The fastest hundred in ODI cricket is AB de Villiers’ 31-ball century for South Africa against West Indies at Johannesburg on 18 January 2015. Eleven years on, nobody has come within four balls of it.
The first hundred in one-day international cricket, Dennis Amiss’ for England against Australia at Manchester in 1972, took 134 balls. That is the distance the format has travelled.
Fastest centuries in ODI cricket
| Balls | Player | Score | Match | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | AB de Villiers (South Africa) | 149 | v West Indies, Johannesburg | 2015 |
| 36 | Corey Anderson (New Zealand) | 131* | v West Indies, Queenstown | 2014 |
| 37 | Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) | 102 | v Sri Lanka, Nairobi | 1996 |
| 40 | Glenn Maxwell (Australia) | 106 | v Netherlands, Delhi | 2023 |
| 41 | Asif Khan (UAE) | 101* | v Nepal, Kirtipur | 2023 |
| 44 | Mark Boucher (South Africa) | 147* | v Zimbabwe, Potchefstroom | 2006 |
| 45 | Brian Lara (West Indies) | 117 | v Bangladesh, Dhaka | 1999 |
| 45 | Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) | 102 | v India, Kanpur | 2005 |
| 46 | Jesse Ryder (New Zealand) | 104 | v West Indies, Queenstown | 2014 |
| 46 | Jos Buttler (England) | 116* | v Pakistan, Dubai | 2015 |
AB de Villiers, 31 balls — the innings nobody has approached
De Villiers finished on 149 from 44 balls, a strike rate of 338.63, with 16 sixes and nine fours. South Africa closed on 439 for 2, and West Indies lost by 148.
That total is now the fifth-highest in ODI cricket — England have since made 498 for 4, 481 for 6 and 444 for 3, and Sri Lanka’s 443 for 9 also sits above it.
Corey Anderson, 36 balls — the record de Villiers broke
Anderson held the record for just over a year. On New Year’s Day 2014 at Queenstown, in a match cut to 21 overs a side, he reached his hundred in 36 balls and finished 131 not out from 47 with 14 sixes and six fours. He and Jesse Ryder put on 191 for the fourth wicket — and Ryder’s own 46-ball hundred in the same innings is ninth on this list, the only time two of the ten fastest ODI centuries have been scored in one innings.
Shahid Afridi, 37 balls — on his first international innings
Afridi’s stood as the record for more than 17 years. What makes it stranger is that it came the first time he batted in international cricket: sent in at No. 3 against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in October 1996, he made 102 from 40 balls with 11 sixes and six fours. He appears on this list twice — his 45-ball hundred against India at Kanpur in 2005 is eighth.
Glenn Maxwell, 40 balls — the fastest in a World Cup
Maxwell’s 40-ball hundred against the Netherlands at Delhi in October 2023 is the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history, beating Aiden Markram’s 49-ball innings set earlier in the same tournament. He finished on 106 with eight sixes and nine fours.
Fastest ODI century by an Indian
Virat Kohli’s 52-ball hundred against Australia at Jaipur on 16 October 2013 is the fastest by an India batter, and it came in a chase of 360. Kohli finished 100 not out from 52 balls with seven sixes and eight fours; India reached 362 for 1.
Behind him: Virender Sehwag’s 60-ball hundred against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2009, and Kohli again on 61 balls against Australia at Nagpur later in that same 2013 series.
Fastest ODI century: quick answers
Who has the fastest century in ODI cricket? AB de Villiers, 31 balls for South Africa against West Indies in 2015.
What was the record before that? Corey Anderson’s 36 balls, set on 1 January 2014 and broken just over a year later.
Who held it longest? Shahid Afridi — his 37-ball hundred in 1996 stood for more than 17 years.
What is the fastest hundred in a World Cup? Glenn Maxwell’s 40 balls against the Netherlands in 2023.
What is the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian? Virat Kohli, 52 balls against Australia at Jaipur in 2013.
How many balls did the first ODI hundred take? 134 balls, by Dennis Amiss in 1972.
More batting records: most centuries in ODI cricket, the fastest ODI double hundreds and the highest individual ODI score.
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Featured photo: AFP / Stringer