When South Africa's AB de Villiers scored the quickest century on Sunday, he broke more than just an ODI record. Here is how the South African has rewritten cricketing history.
South Africa’s AB de Villiers rewrote cricket record books, on Sunday, when he smashed the fastest hundred in One-Day International history, taking only 31 balls to reach the three figure mark.
De Villiers bettered the previous record held by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson, who had scored his hundred off 36 balls last year also against West Indies.
It took AB de Villiers only 16 balls to race to his fifty. In fact his second fifty (off 15 balls) was faster than his first fifty, but record books always take in to account only the first fifty and not any subsequent fifty scored later in the innings. Hence, AB de Villiers will be credited with only 16-ball fifty. Still, it is also a new world record.
Sanath Jayasuriya had taken 17 balls for his fifty against Pakistan at Singapore in 1996.
Here is a ball by ball account of AB de Villiers' innings:
|
Over |
Sequence |
End of Over Score |
Remarks |
|
39th |
4 2 1 |
7* (3) |
came in to bat after 38.3 overs |
|
40th |
1 4 6 4 6 |
28* (8) |
|
|
41st |
6 0 0 2 2 L |
38* (13) |
|
|
42nd |
1 6 6 6 4 |
61* (18) |
fifty off 16 balls - a world record |
|
43rd |
6 1 4 1 |
73* (22) |
|
|
44th |
1 0 4N 4 |
82* (26) |
|
|
45th |
0 6 |
88* (28) |
|
|
46th |
4 6 6 6 |
110* (32) |
hundred off 31 balls - a world record |
|
47th |
L 6 |
116* (34) |
|
|
48th |
1 |
117* (35) |
|
|
49th |
6 6 4 6 6 2 |
147* (41) |
|
|
50th |
2 0 X |
149 (44) |
dismissed off 49.4 over |
L=Leg-bye, N= No-ball, X= Out
Fastest centuries in One-Day Internationals
|
Balls |
Player |
For |
Vs |
Venue |
Year |
|
31 |
AB de Villiers (149) |
South Africa |
West Indies |
Johannesburg |
2015 |
|
36 |
Corey Anderson (131*) |
New Zealand |
West Indies |
Queenstown |
2004 |
|
37 |
Shahid Afridi (102) |
Pakistan |
Sri Lanka |
Nairobi |
1996 |
|
44 |
Mark Boucher (147*) |
South Africa |
Zimbabwe |
Potchefstroom |
2006 |
|
45 |
Brian Lara (117) |
West Indies |
Bangladesh |
Dhaka |
1999 |
|
45 |
Shahid Afridi (102) |
Pakistan |
India |
Kanpur |
2005 |
|
46 |
Jesse Ryder (104) |
New Zealand |
West Indies |
Queenstown |
2014 |
|
48 |
Sanath Jayasuriya (134) |
Sri Lanka |
Pakistan |
Singapore |
1996 |
|
50 |
Kevin O'Brien (113) |
Ireland |
England |
Bangalore |
2011 |
|
52 |
Virat Kohli (100*) |
India |
Australia |
Jaipur |
2013 |
|
53 |
Shahid Afridi (124) |
Pakistan |
Bangladesh |
Dambulla |
2010 |
Progression to fastest ODI hundred (This is how the record of fastest ODI hundred has changed hands over the years, starting with New Zealand’s Ken Wadsworth, who was the first batsman to score a hundred off less than 100 balls).
