6 fastest centures in ODI cricket

With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, the strike rates in ODIs have gone up to a level that is scarcely believable. There have been times when a run-a-ball hundred was considered a good innings; now, batsmen are scoring centuries at a strike-rate of 50 and entertaining cricket fans in ways that many did not think was possible. Irrespective of the size of the boundaries, batsmen have demonstrated an ability to clear the rope with consummate ease. Let us take a look at the 5 fastest centuries ever made in ODIs following the record-breaking 44-ball 149 by South African captain AB de Villiers in the ODI match against West Indies at Johannesburg on 18 January.

#6 Shahid Afridi (45 balls)

India-Pakistan games are always fiercely contested. But in 2005, Shahid Afridi was determined to ensure that a total of 250 set by India shouldn’t be looked at as a competitive score.

The sight of Afridi the opener is one that makes many tremble, and in Kanpur, he showed just why as he smoked the Indian bowlers to all corners of the pitch. He smashed his hundred off just 45 balls and, at one stage, came close to beating his own record. Although he got out to Harbhajan Singh immediately afterwards, his 102 included nine sixes and 10 fours and ensured that his side won the game with more than eight overs to spare.

#5 Brian Lara (45 balls)

Easily one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, Brian Lara wasn't always known for his destructive hitting. But against Bangladesh, he showed that technique and timing were just as important as power as he smashed a hundred off just 45 balls.

Although he hit only four sixes, he scored 18 fours and finished with 117 off 62 balls at a strike-rate of almost 200. Lara, who was made captain just after the disappointing 1999 World Cup, led by example and helped win the series 2-0. Even with the arrival of power-hitters like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels, Lara still holds the record for the fastest ODI hundred by a West Indian.

#4 Mark Boucher (44 balls)

Wicket-keepers seldom get a chance to score big hundreds unless they open the innings. But Mark Boucher showed against Zimbabwe that you don't need too many deliveries to make a mark.

After scoring a quick-fire fifty in a world-record run chase a few months prior to the series, Boucher was in the mood for another record. His hundred off just 44 balls, which included 10 sixes and eight fours, will go down as one of the greatest knocks by a wicket-keeper. He eventually finished with 147 off 64 and helped his side to their second 400+ plus score in 2006.

#3 Shahid Afridi (37 balls)

When a 16-year-old Sahibzada Shahid Mohammad Khan Afridi came onto bat against Sri Lanka during a KCA Centenary Tournament match in 1996, not much was expected of him. After all, it was only his second international match. But the right-hander, batting at No.3, announced himself to the world by scoring a 100 off just 37 balls, beating the previous record set by Sanath Jayasuriya just six months ago.

Afridi finished with 102 off just 40 balls, hitting 11 sixes and six fours. Many believed that the record will never be bettered, but it was.

#2 Corey Anderson (36 balls)

When the New Year's Day game between West Indies and New Zealand in 2014 was shortened to 21 overs, few would have expected a batsman to score a century, let alone two with one under 40 balls. But Corey Anderson came into the crease determined to provide some entertainment for the fans and, in no time, raced to a hundred off just 36 balls, beating the previous record and eventually finishing with an unbeaten 131 from 51 balls. His innings included 14 sixes and a measly six fours; such was his savage hitting that he even managed to overshadow Jesse Ryder, who scored the sixth quickest ODI hundred at the time.

#1 AB de Villiers (31 balls)

It took more than 17 years for Corey Anderson to break Shahid Afridi's record for the fastest hundred in ODIs, but AB de Villiers took just a little more than a year as he smashed West Indies to all corners of Johannesburg on Sunday, taking just 31 balls to displace Anderson from first spot.

After arriving at the crease with 11 and half overs to go, De Villiers finished with 149 off 44 balls at a staggering strike rate of 338.6. During his innings, he also managed to equal the world record for most number of sixes in an ODI innings (16), smash the record for the fastest 50, which came in 16 balls, and came tantalisingly close to breaking the record for the fastest 150. So, now the question is, how much longer will this record stand?