Cricket World Cup History: 5 batsmen with most centuries in World Cups

ICC Cricket World Cup is the grandest stage for every cricketer to showcase the talent he possesses. While multiple legends have crumbled under the pressure of expectations, several youngsters have transformed into legends by doing well at this mega-event.

In terms of bowling, a five-wicket haul is a mega accomplishment. In the same way, the cricket universe bills a hundred to be a huge achievement for a batsman. To score a century in a high-pressure situation like the World Cup takes the batsman’s confidence to the next level.

Over the years, a lot of batsmen have used the platform of the Cricket World Cup to announce their arrival in international cricket. Here are the top 5 batsmen with the most hundreds in Cricket World Cup history.

(Players who have the same number of hundreds are ranked based on fewer matches played.)

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#5 Sourav Ganguly - 4 hundreds (India)

India V Sri Lanka, 1999 World Cup

Left-handed batsman Sourav Ganguly will always go down as one of the best batsmen that India has ever produced. His captaincy credentials overshadowed his batting skills but the Bengal-born maestro’s impressive World Cup record speaks for itself.

He played 21 matches in the World Cup and scored 1,006 runs. The man fondly known as 'Dada' played his best ODI innings in the 1999 World Cup. Stitching a magnificent partnership with Rahul Dravid against Sri Lanka, Ganguly hit 183 runs off just 158 balls to help team India win the match. This was Ganguly’s first World Cup hundred.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player registered his next two hundreds came in the league phase of 2003 World Cup. Both of them came against African minnows. He played a phenomenal innings of 112* versus Namibia, followed by a 107* against Kenya.

He hit his final World Cup hundred against Kenya as well but in the second match; the stakes were very high because it was a semifinal clash.

#4 Rohit Sharma - 4 hundreds (India)

England v India - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma has stormed into the top 4 of this list with a treble of hundreds in the ongoing World Cup. His maiden World Cup century was against Bangladesh in the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup. In the 2019 World Cup, Rohit hit a hundred in India's first match against South Africa.

He then carried his form in the game against Pakistan and slammed a century versus the arch-rivals as well. Next, he registered a ton in the game against England but unfortunately, India lost that match by 31 runs. This was the first instance in the Cricket World Cup that a century from Rohit Sharma's bat had gone in vain.

Sharma has scored only 770 runs in his World Cup career, still, he has 4 centuries to his name which indicates how talented a player he is.

#3 Ricky Ponting - 5 hundreds (Australia)

Australia v Pakistan: Group A - 2011 ICC World Cup

The most successful captain in World Cup history, Ricky Ponting occupies the third position on this countdown with 5 hundreds in 46 World Cup matches. The Australian batsman is one of the only three batsmen to score 5 or more hundreds in World Cups.

Ponting hit his first World Cup century in the year 1996. In a fixture versus the West Indies at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, a young Ricky Ponting played a knock of 102 runs which included 5 fours and 1 six. The Aussie hit his 2nd World Cup hundred versus Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup.

His next World Cup hundred came against India in the final of the 2003 World Cup. This was Ponting's best World Cup innings. He smashed 140 runs off just 121 balls at a strike rate of 115.70 to guide his team to their second consecutive World Cup triumph.

'Punter' kicked off his 2007 World Cup campaign with a hundred against Scotland and then ended his World Cup career with a brilliant century versus India in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup.

#2 Kumar Sangakkara - 5 hundreds (Sri Lanka)

England v Sri Lanka - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

The only man to hit 4 consecutive centuries in World Cup history, Kumar Sangakkara ended his World Cup career with 5 glorious World Cup hundreds. The wicket-keeper batsman could not hit a single century in his first two World Cup campaigns but he ended the drought with a 111-run knock versus New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in the 2011 World Cup.

His next century came at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground against a spirited Bangladesh side. Just 4 days later, Sanga recorded his 3rd World Cup hundred in a match with England. His next World Cup hundred went in vain as Australia won the game against Sri Lanka despite Sangakkara's best efforts.

Though the legend scored his final World Cup hundred against minnows Scotland, he became the first ever player to score 4 consecutive hundreds at the mega-event.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 6 hundreds (India)

India v South Africa: Group B - 2011 ICC World Cup

The greatest batsman in the history of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar holds the prestigious record of scoring the most hundreds in the history of World Cup. In the 45 matches that Tendulkar played in 6 World Cups, His first ever World Cup hundred came in the year 1996 when the Little Master entertained the fans at Barbati Stadium with a splendid innings of 127* vs Kenya.

His next World Cup hundred came against the same opposition as well. In the 1999 World Cup, the Mumbai-born player hit 140* versus Kenya at Bristol. His third World Cup hundred too came against an African nation with Namibia being the opposition this time.

Sachin Tendulkar won his first World Cup in the year 2011 but team India failed to win even a single match where Tendulkar scored a hundred. The game against England ended in a tie while South Africa handed India their only defeat of the 2011 World Cup in the league stage.

Rohit Sharma is just 2 hundreds away from breaking Tendulkar's record of 6 World Cup hundreds. With Team India's next two games scheduled against weaker bowling attacks, we could expect Sharma to match his idol's record very soon.