream come true for any batter in any given format, and surpassing the milestone for the first time is a special occasion. Even more satisfying is to achieve the same at a very young age, especially when you are an Indian cricketer. This is because cricket is a sport that is closely followed in India, and any significant achievement will get noticed quickly.
In this article, we will see the top 10 youngest Indian batters to have scored an ODI century.
Vinod Kambli: 21 Years and 0 Days
Vinod Kambli had all the talents in the world to become one of the finest cricketers ever, but unfortunately, he couldn’t live up to the expectations. But he sure is the proud owner of this record, i.e., the youngest Indian to score an ODI century.
The left-hander from Mumbai made his maiden ODI century on his 21st birthday and, in the process, became the first batter to score an ODI century on his birthday. This was one of the two centuries that Vinod Kambli ever made in his ODI career.
Still, unfortunately, his knock of an unbeaten 100 from 149 balls couldn’t help India win the contest at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur as the visiting England team chased down the target of 224 set by India in a last-ball thriller.
Virat Kohli: 21 Years and 49 Days
Arguably the best ODI player of all time, Virat Kohli scored his maiden century in the format against his favourite opposition, Sri Lanka, at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2009. He made an outstanding 107 off just 114 balls in India’s chase of 317 and, along with Gambhir, who made an unbeaten 150, took the hosts past the finish line. With this century at 21 years and 49 days in just his 13th ODI knock, Kohli became the 2nd youngest Indian to score an ODI ton.
This was the first of many ODI centuries and the beginning of his quest to be a master of successful run-chases in white-ball cricket. In all, Kohli has amassed 26 ODI tons in chases, and out of these, 22 came in successful run-chases for India.
Yuvraj Singh: 21 Years and 120 Days
The 3rd youngest to score an ODI century for India is their former talismanic all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who struck his maiden century in his 61st innings against Bangladesh at Bangabandhu National Stadium in 2003. Though it took him that many attempts to register his ODI century, Yuvraj’s talent was never in question, and he came pretty close to scoring a ton in his very first innings against Australia.
Yuvraj went on to make 13 more hundreds in his 304-match ODI career and ended up as the finest middle-order batter for India, scoring 8701 runs at an average of 36.56 to go along with the 111 wickets he took in the format. The left-hander was also the player of the tournament for India in the team’s victorious 2011 World Cup campaign.
Sachin Tendulkar: 21 Years and 138 Days
One would have thought Sachin, given his record-creating spree with which most of his career went, would be the youngest ever Indian to score an ODI ton, but it took him close to 5 years since his debut to make an ODI century.
The reason was he initially played most of his innings in the middle order, and it took him 76 innings to finally break the jinx of not scoring an ODI century. His 110 at Colombo against Australia in 1994 was his maiden ton and it came in a winning cause.
It was also the start of many from the bat of Sachin, as the master blaster scored a whopping 49 ODI centuries in his illustrious 463-match career, accumulating 18426 runs at an average of just under 45.
Also Read | In Focus: Sachin Tendulkar Straight Drive
Suresh Raina: 21 Years and 211 Days
Another middle-order batter who makes it to the list is Suresh Raina. Just like Yuvraj, Raina also played a key role in India’s middle order for a considerable period, and the first of his 5 ODI centuries came against Hong Kong in the 2008 Asia Cup game at Karachi.
He was 21 years and 211 days old at that time, making him the 5th youngest ODI centurion for India. In a career lasting 226 games, Suresh Raina scored 5615 runs at an average of 35.31 and took 36 wickets.
Mohammad Kaif: 21 Years and 287 Days
Mohammad Kaif, known as one of the best Indian fielders of all time, was a decent batsman for India in the middle order and had played many match-winning knocks. But he could muster only 2 ODI centuries, and his maiden ton came in just his 15th innings against Zimbabwe at Colombo, making him the 6th youngest Indian to score an ODI century. This was an ICC Champions Trophy game, and his knock of 111 resulted in a narrow 14-run win for India over Zimbabwe.
Due to inconsistency in the middle order, Kaif went out of favour with selectors after showing some initial promise and ended his career with a sub-par average of 32.01 from 110 innings, scoring 2753 runs.
Ravi Shastri: 22 Years and 132 Days
Ravi Shastri, the former Indian coach, was a successful batter in his playing days and was part of the victorious Indian ICC World Cup 1983 and World Championship 1985 teams. He played 150 ODIs for India, scoring 3108 runs with 4 centuries and taking 129 wickets.
His maiden ODI ton came in just the 18th innings against Australia at Indore, but in a losing cause. Nevertheless, it made him the 7th youngest ODI century-maker for India at 22 years and 132 days. Also, Ravi made his maiden Test century at the age of 20 years and 348 days against Pakistan in Karachi in 1983.
Virender Sehwag: 22 Years and 286 Days
One of the most successful openers in Indian cricket, Virender Sehwag, made his maiden ODI century in the 13th innings he played at the ODI level. And it was a match-winning effort against a formidable New Zealand team at Colombo in the Tri-Nations Cup.
This was the first of his 15 One Day International centuries that he has scored. He played 245 innings in the format for India, scoring 8273 runs, including a double century.
Shubman Gill: 22 Years and 348 Days |
Rohit Sharma: 23 Years and 28 Days
The last two on the list are the current Indian openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. While Rohit Sharma made his maiden ODI century in his 40th innings, Gill took only 9 innings to make his mark. Incidentally, both of their centuries came against the Zimbabwe team, but the results for the team were contrasting. Rohit is currently in the 3rd position on the all-time century list in ODI format for India, and Gill has just started out.
