World Cup History: List of players who scored the first century in each edition of the World Cup

In the first five matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the fans were not able to witness even a single century. Considering the fact that this tournament was expected to be high scoring one, this was a surprising stat. The wait for a century finally came to an end as we witnessed centuries for the first time in this World Cup.

In the England v/s Pakistan match, two centuries came along in one inning. While it was a bad day at the office for the hosts and the tournament favourites England, as they lost to Pakistan, it fared pretty well for Jos Buttler and Joe Root. Both Root and Buttler scored centuries for the hosts as they failed to chase the target. In the process, Joe Root became the first batsman to hit the three-figure in this World Cup.

Hitting the first century of the tournament is a pretty big deal and, in the past, the first century of a World Cup has been scored by some legendary cricketers.

So let us look at the cricketers, who scored the first century of a World Cup.

#11 2015 World Cup: Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch

Australia were the hosts and pre-tournament favourites in the 2015 World Cup. They proved their credentials in their very first match of the tournament.

Aaron Finch made his mark on the 2015 World Cup by scoring century in Australia's first game of the tournament vs England. The right-hander scored 135 runs, which helped the Aussies in registering a comfortable 111 run win over their arch-rivals. Finch was also awarded the man of the match for his performance with the bat. The Australian opener scored 280 runs in the tournament and Australia went on to win the 2015 World cup.

#10 2011 World Cup: Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag is counted as one of the most destructive openers in the history of the game. He did not waste any time in making his mark on the 2011 World Cup.

The dashing opener got India off to a great start in the World Cup as he scored 175 vs Bangladesh in the first match of the tournament. The right-handed batsman deservedly won the Man of the Match award as India got off to a fantastic start to the World Cup. Virat Kohli scored a century in the same innings as India won the game by 87 runs. Sehwag scored 380 runs which third most by an Indian in 2011 edition. He played his part in India lifting the World Cup after a period of 28 years.

#9 2007 World Cup: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting was one of the captains who believed in leading from the front. He scored a brilliant century in the final of the 2003 World Cup.

The Australian captain started the 2007 edition from where he left in 2003 as he began the tournament with a century. Scotland had to suffer the brunt of Ponting's bat as he scored 113 off just 93 balls. Ponting's century helped Australia in beating Scotland by a huge margin of 203 runs. The Australian captain continued his good show throughout the tournament and notched up 539 runs which is third most in the tournament. Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting helped Australia to win their third consecutive World cup.

#8 2003 World Cup: Brian Lara

Brian Lara

Brian Lara was one of the greatest batsmen of his generation. He had the ability to single-handedly change the course of the matches.

Very few gave a chance to West Indies to get a win against hosts South Africa in opening match of the 2003 World Cup. But Brian Lara came up with an inspired performance, as he scored a century. It helped his team to win a thriller by three runs. However, Lara managed sore only 248 runs in 2003 edition. West Indies were knocked out from the tournament in league stage itself as they managed to win only three games.

#7 1999 World Cup: Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

There are very few World Cup lists which do not have Sachin Tendulkar. The 'Master Blaster' scored the first century of the 1999 edition vs Kenya.

The right-handed batsman managed to put behind the sorrow of his father's death to help his team. He scored 140 of just 101 balls, to help India in posting a huge score on the board. The fact that this century came after the death of Sachin's father speaks volumes about the mental resolve of the 'Master Blaster'. He scored only 253 runs with the lone century and India were knocked out from Super Six stage.

#6 1996 World Cup: Nathan Astle

Nathan Astle

Nathan Astle had the ability to win matches on his own for his team. The New Zealand opener made his mark on the 1996 World Cup in the first match itself.

The Kiwi star played a brilliant inning while other batsmen failed to stay with him for a long time. The century from Astle helped New Zealand to post a decent 239 runs on the board. Kiwi bowlers managed to restrict England below 230. Astle won the Man of the Match award for his match-winning knock. However, the Kiwi opener managed to score only 10 runs in the next five innings. New Zealand lost against Australia in quarterfinals at Chennai.

#5 1992 World Cup: Martin Crowe

Martin Crowe

The co-hosts New Zealand and Australia took part in the first match of the tournament in 1192. The Kiwis did not have a good record in the World Cup before this edition of the World Cup. They were determined to do well on their home turf.

New Zealand's captain, Martin Crowe led from the front as he scored a brilliant century against arch-rivals Australia. This innings helped Kiwis to beat Australia by 37 runs. The Kiwi captain deservedly bagged the player of the match award for his performance. Crowe also won the Man of the Series for his whopping 456 runs in the tournament.

#4 1987 World Cup: Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of the game. He had the ability to rise to the occasion and the World Cup is a big occasion.

The Pakistani legend scored a match-winning hundred in the opening game of the 1987 World Cup versus Sri Lanka. His century helped Pakistan in winning the match by a margin of 15 runs. The legendary batsman rightly got the Man of the Match award for his performance. The right-hander ended the tournament with 274 runs. Australia beat Pakistan in the semifinals and went on to win the tournament.

#3 1983 World Cup: Allan Lamb

Allan Lamb

England had lost the final of the 1975 World Cup against West Indies and they were determined to go one step further in the 1983 edition.

England registered a convincing 106 runs win over New Zealand in the first match of the 1983 edition. Allan Lamb played a brilliant innings of 102 runs of just 105 balls which helped England in posting a huge score of 322 on the board in the first innings. The right-hander managed to score 278 runs in the tournament. England lost to India in the semi-finals and India eventually went on to beat the mighty West Indies in the final to become the second team to lift the World Cup.

#2 1979 World Cup: Gordon Greenidge

Gordon Greenidge

In the first two editions of the World Cup, West Indies were simply unstoppable as they won both the tournaments. The defending champions West Indies humiliated India in the first match of the 1979 World Cup.

Chasing a target of 191 was never going to be difficult for the star-studded Windies batting line-up. Gordon Greenidge made the job easier by scoring a brilliant century, guiding his team to a 9 wickets win. Greenidge ended the tournament as top run-getter with 253 runs which included one century and two half-centuries.

#1 1975 World Cup: Dennis Amiss

Dennis Amiss

The inaugural match of the 1975 World Cup witnessed the first century in the history of the tournament. That century was scored by the English opener Dennis Amiss who feasted on the hapless Indian bowlers.

The right-hander scored the century at a good strike rate which helped England in posting a score of more than 300 on the board. He also won the first Man of the Match award in the history of the World Cup.

In the same match, Sunil Gavaskar played infamous innings of 174-ball 36 runs. It is still considered one of the slowest innings in ODI cricket history. Amiss scored 243 runs in 4 innings in the inaugural World cup and ended the tournament as the second highest run-getter. West Indies won the inaugural World cup by beating England in the finals.