10 fastest centuries in ODIs

The one day game was invented to make cricket more exciting for supporters, and over the past four decades or so, it has lived up to those expectations. In one day internationals (ODIs), batsmen are expected to score quickly and that is the primary reason why the game has become so popular.

Over the course of hundreds of ODIs, plenty of batsmen have scored quickfire hundreds that have captured the imagination of cricket fans, making ODI cricket what it is today. Among those, the 10 quickest ones are iconic in their own way, and here is a brief look at each of them.

#10 Kevin O'Brien (50 balls) v England, Bangalore, 2011

Kevin O'Brien's epic effort against regional rivals England in the 2011 World Cup is the 10th fastest century ever scored in ODI history. Chasing 328 to win, O'Brien came in to bat at number 6 with Ireland reeling at 14-6 in the 23rd over. Instead of looking to rebuild the innings, he went hard at the England bowling.

He brought up his century in 50 deliveries and in total hit 13 fours and 6 sixes in his innings of 113. O'Brien was eventually run out with Ireland needing only 11 more to win. His innings brought about one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

#9 Sanath Jayasuriya (48 balls) v Pakistan, Singapore, 1996

Sanath Jayasuriya

Former Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya was one of the most destructive batsmen in ODI cricket and in April 1996, he made the most of a small ground at Singapore to decimate the Pakistani bowling attack with a 48-ball century.

He flayed the likes of Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq to score 134 runs, consisting of 11 fours and 11 sixes in total. Jayasuriya's cutting, pulling and ability to clear the fence was on full display as he helped Sri Lanka pile up a mammoth 349 in 50 overs.

Sri Lanka won the game comfortably by 34 runs in the end.

#8 Jos Buttler (46 balls) v Pakistan, Dubai, 2015

Jos Buttler

England's wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball at the moment and over the course of his career, has turned plenty of games on their head courtesy his brutal hitting.

In the 4th ODI of the series against Pakistan in Dubai, Buttler came in to bat at number 4 with the scoreboard reading 194-2 in the 36th over and when he was eventually done, England had scored 355 in 50 overs.

Buttler got to his century in 46 balls as he deposited the Pakistani bowlers to all corners of the ground and ended up scoring an unbeaten 116 (52 balls), which included 10 fours and 8 sixes.

Pakistan never recovered from that assault and crashed to an 84-run defeat.

#7 Jesse Ryder (46 balls) v West Indies, Queenstown, 2014

Jesse Ryder

New Zealand's forgotten man Jesse Ryder has gone through plenty of struggles in his career but when on form, he was an incredibly destructive player. In 2014, the West Indies bore the brunt of his vicious assault. The ODI at Queenstown had been reduced to a 21 overs a side and Ryder had the license to go hard from the start.

He hit his century in 46 balls and eventually scored 104, a knock that included 12 hits to the fence and five over it, as New Zealand scored a staggering 283 in 21 overs.

New Zealand won the game by a huge margin of 159 runs as the West Indies simply gave up.

#6 Shahid Afridi (45 balls) v India, Kanpur, 2005

Shahid Afridi

When it came to swashbuckling innings that completely decimated the opposition, no one came close to former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi. He fired quite infrequently but when he did, the opposition had very little hope

In the 5th ODI of the six-match series against India at Kanpur in 2005, Afridi put Pakistan's arch-rivals to the sword. Chasing 250 for victory, Afridi could have gone about things calmly but he seemed to be in great touch that day and decided to take on the bowlers, slamming 10 fours and 9 sixes en-route to a 45-ball century.

Funnily enough, he attempted a forward defensive stroke right after reaching his century and was clean bowled.

#5 Brian Lara (45 balls) v Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1999

Brian Lara

The West Indian legend played plenty of breathtaking innings over the course of his one-day international career and among them, the one against Bangladesh made it into the record books for being the 5th quickest century ever scored in ODIs.

Lara opened the innings in that game and through a display of scintillating stroke-making, brought up his century off 45 balls. He scored 117 runs in total and hit a total of 18 fours and four sixes to knock the stuffing out of the Bangladesh bowling attack.

The West Indies scored 314 and won the game by 109 runs, as Lara's innings proved to be the difference.

#4 Mark Boucher (44 balls) v Zimbabwe, Potchefstroom, 2006

Mark Boucher

In what was an exhibition of impeccable minnow bashing, South African wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher etched his name into the record books with his solitary ODI century. In an ODI at Potchefstroom, Boucher came into bat at number 4 and celebrated his promotion with a breathtaking assault on the Zimbabwean bowling attack.

He ended up scoring 147 runs in 68 balls and hit 8 fours and 10 sixes in an innings that lasted one-and-a-half hours. He reached his century off 44 balls which is currently the 4th fastest century ever scored in ODIs.

#3 Shahid Afridi (37 balls) v Sri Lanka, Singapore, 1996

Shahid Afridi

In the same tournament in Singapore in which Sanath Jayasuriya caned the Pakistani attack with his 48-ball century, Shahid Afridi returned the favour a few days later by scoring a 37-ball century.

In a small ground, he hit a staggering six fours and 11 sixes to completely destroy Sri Lanka's world champion team, as Pakistan racked up a total of 371. Afridi came in at number 3 and in an innings that lasted only 50 minutes, completely changed the complexion of the game.

What is even more interesting is the fact that the record stood for 18 years. Afridi became a legend of the game by virtue of the innings that catapulted him into the record books.

#2 Corey Anderson (36 balls) v West Indies, Queenstown, 2014

Corey Anderson

In the game in which Jesse Ryder entered the record books by scoring a 46-ball century, his teammate Corey Anderson went one better and broke a record that had stood for 14 years, by slamming a 36-ball century. The Kiwi all-rounder came in to bat in the 8th over in a game that had been reduced to 21 overs and went after the West Indian bowlers straightaway.

In a small ground, he hit sixes with impunity to bring up his century in 36 balls, thereby breaking the record for the fastest hundred in ODIs. He went on to score 132 off 47 balls in an innings that spanned 51 minutes. He hit only 6 fours but made up for that by clearing the ropes 14 times. He could not hold on to the record for long though.

#1 AB de Villiers (31 balls) v West Indies, Johannesburg, 2015

AB de Villiers

The West Indies were in for another hiding when South African star AB de Villiers decided to cut loose against them in an ODI at the Wanderers in 2015. With South Africa well-placed at 247-1, de Villiers came in to bat in the 38th over and unleashed absolute carnage for the next 1 hour to completely decimate the opposition.

He brought up his century in 31 balls to records the fastest century in ODIs and then went on to score 149 (9 fours and a jaw-dropping 16 sixes). To put things into perspective, opener Hashim Amla remained not out and scored 153, but de Villiers who came in to bat in the 39th over was just 4 short of his score when he was dismissed.