Top 10 fastest ODI hundreds in cricket history
Fastest ODI hundreds record was held for a long time by the Pakistani star all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi. One of the best hard hitters of the limited overs game, Afridi remained the king of fastest century in ODI cricket for almost 17 years. His 37-ball knock against Sri Lanka was considered to be invincible for a long time. However as every record has to halt one day, the fastest ODI hundreds record was also broken by Kiwi Batsman Corey Anderson. A year later, one of the best cricket players in the world right now, South African batting phenomenon deservingly demolished all previous rapid fire knocks in ODI cricket making the record almost impossible to reach again. However, in cricket nothing can be said for sure. With West Indies and South Africa going against each other in a few days, we can hope for something extraordinary because in recent encounters between two sides AB de Villiers has been really charged up. On the other hand West Indian squad is also filled with the players having the ability to break any record. While the third component of the tri-nation series Australia’s abilities and capabilities in ODI format are no secret. Who knows who takes the crown from AB de Villiers in coming years however pending we have a new world record holder, let’s flash back on to the previous fastest ODI hundreds in history.
Top 10 fastest ODI hundreds in cricket history
10. Kevin O’Brien 100 off 50 balls against England
In one of the biggest upsets in cricket history, Ireland pulled off a might total put up by English batsmen during the 2011 World Cup. A 327 run target set by England courtesy some brilliant innings from Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell was chased down by the underdog Irish side to record the biggest successful chase in world cup history. The highlight of the Irish side’s chase was of course Kevin O’Brien’s 63 ball 113 inning. In doing so Kevin O’Brien also got his name written into fastest ODI hundreds scorers’ list as he reached the magical three figures with just 50 balls played.
09. Sanath Jayasuriya 100 off 48 balls against Pakistan
During the first match of Singer Cup 1996 between two Asian sides Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya recorded the 9th fastest ODI hundreds in cricket. Against a strong Pakistani bowling line up featuring Waqar, Aqib and Saqlain Mushtaq , Sanath Jayasuriya one of the finest Sri Lankan players played bravely to reach up his 100 run mark in just 48 balls. Sri Lanka won the game by 34 runs having set up a huge total of 349 in 50 overs.
08. Jose Buttler 100 off 46 balls against Pakistan
Pakistani bowling attack being loaded with some of the fastest bowlers in the world usually creates a lot of troubles for batsmen. However when it is not their day, they prove to be world’s most fragile bowling attack. Same was the case in a match against England last year, when young hard hitter English batsman Jose Buttler thrashed the whole Pakistani bowling attack to notch up one of the fastest ODI hundreds. His 46 ball century was also the fastest ODI century by any batsman from the England side.
07. Jesse Ryder 100 off 46 balls against West Indies
Just a month before he played his last ODI for the national side, New Zealand middle order batsman Jesse Ryder got his name engraved in golden words. Playing at Queenstown against West Indies, the muscular Kiwi batsman scored a 46 ball 100. The player would have gone to score even more but some task was left by Ryder for Corey Anderson as well. New Zealand piled up a total of 283 in just 21 allowed overs as Corey Anderson went blazing as well after Jess’s fury knock.
06. Shahid Afridi 100 off 45 ball against India
What else could have been the most appropriate stage to showcase your best performance except against your bitter rivals? Well, Shahid Afridi knows that feeling when he put up one of the fastest ODI centuries against India at their home ground. Chasing 249 in the last game of the rare bilateral series, Shahid Afridi went on to score a 45 run ball 100, ultimately winning the match by an easy 5 wicket margin.
05. Brian Lara 100 off 45 against Bangladesh
Usually known for his steady long term batting innings, one of the leading run scorers in test cricket history, Brian Lara did not hesitate to show his aggressive side at times. Take for example his 117 run inning against Bangladesh in 1999. With just 4 sixes in his innings apart from 18 fours, Brian Lara scored the fifth fastest ODI hundreds in the process.
04. Mark Boucher 100 off 44 balls against Zimbabwe
The former South African wicket keeper batsman Mark Boucher’s cricket career was ended by one of the worst cricket injuries. While in a warm up game during South Africa’s tour of England in 2012, Boucher was hit on the eye with a stump bail, forcing him to announce retirement from all forms of sport. However before getting retired he was truly one of the fines wicket keeper batsman in the world. One of the most resilient wicket keeper in the world has 998 preys behind the stumps on his name apart from hotting one of the fastest ODI hundreds in the world.
03. Shahid Afridi 100 off 37 against Sri Lanka
The long standing record of the fastest ODI century in history which took more than 17 years to break. In his very first innings in international cricket at the age of just 16 years Shahid Khan Afridi redefined the word hard hitter in cricket. Scoring the fastest ODI hundred in just 37 balls, Shahid Afridi made an ever lasting impact of a hard hitter batsman in international cricket. Though he considers himself a bowler more than a batsman and stats are pretty supportive to his claim as well. The highest wicket taker in T20 cricket also holds the record of hitting most sixes in One Day Internationals.
02. Corey Anderson 100 off 36 balls against West Indies
The man that breached Shahid Afridi’s 17 year old record before AB de Villiers stepped in, Corey Anderson did it against West Indies in the same match where Jessy Rider score one of the fastest ODI hundreds. West Indies would never forget the game as two Kiwi batsmen charged on them to create world records. The game was actually a rain-effected match reduced to just 21 overs otherwise Kiwi batsmen would not go as brutal.
01. AB de Villiers 100 off 31 against West Indies
Interestingly West Indian bowlers are the ones brutalized by most number of sides in the making of fastest ODI hundreds in cricket history. Just like Corey Anderson did with the Caribbean bowlers in Kiwi ground, AB de Villiers did the same on South African soil. The hard-to-believe knock came on ‘the pink day’ last year when West Indies visited South Africa. The 31 ball ton that ended on 149 off just 44 balls also feature the fastest ODI fifty (16 balls) and most number of sixes in an ODI inning (16 shared with Rohit Sharma).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXFYpiU-v1Q
Top 10 fastest ODI hundreds in cricket history
- AB de Villiers
- Corey Anderson
- Shahid Afridi
- Mark Boucher
- Brian Lara
- Shahid Afridi
- Jesse Ryder
- Jose Buttler
- Sanath Jayasuriya
- Kevin O’Brien
