Most centuries in ODI World Cup: Rohit Sharma leads on seven

Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most centuries in ODI World Cup history with seven, and he holds it alone. He drew level with Sachin Tendulkar on six in 2019 and went past him with 131 against Afghanistan in Delhi on 11 October 2023.

David Warner joined Tendulkar on six in that same 2023 tournament, and Virat Kohli is one of three players on five. Complete to 11 September 2026 — the next 50-over World Cup is in 2027, so this list has not moved since November 2023.

Most centuries in ODI World Cup history

Every player with four or more hundreds in 50-over World Cups. Ranked on centuries; players level on centuries are ordered by runs. Source: ESPNcricinfo.

Rank	Player	Team	Span	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	100s
1	Rohit Sharma	India	2015-2023	28	28	1,575	60.57	7
2	Sachin Tendulkar	India	1992-2011	45	44	2,278	56.95	6
2	David Warner	Australia	2015-2023	29	29	1,527	56.55	6
4	Virat Kohli	India	2011-2023	37	37	1,795	59.83	5
4	Ricky Ponting	Australia	1996-2011	46	42	1,743	45.86	5
4	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	2003-2015	37	35	1,532	56.74	5
7	AB de Villiers	South Africa	2007-2015	23	22	1,207	63.52	4
7	Tillakaratne Dilshan	Sri Lanka	2007-2015	27	25	1,112	52.95	4
7	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	1999-2015	40	34	1,100	35.48	4
7	Quinton de Kock	South Africa	2015-2023	27	27	1,044	41.76	4
7	Sourav Ganguly	India	1999-2007	21	21	1,006	55.88	4
7	Mark Waugh	Australia	1992-1999	22	22	1,004	52.84	4

Rohit Sharma’s seven World Cup hundreds

What separates Rohit from the rest of this list is how few innings he needed. Seven hundreds in 28 innings, against Tendulkar’s six in 44 and Ponting’s five in 42. He has played three World Cups; Tendulkar played six.

Score	Balls	Opposition	Ground	Date
137	126	Bangladesh	Melbourne	19 March 2015
122*	144	South Africa	Southampton	5 June 2019
140	113	Pakistan	Manchester	16 June 2019
102	109	England	Birmingham	30 June 2019
104	92	Bangladesh	Birmingham	2 July 2019
103	94	Sri Lanka	Leeds	6 July 2019
131	84	Afghanistan	Delhi	11 October 2023

Five in one tournament, which is a record of its own

Five of Rohit’s seven came at the 2019 World Cup, and no one has scored five hundreds in a single edition before or since. He made 648 runs at 81 that summer. The next best in one tournament is four, done twice: Kumar Sangakkara in 2015 (541 runs, four hundreds in four consecutive innings) and Quinton de Kock in 2023 (594). Those are the only three instances of four or more in a single World Cup.

That is also why the career list looks the way it does. Rohit’s record is not the product of six tournaments of accumulation — it is one extraordinary month in England, plus a hundred either side of it.

What the 2023 World Cup changed

The 2023 edition in India moved three of the twelve names above.

• Rohit went to seven and took the record outright, with 131 off 84 balls against Afghanistan in Delhi.
• David Warner went from four to six with hundreds against Pakistan and the Netherlands, drawing level with Tendulkar.
• Quinton de Kock scored four hundreds in the tournament — every World Cup century of his career came in those six weeks, taking him from nothing to joint-seventh on the all-time list.
• Virat Kohli made three, reaching five in total, and finished the tournament with 765 runs, more than anyone has made in a single World Cup.

Most ODI World Cup centuries by an India batter

Four of the twelve players on four or more are Indian, and India hold the top two places.

Rank	Player	Span	Matches	Runs	Average	100s
1	Rohit Sharma	2015-2023	28	1,575	60.57	7
2	Sachin Tendulkar	1992-2011	45	2,278	56.95	6
3	Virat Kohli	2011-2023	37	1,795	59.83	5
4	Sourav Ganguly	1999-2007	21	1,006	55.88	4
5	Shikhar Dhawan	2015-2019	10	537	53.70	3
6	Rahul Dravid	1999-2007	22	860	61.42	2
6	Virender Sehwag	2003-2011	22	843	38.31	2
6	KL Rahul	2019-2023	20	813	58.07	2
6	Shreyas Iyer	2023	11	530	66.25	2

Tendulkar still holds the rest of the batting records

Losing the century record has not cost Tendulkar much. He is still the leading run-scorer in World Cup history with 2,278, well clear of Kohli on 1,795 and Ponting on 1,743, and his 15 fifties are more than anyone else has managed — Kohli is next on 12, and Rohit has six.

The two records point in different directions, which is the honest reading of this list. Tendulkar’s is a record of six tournaments and 44 innings; Rohit’s is a record of conversion in fewer than half that many.

When this list can change next

The 2027 World Cup, in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, is the earliest anything here can move. Kohli, one behind Tendulkar and Warner and two behind Rohit, is the obvious name to watch, and Rohit himself would extend the record with a single hundred. Until then this table is settled.

 

Photo credit: Alamy