Top 10 Batsmen with Most Hundreds in ODI History | All-Time Ranking

July 13, 2021 By Sourav

It is a tremendous achievement for the players to score a century in a match. No matter what format of cricket you play, such as Tests or ODIs or T20s, it can be challenging to get to three digits. In general, top-order batsmen do better than their lower-order counterparts at crossing the 100-run threshold because they contain more deliveries. Additionally, teams prefer to have their best batsmen bat at the top 3. Here we listed the players who have scored the most hundreds in ODI history.

Batsmen with Most Hundreds in ODI | All-Time Ranking

10. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 22 ODI Centuries
9. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 25 ODI Centuries
8. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 25 ODI Centuries
7. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 25 ODI Centuries
6. Hashim Amla (South Africa) – 27 ODI Centuries
5. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 28 ODI Centuries
4. Rohit Sharma (India) – 29 ODI Centuries
3. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 30 ODI Centuries
2. Virat Kohli (India) – 43 ODI Centuries
1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 49 ODI Centuries

Don’t Miss

• Batsmen With Most ODI Centuries - All-Time Infographics
• FAQs Regarding Most Centuries In ODI

We have recently ranked the greatest batsmen with most career runs. Besides, we have also recently reviewed the all-rounders with 1000 runs and 100 wickets at least. However, this cricketing saga will remain incomplete without ranking the batsmen with the most ODI centuries. And here they are!

10. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 22 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 1999 - 2016
Total ODI Runs: 10,290
ODI Batting Average: 39.27
Top Score: 161*

The right-handed Dilshan played for Sri Lanka as a right-handed batsman. The 11th of December 1999 marked the start of his career. Due to his varied ways of playing strokes, mainly in the Twenty-20 sphere, he is considered one of the most creative batsmen of modern cricket. Besides, he is also considered one of the best finishers in cricket history.

As a chaser, he played 55 innings and scored nine centuries. Among cricket's captains, Dilshan is the first to score hundreds in all formats of the game. Dilshan is known as one of the top batsmen with the most hundreds in ODI history, with a number of 22.

Furthermore, with his 10,000 ODI runs, he is the fourth Sri Lankan and eleventh player overall to reach the milestone. In ODIs between 2009 and 2015, Dilshan scored at least 1000 runs four times in one calendar year and never finished with fewer than 800 runs.

Besides that, Against Bangladesh, Dilshan hit 161* with only 22 fours to make Sri Lanka's best individual score without a six. David Warner surpassed this record in 2016, which included 24 fours, in setting a new world record.

9. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 25 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 1999 - Present
Total ODI Runs: 10,480
ODI Batting Average: 37.83
Top Score: 215

One of the most dangerous hard hitters in cricket, Gayle, is a West Indian player from Jamaica. In all three formats of the sport, Gayle has set numerous records. He holds the record for having the most caps for the West Indies in international cricket.

He is also the only player to score the triple hundred in Tests, the double hundred in ODIs, and the hundred in T20Is. It was Gayle who became the first T20 cricket batsman to strike 1000 sixes.

Batting aggressively is one of Gayle's trademarks. He has scored 25 centuries and named himself on the list of top batsmen with the most hundreds in ODI. The record stands for Gayle in 301 games played over 294 innings at an average of 37.83 and strike rate of 87.19.

Gayle has achieved a career-high 54 fifty scores in one-day internationals. His career ODI tally is 10480 runs with 1128 fours and 331 sixes.

8. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 25 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 2004 - 2018
Total ODI Runs: 9,577
ODI Batting Average: 53.50
Top Score: 176

Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers was born on 17 February 1984. De Villiers has won the ICC ODI Player of the Year award three times during his 15-year international career and has been named one of the top five players of the decade by Wisden.

A South African batsman has scored the fastest 50 in 16 balls, the fastest century in ODI with 31 balls, and the fastest 150 in 64 balls in One Day Internationals. Additionally, De Villiers holds the record for the fastest ODI hundred ever scored by a South African in a Test match, as well as the fastest 50 recorded by a South African in a T20I game.

His career has seen him score a lot of runs and win many games for his team. With 25 centuries from 228 ODIs and 218 innings, AB de Villiers is one of the top ODI players with the most hundreds in ODI. During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, de Villiers scored 482 runs at an average of 96.0 and a strike rate of 144.0.

