Cricket has seen its fair share of breathtaking moments. From astonishing catches to remarkable centuries, this sport has continuously enthralled fans worldwide. In the fast-paced world with short formats of the game catching the limelight, the ODI format has evolved significantly over the past decade. From batters looking to anchor and play long innings to them going for out-and-out hammering knocks, the time has really changed in batters’ favour.
Such has been observed in the pinnacle 50-over tournament where the batters have time and again reached their milestones in no time. Intriguingly, four of the top 10 fastest ODI World Cup centuries have come in 2023. Here, let’s have a look at the 10 mind-boggling innings:
Fastest ODI World Cup centuries: Top 10 list
| Rank | Player | Total Runs | Opposition | Balls To
Reach 100 |
Date |
| 1 | Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 106 | Netherlands | 40 | 25 October 2023 |
| 2 | Aiden Markram (SA) | 106 | Sri Lanka | 49 | 7 October 2023 |
| 3 | Kevin O’Brien (IRE) | 113 | England | 50 | 02 Mar 2011 |
| 4 | Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 102 | Sri Lanka | 51 | 08 Mar 2015 |
| 5 | AB de Villiers (SA) | 162* | West Indies | 52 | 27 Feb 2015 |
| 6 | Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 101 | Afghanistan | 57 | 18 Jun 2019 |
| 7 | Heinrich Klaasen (SA) | 109 | England | 61 | 21 Oct 2023 |
| 9 | Rohit Sharma (IND) | 131 | Afghanistan | 63 | 11 Oct 2023 |
| 9 | Kusal Mendis (SL) | 122 | Pakistan | 65 | 10 Oct 2023 |
| 10 | Mathew Hayden (AUS) | 111 | South Africa | 66 | 24 Mar 2007 |
Glenn Maxwell | 40 balls
Australia’s middle-order showman Glenn Maxwell bludgeoned a 40-ball hundred against the Netherlands in New Delhi in the ongoing World Cup including eight sixes and nine fours. The right-hander came into bat just a few balls before the final powerplay of Australia’s innings and ended up smashing the fastest ODI World Cup century.
Maxwell’s knock not only helped Australia post a mammoth first innings total of 399 runs but also shattered the confidence of a high-flying Dutch team that had recently defeated a strong South African side. For his 106-run innings, Maxwell was declared as the Player of the Match.
Aiden Markram | 49 balls
South Africa’s Aiden Markram set the ball rolling in their tournament opener against Sri Lanka at the same venue as Maxwell with a 49-ball ton. He was amongst the three batters who breached the three-figure mark in the first innings. His innings featured as many as 14 boundaries and three maximums. Boasting on three tons, South Africa gave Sri Lanka a humongous target of 429 runs to eventually win the game by 102 runs.
Markram has been in red-hot form of late. The 29-year-old recently smacked a 74-ball hundred against Australia in Potchefstroom following it with a 93-run knock against the same side. In the ongoing ODI World Cup, he has already scored over 250 runs and as the tournament goes on, he will look to add a lot more to his tally.
Kevin O’Brian | 50 balls
Kevin O’Brian’s 50-ball hundred against England during the 2011 World Cup is one of the most iconic innings in the tournament’s history. The Irish batter walked out to bat when his side required more than 220 runs in less than 28 overs against the strong England team in Bengaluru. However, what followed next, as mentioned above, was simply iconic.
O’Brian hammered 13 fours and six sixes to complete the then-fastest ODI World Cup hundred and bring Ireland close to a historic victory. He eventually got out in the penultimate over of the run chase, but the result was nearly decided by then.
After 12 years, the Irishman’s record was broken by Markram which was further bettered by Glenn Maxwell.
Glenn Maxwell | 51 balls
Commonly referred to as the Big Show, Glenn Maxwell features once again on this list. The Australian struck a 51-ball hundred against Sri Lanka during the 2015 World Cup with the help of 10 fours and four sixes. Intriguingly, it was also his maiden ODI century. Credit to Maxwell’s knock, Australia reached a huge first innings total of 376 runs before bundling Sri Lanka out for 312 runs.
In the tournament, Maxwell piled up 324 runs in just six innings at an excellent average of 64.80 and a staggering strike rate of nearly 182. His vital contributions played an integral part in Australia’s title-winning campaign.
