Top 10 Players with most number of T20 centuries

It has been 11 years since the revolutionary 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. The format has evolved enormously over the years, providing unlimited entertainment in the process.

Scoring a century in the 50-over format was considered a big achievement back then (not that it isn’t now), but scoring a century in the T20 format was a bigger challenge and that was accomplished by West Indies batsman Chris Gayle in the very first match of the 2007 World Cup against hosts South Africa.

Over the years, we have witnessed some terrific innings by players from all over the world and the list of T20 centuries just keeps getting bigger as the time progresses. As of 20th November in 2018, let us take a look at the top batsmen who have scored the most number of T20 centuries in the international as well as domestic circuit.

---

#10 Nine batsmen - 4 centuries each

Virat Kohli

As many as nine different batsman have scored four centuries each in the shortest format of the game. They are - India's Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, Pakistan's Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal, New Zealand's Martin Guptill and Colin Munro, England's Jason Roy and Joe Denly and Zimbabwe's Hamilton Masakadza.

All of Kohli's 4 centuries in the T20 format came in the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League. Playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he opened for the majority of the tournament that gave him a chance to play his natural game. His centuries were against Gujarat Lions (100* and 109), Kings XI Punjab (113) and the Rising Pune Supergiants (108*).

Meanwhile, Suresh Raina scored India's first T20I century. He hammered 101 against South Africa during the 2010 World T20. The left-hander also scored 100* off 53 balls for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab in the 2013 IPL season.

#9 Dwayne Smith - 5 centuries

Dwayne Smith

Caribbean stalwart Dwayne Smith has been one of the most recognizable faces in franchise-based T20 cricket in the recent past. However, his returns in T20Is for West Indies have been rather underwhelming. The dynamic right-hander played 33 T20Is and could only manage three fifties at an average of 18.18 with a highest score of 72.

Despite a disappointing international career for West Indies, Dwayne Smith has carved a niche for himself in domestic T20 cricket. From the PSL to BPL, he has represented around 15 different teams in several leagues around the world. The belligerent opener has plundered five centuries in his T20 career thus far. His most recent appearance came for Barbados Tridents in the 2018 CPL.

#8 Shane Watson - 5 centuries

Shane Watson

Shane Watson is among the finest all-rounders to play T20 cricket. The hard-hitting batsman has played 58 T20Is for Australia and scored 1462 runs at an average of 29.24. His only T20I century came in losing cause. Despite his unbeaten 124 against India at Sydney in 2016, the Aussies lost the match on the last ball whilst defending 197/5.

Aside from his exploits with Australia, Watson has also represented 14 different franchises in various eminent T20 leagues. The powerful right-hander has registered four centuries in domestic T20s. All of those have come in the IPL. He amassed two centuries for Rajasthan Royals (101 against CSK in 2013 and 104* against KKR in 2015) and two centuries for Chennai Super Kings (106 against RR in 2018 and 117* against SRH in 2018).

#7 Aaron Finch - 6 centuries

Aaron Finch

Australia's current T20I skipper Aaron Finch has played 47 matches and scored 1608 runs at a strike-rate of 158.26. He hammered two centuries - 156 against England at Southampton in 2013 and 172 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2018. Needless to say, those are the top two individual scores in T20I cricket.

Apart from his national team, Finch has also represented 13 domestic teams from various parts of the globe. In domestic T20s, he has scored four centuries. In the IPL, the right-hander has played for Delhi Daredevils, Gujarat Lions, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Pune Warriors, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, his highest score in the IPL is only 88*.

#6 David Warner - 6 centuries

David Warner

Australian opener David Warner was first noticed only in the T20 format and is regarded as one of the best players of modern cricket. Warner made his T20I debut in 2009 against South Africa and lived up to his reputation of a big hitter. The left-hander scored 89 runs in 64 deliveries which included 6 sixes and 7 boundaries.

With his remarkable T20I debut, Warner soon made his debut in ODIs in the same year against South Africa and then progressed to Test matches in 2011. The 29-year-old maintains a brilliant strike rate of 142.40 in T20s.

Warner has scored six centuries in his T20 career. Four of those centuries in the Indian Premier League came against Deccan Chargers (109*), Kolkata Knight Riders (107* and 126).