One of the greatest batsmen of all time, AB de Villiers, has the highest strike rate out of South African batsmen who have scored centuries in World Cup games, with 136.73. Regarding the number of South Africans who have earned player of the match awards in World Cups, de Villiers is second behind Jacques Kallis.

7. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 25 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 2000 - 2015
Total ODI Runs: 14,234
ODI Batting Average: 41.98
Top Score: 169

Originally from Matale, Sri Lanka, Captain Sangakkara was born on 27 October 1977. Till his retirement, he was the backbone of the national team of Sri Lanka with his exceptional wicket-keeping skills. He is still dubbed as one of the greatest wicketkeepers in cricket history.

Kumar Sangakkara finished on the second spot in ODIs and the fifth spot in Tests after a harrowing career lasting around 15 years. His matches were much fewer than those of his contemporaries. As a batsman and wicket-keeper, he was probably one of the most effective of his generation. His numbers support this assessment.

Throughout 404 ODI matches and 134 test matches, he scored 14,235 runs and 12,400 runs, respectively. Moreover, Sangakkara boasts 25 centuries in ODIs and is known as the batsman with the most hundreds in ODI.

He achieved several internationally significant accomplishments due to his evergreen form and never-giving-up attitude. As a cricketer, he has been awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer award in 2011 and 2014. For two straight years, he was also the LG People's Choice Award winner.

6. Hashim Amla (South Africa) – 27 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 2004 - 2019
Total ODI Runs: 8,113
ODI Batting Average: 49.46
Top Score: 159

He has played for South Africa in all three game formats since October 1983. Hashim Mohemed Amla was born 31 March 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa. The fastest person to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, and 7000 runs in ODIs is Amla.

He is also considered one of the greatest fielders in cricket for his impressive fielding skills. In addition, he became the first cricketer to score 10 ODI centuries in ODIs. In addition to being an occasional off-break bowler, Amla was also South Africa's Test captain for nearly two years.

Moreover, Amla is the fastest cricketer to score 27 centuries in one-day international cricket, breaking the previous record of Virat Kohli. Kohli has reached the milestone in 169 innings, while Amla has achieved it in 167 and became one of the top batsmen with the most ODI hundreds.

Known as a right-handed batsman, he holds the record for being the only South African to score 311 not out in a Test match against England in July 2012 at The Oval, London.

5. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 28 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 1989 - 2011
Total ODI Runs: 13,430
ODI Batting Average: 32.36
Top Score: 189

Jayasuriya is a former cricketer from Sri Lanka who served as the team's captain. In ODI cricket, Jayasuriya is one of the greatest attacking batsmen of all time, famed for his power-hitting and all-around dominance. He is also a great bowler and still considered one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history.

With his explosive batting in the mid-1990s with Romesh Kaluwitharana, Jayasuriya is credited with revolutionizing international one-day cricket, introducing the hard-hitting batting strategy of all nations today. Over four decades, Jayasuriya had a distinguished international career in cricket.

A 91.20 strike rate and an average of 32.36 were his batting statistics in 445 ODIs. As an opener, he amassed 28 centuries and 68 half-centuries in his ODI career and is known as one of the best openers from Sri Lanka with the most hundreds in ODI.

As a one-day international cricketer, he is the only one to score over 10,000 runs and take more than 300 wickets. Besides winning 48 matches, he also won 11 player of the series awards and is considered one of the best all-rounders in limited-overs cricket history.

4. Rohit Sharma (India) – 29 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 2007 - Present
Total ODI Runs: 9,205
ODI Batting Average: 48.96
Top Score: 264

Sharma is a right-handed batsman and sometimes a right-arm off-break bowler for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He was born on 30 April 1987. As a limited-overs player, he serves as the vice-captain of the Indian national team. Sharma is now considered one of the most popular cricketers in the world right now.

Despite his aggressive nature, Sharma has a sense of style and elegance. In limited-overs cricket, he is usually the opening batsman, but in Test cricket, most of his innings have been middle-order ones. However, many cricket pundits consider him as one of the best opening batsmen in cricket.