AB de Villiers | 52 balls
AB de Villiers was one of the most ferocious players to have played the white-ball format. During the 2015 edition of the tournament, de Villiers broke the record of the fastest ODI 150 as he smoked 162 runs against the West Indies off just 66 deliveries. During the process, he reached his century in just 52 balls before blasting close to 60 runs in his next 14 balls. His record-breaking innings included 17 fours and eight maximums.
The South African captain was the edition’s third-highest run-getter as he amassed 482 runs at an astonishing average of more than 96 and a strike rate of nearly 145. He led his team to the semi-final of the competition where they eventually lost to New Zealand in Aukland.
Eoin Morgan | 57 balls
England’s only ODI World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan was in a subline form in 2019. The southpaw broke the record of most sixes in an ODI innings as he tonked 17 maximums against Afghanistan bowlers in Manchester. Also, he attained his hundred off just 57 balls which is still the fastest hundred by an England batter in ODI World Cups.
In total, Morgan piled up 371 runs in the competition at an average of more than 41 and a strike rate close to 111.
Heinrich Klaasen | 61 balls
Proteas’ explosive middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen has taken over the headlines with his monstrous batting in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. He slammed 109 runs off just 67 deliveries against England in Mumbai with the help of 12 fours and four sixes. He formed an important partnership with Marco Jansen to add 151 runs in a little over 12 overs to guide his team to a match-winning first innings total of 399 runs. In the process, he reached the three-figure mark in just 61 balls.
Subsequently, South Africa handed England their biggest loss in ODIs by 229 runs as the England batters failed to challenge the South African total. For his knock, Klaasen was chosen as the Player of the Match.
Rohit Sharma | 63 balls
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma put up an extremely beautiful batting show when he came out to bat against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The 36-year-old created the record of the fastest ODI World Cup ton by an Indian batter as he raced away to his hundred in just 63 balls. Credit to his 131-run knock featuring five maximums and 16 fours, India chased the target of 273 runs with 90 balls to spare.
The right-handed opener has been giving India solid starts and is the key to India’s batting powerplay exploits in the ongoing tournament. Rohit Sharma followed the ton against Afghanistan with a lightning-fast 86-run knock in just 63 balls against Pakistan to guide India to their eighth consecutive ODI World Cup victory against their neighbours.
Kusal Mendis | 65 balls
Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis is batting brilliantly in this World Cup. He started off the tournament with a 76-run innings off just 42 balls against South Africa and followed it with a 65-ball century against Pakistan in Hyderabad. In total, he smacked 122 runs in 77 balls including 14 fours and six maximums. His knock, along with Sadeera Samarawickrama’s 108 runs, helped Sri Lanka post 344 runs in the first innings. However, the side could not manage to win the game as Muhammad Rizwan took Pakistan home with an unbeaten 131-run innings.
The 28-year-old entered the World Cup as Sri Lanka’s vice-captain but an injury ruled their regular skipper Dasun Shanaka out of the tournament. Subsequently, Mendis was handed over the duty to lead the side.
Matthew Hayden | 66 balls
The aggressive brand of cricket popularized in the past decade but a 66-ball hundred from 2007 finds a place on this list. During the 2007 ODI World Cup, Australia’s Matthew Hayden smashed the ton against South Africa in Basseterre to guide his team to a massive score of 377 runs. As the Proteas failed to live up to their expectations, the Australians bagged a comfortable 83-run win.
Appreciably, Australia remained unbeaten throughout the tournament to lift their third consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup.
FAQs
Who has scored the fastest century in ODI cricket?
AB De Villiers tops the list of the fastest centuries in ODI cricket after taking just 31 balls to get to the three-figure-mark against West Indies in 2015.
Who has the fastest hundred in T20Is?
Kushal Malla of Nepal scored a 34-ball century against Mongolia in the Asian Games contest between them in Hangzhou. Among Test members, David Miller and Rohit Sharma hold the record with 35-ball centuries in this format against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively.
What is the fastest century in ODI World Cup history by an Indian?
Rohit Sharma has scored the fastest World Cup century among Indians at the World Cup after getting to the milestone in just 63 balls against Afghanistan in New Delhi recently. He also holds the record for the most centuries in ICC World Cup history and has seven tons in World Cup matches.