#5 Rohit Sharma - 6 centuries

Rohit Sharma

Since making his T20I debut during India's victorious campaign in the 2007 World T20, Rohit Sharma has come a long way in his white-ball career. The last few years have seen the elegant right-hander reel off one century after another in the limited-overs formats.

Rohit has played 87 T20Is for India and hammered four centuries. During the recently completed Lucknow match against West Indies, he scored his fourth ton and eclipsed Colin Munro's record to become the leading century-maker in T20Is.

After scoring 106 against South Africa at Dharamsala in 2015, Rohit has also scored 118 against Sri Lanka at Indore in 2017 and 100* against England at Bristol in 2018. He also hammered 109* for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2012 IPL season.

#4 Luke Wright - 7 centuries

Luke Wright

England all-rounder Luke Wright, though not making it big on the international stage, has had a great domestic career. Mainly considered as a T20 specialist, Wright made his debut against India in 2007 and scored 50 runs in the game.

Apart from his batting abilities, Luke Wright has bowled well with his medium pace and has often been used as the fifth bowler. He has given his team an option to include an extra batsman.

His T20 debut for England came against Zimbabwe in 2007 and Wright was promoted up the order after his impressive debut against India but Wright registered a golden duck.

Scoring 7 centuries in the domestic T20s, some of Wright’s centuries have come against Essex (153*), Gloucestershire (111*), Hampshire (116*), Hobart Hurricanes (117) and Melbourne Renegades (109*). Wright is known for his outstanding work rate that has helped him develop as an all-rounder and even appear on the international stage.

#3 Michael Klinger - 7 centuries

Michael Klinger

Australian batsman Michael Klinger finds himself at the third position on this list. Widely known for his technical approach to the cricket game, Klinger made his debut in 1998 and has been a consistent figure in the domestic arena in Australia.

Klinger started his career for the Victoria Bushrangers and impressed with his batting performances on top of the order. He made the switch to South Australia in 2008 and batted at the No.3 position for them. The right-hander has scored over 10,000 runs in the First-Class level with 29 centuries to his name.

Klinger has also developed his reputation in the T20 format and his understanding of the cricket game helped him make a mark on this modern format. Some of his T20 centuries were against Glamorgan (104*), Melbourne Renegades (105*), Somerset (101), Worcestershire (108*).

Though maintaining a great domestic career, Klinger was unlucky to make his debut on the international stage as the Australians still had legends like Gilchrist and Ponting playing in the team. He eventually played three T20Is against Sri Lanka in 2017.

#2 Brendon McCullum - 7 centuries

Brendon McCullum

One of New Zealand’s greatest players, Brendon McCullum had an illustrious career in all formats. Making his debut at the age of 20 in 2002 for New Zealand, McCullum’s aggressive batting made him quite popular among the fans and continued to remain that way throughout his career.

McCullum’s big break in the T20 format came in 2008 in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League where he scored an unbeaten 158 for the Kolkata Knight Riders and established himself as an excellent batsman in the shortest format.

The right-handed batsman soon made the switch to the Chennai Super Kings, where he opened alongside Dwayne Smith and played a key role in CSK’s success.

Scoring 7 centuries throughout his career, the veteran’s tons have come against Auckland (108*), Australia (116*), Bangladesh (123), Derbyshire (158*), Northern Districts (103*), Royal Challengers Bangalore (158*) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (100*).

McCullum decided to retire from all formats of international cricket due to injuries but still continues to play in the domestic T20s.

#1 Chris Gayle - 21 centuries

Chris Gayle

Unarguably the King of T20 cricket, the West Indian Chris Gayle holds the record for the most number of centuries in the T20 format that includes both the domestic and International games.

Gayle kickstarted the inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007 with a century against South Africa and surprisingly ended on the losing side. His issues with the West Indies Cricket Board reduced his international appearances but he soon resurrected his career in the Indian Premier League where he has had remarkable seasons with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Gayle has scored 21 centuries in his T20 career. The unbeaten 175 against the Pune Warriors in 2012 remains his best knock till date. The towering West-Indian smashed 17 sixes and 13 boundaries in that game, sparing no bowler from the Pune team and made the Royal Challengers reach a record total of 263, which they defended with ease.

Thus far, Gayle has played a whopping 354 T20 matches for around 24 different teams in a glorious career. His tally of 12,075 runs remains the highest in the format by a massive distance.