3 slowest hundreds by Indians in ODI cricket

Modern one-day cricket is all about statistics and figures, and these are constantly churned out by the analysts of the team. One of the most important stats is the strike-rate column, as players are increasingly looking to score as quickly as possible.

Sometimes, if the pitch is flat and hard, the ball comes on to the bat nicely. AB de Villiers has the record of fastest ODI century, which he scored off just 31 deliveries. Virat Kohli holds the record for the fastest ODI century by an Indian. He scored an unbeaten 100 in just 52 balls against Australia at Jaipur on 16 October 2013.

But when a pitch is difficult and the bowling is equally menacing, it becomes challenging to score runs freely.

Over the years, Indian cricket has been blessed with some of the greatest players to ever play the game. However, there have been instances where they have had to dig in and work extremely hard for their hundreds.

We have compiled a list of the three Indian cricketers who have hit the slowest centuries for India in ODI cricket.

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Slowest centuries by Indian batsmen in ODI cricket

#3 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is known as one of the greatest batsmen to have ever graced the game of cricket. Over the course of his 100 international centuries, he saw it all and played in different conditions, and came out victorious in the majority of them.

Often, he was off the blocks quickly with his belligerent hundreds, where he decimated the opposition with his brutal stroke-making. But sometimes, he struggled to find a way to score runs. After all, the God of Cricket is human at the end of the day.

We remember his 175 against Australia in 2009, and the glorious 143 Desert Storm innings, but not many know of his slowest hundreds.

One of his innings against Sri Lanka in October 2000 was different from his usual style of play. Tendulkar mustered his century off 138 balls against the Lankans- the same number of deliveries in which he completed his 100th ton against Bangladesh in Asia Cup in 2013 as well.

Tendulkar propelled his team to a total of 224 against Sri Lanka, but his efforts were ineffective as the Lankans chased the target in 43.5 overs. Although his hundred could not steer the team to victory as no other batsmen contributed significantly, Tendulkar was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century.

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#2 Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja hit his slowest century in 138 balls against the mighty Australian side in the 1999 ICC World Cup. While wickets kept tumbling at one end, Jadeja, along with Robin Singh, tried to steer the team to safety. The duo went on to accumulate 141 runs for the fifth wicket. Robin Singh scored 79, after India was reduced to 4/17 chasing 283.

Apart from Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh, no other batsman could even enter double figures, as McGrath, Fleming, and Steve Waugh ran riot. Despite having Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid in the top 3, the Indian team could not produce a spirited fight.

In the end, Jadeja's efforts proved futile as the Indian team suffered a defeat by 77 runs. Interestingly, the Australian team went on to win the World Cup.

His slow century aside, Ajay Jadeja is distinctly remembered by Indian fans for his innings in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final against Pakistan, where he absolutely dominated Waqar Younis.

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#1 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly hit a cautious hundred off 141 balls in March 1999 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. This is the slowest century ever scored by an Indian in ODIs.

Centuries by Dada and Rahul Dravid helped the Indian team post a total of 287. Dravid scored at close to run-a-ball during his 118-ball 116. India eventually posted 4-287, which in the end proved too much for the Sri Lankan side.

Despite Ganguly raking up a sedate century, his innings resulted in India winning the match against the Lankans by 80 runs. He was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century, and he also picked up a 4-wicket haul.

Ganguly bowled a brilliant spell of medium pace bowling, and ended up with figures of 4-21, and the Island nation was eventually knocked over for 207. Dada made sure that he more than ably compensated for his slow century.

Sourav Ganguly scored 22 ODI hundreds in his career, with the highest score coming against Sri Lanka one month later in Taunton. Interestingly, Ganguly smashed the Lankans to all parts of the ground in his 183-run innings, which came at a healthy strike rate of 116.