Who has scored most Centuries in ODI cricket?

Indian legend Virat Kohli has the most number of centuries in international cricket across all formats. Kohli scored his 50th century in the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai to overtake Tendulkar’s record. Let’s take a look at the list of top 10 batsmen with the most number of centuries in the 50-over format.

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Most Centuries in ODI cricket: Top 10 list

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli recently surpassed his idol Sachin Tendulkar on the list of most centuries in ODI cricket. The former India captain made his ODI debut in 2008 against Sri Lanka, and has so far played 291 matches in the format, scoring 13,794 runs at an average of almost 60. This includes a whopping 50 centuries and 71 fifties. Kohli also tops the chart for most ODI hundred in a winning cause – of 47 centuries, 39 took India over the line.

Best centuries – 183 against Pakistan in Dhaka at the Asia Cup 2012, 118 vs Australia in Visakhapatnam in 2010, 123 against New Zealand in Napier in 2014, 133* against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012.

Sachin Tendulkar

The centurion of international centuries, the former India captain scored 49 ODI tons in a career spanning over 23 years. 35 of Sachin’s 49 ODI tons came in a winning cause. Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989, and played his last game in the format against the same team in 2012. The God of Cricket ended his ODI career with an average of 44.83.

Best centuries – 200* against South Africa in Gwalior in 2010, 175 against Australia in Hyderabad in 2009, 140* against Kenya in Bristol in 1999 and 143 against Australia in Sharjah in 1998. The knock in Sharjah, called the ‘desert storm’, remains one of Sachin’s personal favourite ODI centuries.

Rohit Sharma

Third on the list is current India limited-overs skipper Rohit Sharma with 31 centuries. Popularly called ‘Hitman’, Sharma holds many records in ODIs. He holds the record for the highest ODI score at 264 runs. He has also hit 33 fours in single innings, which no other batsman has. Besides that, Rohit is the only player to have three double centuries in this format and is the only batsman in the world to score five centuries in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.

Best centuries – 208* Vs Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2017, 209 Vs Australia in Bangalore in 2013, 264 Vs Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014, 171 against Australia in Perth in 2016.

Ricky Ponting

Fourth on the list of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Punter, who last played for Australia in 2012, scored 30 centuries in the 50-over format, 25 of which came in a winning cause. His first ODI century was against Sri Lanka in the Benson & Hedges World Series, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1996. Ponting’s highest ODI score is 164, which he scored against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in 2006.

Best centuries – 145 against Zimbabwe in New Delhi in 1998, 129 against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2002, 140 against India in Johannesburg at the 2003 ODI World Cup final.

Sanath Jayasuriya

The former Sri Lankan all-rounder and one of the greatest to have played the game, Sanath Jayasuriya scored 28 ODI centuries in 445 matches. Jayasuriya, whose ODI career of 21 years and 184 days is the second longest in the game’s history, is also the second oldest player to score a hundred in the 50-over format. He was 39 years and 212 days old when he scored a century against India in 2009. The elegant left-hander ended his ODI career with a batting average of 32.36 along with picking 323 wickets.

Best centuries – 152 against England in Leeds in 2005, 189 against India in Sharjah in 2000 (Champions Trophy final).

Hashim Amla

Jayasuriya is followed on the list by former South African batsman Hashim Amla, who scored 28 centuries in an ODI career that began in 2008 and ended in 2019. Amla is the fastest cricketer in history to score 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 and 7,000 ODI runs. He has also won the sixth-most Player of the Series awards in ODIs. The top-order batter ended his 181-match ODI career with an average of almost 50.

Best centuries – 150 against England in Southampton in 2012, 153* against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015, 154 against Sri Lanka in Centurion in 2017.

Ab de Villiers

One of the greatest ODI batters of all-time, Ab de Villiers finds himself on number seven with 25 ODI centuries under his belt. A prolific batter and an athletic fielder, de Villiers played 228 ODIs for South Africa from 2006 to 2017, scoring 9577 runs at an average of 53.50. Although de Villiers holds the regrettable record for most ducks in an ODI series (4), he has a plethora of memorable records under his name. He has hit the seventh-most sixes in ODI cricket, apart from being the second-fastest to 9000 runs.

Best centuries – 149 against the West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015, 106* against Australia in Perth in 2008, 119 against India in Mumbai in 2015.

Chris Gayle

One of the most destructive batsmen in the world, Chris Gayle scored 25 centuries, which is the same number as de Villiers, but took more innings to do so. De Villiers took 218 innings, while Gayle took 294. The thrusting Jamaican left-hander ended his 301-match ODI career with an average of 37.83, and has hit the second-most sixes in the format (331). He has also hit the second-most sixes in an innings (16). Additionally, he has won the fifth-most Player of the Series awards in ODIs (8). Gayle has the most 150+ scores in ODI cricket for the Windies and is also the fastest to an ODI fifty from his country.

Best centuries – 103 against India in Nagpur in 2002, 132* against England in Lord’s in 2004, 133* against South Africa in Jaipur in 2006, 162 against England in Grenada in 2019.

Kumar Sangakkara

The former Sri Lanka captain also scored 25 centuries in ODIs, but took 380 innings to get there. Sangakkara is the all-time second-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket (14234), only behind Tendulkar (18426). He also holds the record for second-most ODI hundreds in a series (4), most hundreds in consecutive ODI innings (4), second-most fifties (118), third most number of fours (1385) and is the second-fastest to 14,000 runs.

Best centuries – 219 against India in 2010, 192 against Australia in 2007, 230 vs Pakistan in 2002 and 232 and 287 vs South Africa in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

Sourav Ganguly

One of the greatest captains of all-time, Sourav Ganguly scored 22 ODI centuries before retiring in 2007. He scored the third-most centuries in an ODI series (3), second-most ODI centuries in a calendar year (7), and is the third-fastest to 10,000 runs. Ganguly ended his 311-match ODI career with an average of 41.02.

Best centuries – 141 against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2000, 183 against Sri Lanka in Taunton in 2009 (ODI World Cup), 141* against in Nairobi in 2000. 

Also read: What is ODI cricket?

FAQs

Who has scored most centuries in an ODI series?

India’s Rohit Sharma has scored most centuries in an ODI series. He has 5 centuries in 9 matches during the 2019 ICC World Cup.

Which batsman has scored most centuries in ODI for Pakistan?

Saeed Anwar has scored most centuries in ODI for Pakistan, with his hundred tally being 20.

Which batsman has most centuries in ODI for India?

Sachin Tendulkar has scored most centuries in ODI for India with his tally being 49.

Who has scored most centuries in ODI in 2021?

Ireland’s Paul Robert Stirling has scored most centuries in ODI in 2021, with the tally being 3.

How many Babar Azam odi centuries are there?

Pakistan’s Babar Azam has 17 centuries in ODI cricket so far.