ODI cricket is a perfect blend of Test and T20 formats. But sometimes, we have seen batters going full on T20 mode to blast quick knocks.
It’s not unusual given the playing conditions favouring batters the most. And that has resulted in batters achieving centuries in fewer balls.
Here we’ll look at the 5 fastest centuries scored in ODI cricket.
5. Asif Khan (UAE): 41 Balls vs Nepal, 2023
Asif Khan pulled off an incredible knock, coming in at No. 7 and pushing UAE’s total from 175/5 to 310/6. It was the last match of the Cricket World Cup League 2 against Nepal in Kirtipur.
After UAE lost their fifth wicket on 175 in the 38th over, Asif joined Vriitya Aravind in the middle. Until the start of the 46th over, he was playing a run-a-ball innings, but then he shifted the gears.
Asif smashed 11 sixes, 4 of them back-to-back to Sandeep Lamichhane. He completed his fifty in 30 balls and scored his hundred in the next 11 balls.
Asif’s 41-ball hundred is the fastest by an associate batter in ODI cricket. He remained not out on 101 runs, though his knock went in vain as Nepal won the match via the DLS method.
4. Glenn Maxwell (Australia): 40 Balls vs Netherlands, 2023
Glenn Maxwell put on a stunning batting display during the 2023 World Cup encounter against the Netherlands in Delhi. He scored the fastest century in ODI World Cup history.
Coming to bat No. 6, the Australia all-rounder gave a proper hammering to the Dutch bowlers in the last 11 overs. He started by hitting a couple of boundaries and then rotating the strike before turning on his beast mode.
With 5 overs left, Maxwell started dealing in boundaries, which saw him score his fifty off 27 balls. In the blink of an eye, Maxwell got to his hundred off 40 balls with a massive six.
His 106-run knock came at a strike rate of 240.9 and included 9 fours and 8 sixes.
Also Read | Glenn Maxwell T20I Centuries List
3. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): 37 Balls vs Sri Lanka, 1996
Shahid Afridi put on a mind-blowing batting performance when such knocks were rare in those days. Batting in only his first ODI innings, Afridi redefined the art of batting in limited-overs cricket.
In the 1996 Quandragular series in Kenya, Afridi showcased his talent to the world. He came to bat No. 3 and forged a 126-run stand with Saeed Anwar before his departure.
The former all-rounder reached his fifty in 18 balls and smashed his maiden ODI ton in the next 19 balls. Afridi’s 37-ball ton was the fastest at that time and remained so for 18 years.
2. Corey Anderson (New Zealand): 36 Balls vs West Indies, 2014
In a rain-curtailed game that saw a 21-overs-per-side contest, Corey Anderson left everyone awestruck with his mad hitting. New Zealand were 84 for 3 in the first innings when Anderson walked in.
With 13 overs still to go, the Kiwis needed to push for a big total. And that’s what Anderson did, along with Jesse Ryder. The left-hander took a few balls to settle. And once he did, he launched his attack.
Anderson didn’t spare any bowlers, smashing them all for boundaries. He completed his fifty in 20 balls, and in the next 16 balls, he zoomed past his hundred, breaking Shahid Afridi’s 1996 record.
1. AB de Villiers (South Africa): 31 Balls vs West Indies, 2015
South Africa’s AB de Villiers holds the record for smashing the fastest century in ODI cricket. The 360-degree batter displayed his fireworks against the West Indies in 2015.
AB de Villiers entered to bat on a set platform provided by openers Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw. And without wasting any time, he got to work with a boundary on the first ball.
From then on, ABD started dealing in boundaries, taking the Windies bowlers to the cleaners. In no time, he touched the 50-mark in a mere 16 balls, making it the fastest fifty in ODIs.
Even after that, he was in no mood to slow down and kept on with his hammering. ABD brought up his hundred off 31 balls, surpassing Corey Anderson’s record.
Eventually, he got out on 149 runs, which included 9 fours and 16 sixes.
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