Cricket Centuries and Records Explained
A century — 100 runs in a single innings — is cricket's most celebrated individual batting milestone. This guide covers who holds the most centuries, fastest centuries, and the greatest century-scoring records.
What Is a Century in Cricket?
A century — also called a hundred — is when a batter scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. It is the most celebrated individual milestone in cricket. When a batter reaches 99 and then scores the next run, they raise their bat to acknowledge the crowd — one of cricket's iconic moments. Centuries can be scored in all three formats: Tests, ODIs, and T20s, though T20 centuries are rare.
Most Test Centuries: Sachin Tendulkar's Record
Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most centuries in Test cricket with 51. He also holds the record for most ODI centuries with 49. No other batter has reached 30 Test centuries since Tendulkar surpassed that milestone. His 51 Test hundreds were spread across 24 years of international cricket — a testament to both longevity and consistency at the highest level.
Fastest Century Records
The fastest century in Test cricket was scored by Brendon McCullum for New Zealand against Australia in 2016 — 54 balls. In ODIs, Corey Anderson set a record of 36 balls in 2014 for New Zealand against West Indies. In T20Is, various batters have scored centuries off fewer than 35 balls. Chris Gayle's 30-ball T20I century for West Indies against Bangladesh (2016 World T20) is among the fastest ever.
Most ODI Centuries
Sachin Tendulkar's 49 ODI centuries remain the world record. Rohit Sharma has the most ODI double-centuries (three). Virat Kohli has more than 40 ODI centuries. The consistent theme among the top ODI century-scorers is Indian cricket's depth of world-class batting over the past two decades — the top four positions in the ODI centuries list are all Indian batters.
The Double Century and Beyond
Double centuries (200+ runs in a single innings) are extremely rare. In Tests, Brian Lara's 400 not out against England in 2004 is the highest individual score ever. Matthew Hayden, Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, and Chris Gayle all have double centuries in limited-overs cricket. Triple centuries in Tests have been scored by a handful of batters including Brian Lara (375, 400), Hanif Mohammad (337), Garry Sobers (365*), and Don Bradman (334).
Frequently asked questions
Who has the most centuries in Test cricket?
Sachin Tendulkar holds the record with 51 Test centuries. No active batter has yet approached this milestone.
What is the fastest Test century ever scored?
Brendon McCullum scored the fastest Test century in 54 balls for New Zealand against Australia in Christchurch in February 2016.
What is the highest individual score in Test cricket?
Brian Lara scored 400 not out for West Indies against England in Antigua in 2004 — the highest individual score in Test history.