|
Balls |
Batsman |
For |
Vs |
Venue |
Year |
|
94 |
Ken Wadsworth (104) |
New Zealand |
Australia |
Christchurch |
1974 |
|
88 |
Majid Khan (109) |
Pakistan |
England |
Nottingham |
1974 |
|
82 |
Clive Lloyd (102) |
West Indies |
Australia |
Lord's |
1975 |
|
80 |
Greg Chappell (138*) |
Australia |
New Zealand |
Sydney |
1980 |
|
76 |
Zaheer Abbas (123) |
Pakistan |
Sri Lanka |
Lahore |
1982 |
|
72 |
Zaheer Abbas (118) |
Pakistan |
India |
Multan |
1982 |
|
72 |
Viv Richards (149)+ |
West Indies |
India |
Jamshedpur |
1983 |
|
62 |
M Azharuddin (108*) |
India |
New Zealand |
Baroda |
1988 |
|
48 |
Sanath Jayasuriya (134) |
Sri Lanka |
Pakistan |
Singapore |
1996 |
|
37 |
Shahid Afridi (102) |
Pakistan |
Sri Lanka |
Nairobi Gym |
1996 |
|
36 |
Corey Anderson (131*) |
New Zealand |
West Indies |
Queenstown |
2014 |
|
31 |
AB de Villiers (149) |
South Africa |
West Indies |
Johannesburg |
2015 |
+ The record was only equalled, not broken
Not just One-Day Internationals, AB de Villiers' 31-ball hundred is now the fastest in all limited-over matches or List A matches as they are better known as (more than 23,000 List A matches have been played so far). Take a look:
Fastest centuries in List A cricket
|
Balls |
Player |
For |
Vs |
Venue |
Year |
|
31 |
AB de Villiers (149) |
South Africa |
West Indies |
Johannesburg |
2015 |
|
36 |
Graham Rose (110) |
Somerset |
Devon |
Torquay |
1990 |
|
36 |
Corey Anderson (131*) |
New Zealand |
West Indies |
Queenstown |
2014 |
|
37 |
Shahid Afridi (102) |
Pakistan |
Sri Lanka |
Nairobi |
1996 |
|
40 |
Yusuf Pathan (108*) |
Baroda |
Maharashtra |
Ahmedabad |
2010 |
|
43 |
Ryan Watson (103*) |
Scotland |
Somerset |
Edinburgh |
2003 |
|
44 |
Mark Ealham (112) |
Kent |
Derbyshire |
Maidstone |
1995 |
|
44 |
Mark Boucher (147*) |
South Africa |
Zimbabwe |
Potchefstroom |
2006 |
|
44 |
Tom Smith (106) |
Lancashire |
Worcestershire |
Worcester |
2012 |
|
45 |
Brian Lara (117) |
West Indies |
Bangladesh |
Dhaka |
1999 |
|
45 |
Shahid Afridi (102) |
Pakistan |
India |
Kanpur |
2005 |
|
45 |
Imran Nazir (189) |
ZTBL |
SGCP |
Islamabad |
2013 |
In fact there has been only one better performance in all competitive cricket across all recognised formats (First-class cricket, List A matches, T20 cricket). Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India, Chris Gayle scored his hundred off just 30 balls in 2013, which is the only innings faster than AB de Villiers.
Fastest hundreds in all recognised cricket
|
Balls |
Player |
For |
Vs |
Venue |
Year |
Format |
|
30 |
Chris Gayle (175*) |
RCB |
Pune Warriors |
Bangalore |
2013 |
T20 |
|
31 |
AB de Villiers (149) |
South Africa |
West Indies |
Johannesburg |
2015 |
ODI |
|
34 |
David Hookes (107) |
South Australia |
Victoria |
Adelaide |
1982 |
FC |
|
34 |
Andrew Symonds (112) |
Kent |
Middlesex |
Maidstone |
2004 |
T20 |
|
35 |
L van der Westhuizen (145) |
Namibia |
Kenya |
Windhoek |
2011 |
T20 |
|
36 |
Graham Rose (110) |
Somerset |
Devon |
Torquay |
1990 |
List A |
|
36 |
Corey Anderson (131*) |
New Zealand |
West Indies |
Queenstown |
2014 |
ODI |
Note: There have been some faster hundreds than those listed above, but they came in contrived circumstances with bowling sides feeding the batsmen longhops, full-tosses trying to facilitate a declaration from the batting sides. Such performances are not treated as ‘genuine’ records.