His 264 remarkable score in an innings makes this the highest ODI score by a batsman. As of 2013, Rohit Sharma has been a dominant opening batsman in ODIs. Throughout his career, he has scored 9205 runs. His average is 48.96, and his strike rate is 88.90.

His ODI tally stands at 29 tons, and he has also smashed 43 fifties. Twenty-nine of these centuries were scored while starting innings, making him one of the best openers from India with the most hundreds in ODI as an opener.

3. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 30 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 1995 - 2012
Total ODI Runs: 13,704
ODI Batting Average: 42.03
Top Score: 164

One of the most successful captains in ODI history, Ricky Ponting holds the record of 220 victories in 324 matches with a winning ratio of 67.91%. In ODIs and tests, he is Australia's highest run-scorer and also led the team to two World Cups with victory.

Additionally, he is the only player to have won more than 100 Test matches. During his heydays, he captained the team to achieve several impressive feats. And now, he is dubbed as one of the most successful cricket captains of all time.

With 365 innings in an ODI format, Ponting has accumulated 13704 runs. The period included includes 30 centuries and 82 half-centuries, which makes him one of the best ODI batsmen with the most ODI centuries.

His ODI debut came in 1995, and his last appearance came in 2012. A strike rate of 80.39 was recorded in this series of runs scored by Ponting. Even after his retirement, he is still dubbed as one of the best top-order batsmen in ODI history.

2. Virat Kohli (India) – 43 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 2008 - Present
Total ODI Runs: 12,169
ODI Batting Average: 59.07
Top Score: 183

After the debut of international cricket, Virat Kohli quickly became a regular in the squad and qualified for the 2011 ICC World Cup. Currently, he serves as the captain of the Indian national cricket team. His right-handed batsmanship makes him one of the world's best batsmen today.

Besides, he is also the only cricketer on the highest-paid athletes' list this year. India Premier League (IPL) as captain of the franchise since 2013, playing for Delhi in domestic cricket and the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the IPL.

In the history of One-Day Internationals, Virat Kohli is arguably the most consistent batsman. He has scored 12169 runs at a fantastic average of 59.07 and a strike rate of 93.17 in ODIs. Virat seems to be on the verge of reaching 50 tons in ODIs, as he has already gone over 43 tons.

This achievement makes him one of the best batsmen with the most hundreds in ODI. The Indian team has been highly successful because he has been performing well consistently for an extended period.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 49 ODI Centuries

Cricket Career: 1989 - 2013
Total ODI Runs: 18,426
ODI Batting Average: 44.83
Top Score: 200*

It is not surprising that Sachin Tendulkar leads this list as well, having racked up most of the essential records in international cricket. He scored 18426 runs in his ODI career, including a record 49 centuries, which are the most hundreds in ODI.

Also, 96 fifties hold the record for most half-centuries in cricket's history. His strike rate was 86.23, and his run average was 44.83. As well as smashing a double century, he was the first player to hit two in a 50-over format.

During his heydays, he is the highest-paid cricketer who almost dominated the cricketing field. Tendulkar's achievements as a sportsman were recognized in 1994 with the Arjuna Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1997, and India’s top sporting honor.

Additionally, India's fourth- and second-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, was awarded to Tendulkar in 1999 and 2008. Even after his retirement, he is still dubbed as one of the greatest cricketers of all time to grace the stadium.

Final Words

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Batsmen With Most ODI Centuries | All-Time Infographics

FAQs Regarding Most Centuries In ODI

Q. Who is the first cricketer to score 100 centuries?

Cricketer W. G. Grace achieved this feat first. May 1895 marked his hundredth century. Only Grace has achieved the feat while maintaining a batting average below 40.

Q. Who hit the most centuries in cricket?

Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored 100 centuries in Test cricket, is the current record holder.

Q. Who scored the fastest 200 in ODI?

In 2014, Rohit Sharma scored 264 against Sri Lanka, becoming the record holder for the highest fastest score in ODI cricket.

Q. Who scored the fastest century in ODI cricket?

South African batsman AB De Villiers holds the record for the fastest century in One Day International cricket (ODI). In the 2nd ODI against the West Indies, Villiers came up with his century in just 31 deliveries.