A brand-new edition of the 50-over World Cup is just around the corner. This major tournament will see participation from all the major players. Be it the master class of Virat Kohli, the guile of Wanindu Hasaranga, or the pace of Mitchell Starc, you will see a combination of all. We are already bracing for some of the best players who will showcase their talent here.
So, when the ODI World Cup comes calling, we will likely see plenty of explosive knocks. Can you guess who will score the fastest hundred in the 2023 World Cup? Win exciting prizes on an ODI World Cup betting platform by making predictions during the 50-over mega event.
Fastest Hundreds at the ODI World Cup
Over the years, cricket has undergone a revolution, which means its batters have experienced a massive change. They now bat with a cavalier attitude; some of them don’t care when it comes to taking risks. Nowadays, this attitude is evident in the IPL and various other T20 tournaments; however, it all began in the 50-over format, whose pinnacle is the ODI World Cup.
The fastest knock at the ODI World Cup happened in 2011. It was scored by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien against England in Bengaluru and came off just 50 balls. We have listed the top ten fastest hundreds in the ODI World Cup.
| Year | Player | Balls Faced | Opponent | Venue | |
| 2011 | Kevin O’Brien | 50 | England | Chinnaswamy Stadium | |
| 2015 | Glenn Maxwell | 51 | Sri Lanka | Sydney Cricket Ground | |
| 2015 | AB de Villiers | 52 | West Indies | Sydney Cricket Ground | |
| 2019 | Eoin Morgan | 57 | Afghanistan | Old Trafford Stadium | |
| 2007 | Matthew Hayden | 66 | South Africa | Warner Park, Basseterre | |
| 2003 | John Davison | 67 | West Indies | SuperSport Park, Centurion | |
| 2011 | Paul Stirling | 70 | Netherlands | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | |
| 2015 | Kumar Sangakkara | 70 | England | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | |
| 2007 | Adam Gilchrist | 72 | Sri Lanka | Kensington Oval, Bridgetown | |
| 2015 | Kumar Sangakkara | 73 | Bangladesh | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Top Five Fastest Hundreds in the ODI World Cup
Most of the fastest knockouts have been played in the last decade. The top five knocks that we will see in this section belong to the years 2007 to 2015. It reinstates the fact that the game of cricket has undergone a revolutionary change, especially after the advent of T20 cricket.
Let us look at in detail the top five fastest hundreds in ODI World Cup:
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Kevin O’Brien
In this whirlwind knock against England at the 2011 World Cup, Ireland’s middle-order batter took England’s bowling lineup to the task. He smashed a century in just 50 balls, one of the classic counter-attacking batting in cricket. Thanks to this classic 113, Ireland chased down a mammoth score of 328 runs with three wickets to spare.
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Glenn Maxwell
The second-fastest hundred in the ODI World Cup came off Glenn Maxwell’s bat. He slammed a stellar century in just 51 balls. The maverick batter hit ten boundaries and four sixes on his way to 102 against Sri Lanka in the league stage game in the 2015 World Cup at Sydney Cricket Ground.
- AB de Villiers
South Africa’s AB de Villiers took the attacking batting at the ODI World Cup to a new level, slamming a century in just 52 balls. He smashed 162 off 66 balls, which saw 17 fours and eight sixes. South Africa posted a massive total of 408, which was Proteas’ first 400+ in the ODI World Cup. -
Eoin Morgan
England skipper Eoin Morgan put the Afghanistan bowlers to the sword at the 2019 edition. He completed his century in just 57 balls, smashing a record-breaking 17 sixes in the match. The left-handed batter made 148, as England made 397 in the league stage fixture in Manchester.
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Matthew Hayden vs South Africa
A 68-ball hundred by Matthew Hayden against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup is the fifth-fastest hundred in an ODI World Cup. He took an excellent South African pace attack, consisting of Shaun Pollock & Makhaya Ntini, to pieces on a batting-friendly pitch. The Aussie opener scored 101 runs off 68 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes.
Canada’s former captain John Davison is the only player from the associate nation to feature in the top ten fastest centuries in the ODI World Cup.
Concluding Thoughts
So, these were some of the top knocks played at the ODI World Cup. It is T20 cricket that made a significant impact on the attitude of the batters. And that’s why most of these knocks came from 2011 onwards, when playing T20 leagues had become the norm. We could see plenty of quickfire centuries in the upcoming ODI World Cup.
