Fastest ODI Centuries in Cricket History: AB de Villiers 31 Balls and the Records That Redefine Batting
The fastest centuries ever scored in ODI cricket — AB de Villiers' 31-ball hundred, Corey Anderson's 36-ball record, and how modern batting power has transformed what is possible in 50-over cricket.
The fastest centuries in ODI cricket represent the outer boundary of what is physically possible in batting — the combination of timing, power, and aggression required to score 100 runs from 31 deliveries defies conventional cricket logic. AB de Villiers of South Africa holds the record for the fastest ODI century, reaching the milestone from just 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg in January 2015. New Zealand's Corey Anderson had briefly held the record at 36 balls against West Indies in Queenstown in January 2014, breaking the previous record of 37 balls by Pakistan's Shahid Afridi set 18 years earlier in 1996. The evolution of ODI batting power, hitting technology, and fielding restrictions has made these records increasingly achievable.
AB de Villiers: 31 Balls, 16 January 2015
De Villiers' 31-ball century came in the third ODI of a series against West Indies at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. South Africa were in a position of strength, allowing de Villiers to bat with freedom; he arrived at the crease and immediately attacked, hitting nine sixes and seventeen fours in an innings of 149 from 44 balls — still one of the highest strike-rate innings over 100 runs in ODI history. His century came in the 46th over of the South Africa innings, which eventually reached 439/2, at the time the second-highest ODI total ever. De Villiers' ability to hit the ball in all directions — behind square, over extra cover, through the off side and over mid-wicket — meant no field setting could contain him effectively.
Corey Anderson: 36 Balls, 1 January 2014
New Zealand's Corey Anderson scored his century from 36 balls against West Indies in Queenstown on New Year's Day 2014. Anderson hit 14 sixes in his 131 from 47 balls — a New Zealand ODI record that still stands. The match was played at a short-boundary ground in Queenstown, and West Indies had posted 282/7; New Zealand's chase became a record-breaking assault as Anderson and Kane Williamson added 98 in the fifth-wicket stand. Anderson's record stood for exactly one year before de Villiers eclipsed it in South Africa. Anderson's innings was particularly notable for the number of sixes — 14 — which remains among the highest in a single ODI innings.
Top 10 Fastest ODI Centuries
- 31 balls — AB de Villiers (South Africa vs West Indies, Johannesburg, 2015)
- 36 balls — Corey Anderson (New Zealand vs West Indies, Queenstown, 2014)
- 37 balls — Shahid Afridi (Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Nairobi, 1996)
- 45 balls — Mark Boucher (South Africa vs Zimbabwe, Potchefstroom, 2006)
- 45 balls — Brian Lara (West Indies vs Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1999)
- 46 balls — Eoin Morgan (England vs New Zealand, Edgbaston, 2015)
- 46 balls — Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Singapore, 1996)
- 48 balls — Rohit Sharma (India vs Australia, Adelaide, 2013)
- 48 balls — Glenn Maxwell (Australia vs Sri Lanka, Pallekele, 2016)
- 50 balls — Rohit Sharma (India vs Sri Lanka, Mohali, 2009)
Why ODI Centuries Are Getting Faster
The trajectory of fastest ODI centuries has accelerated because the game has changed fundamentally since the 1990s. Fielding restrictions (PowerPlay rules allowing only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle for the first 10 overs) create scoring opportunities that did not exist in the same way in earlier ODI cricket. Bat technology — thicker edges, bigger sweet spots, lighter handles — has increased the distance batsmen can hit the ball with equivalent power. Ground dimensions have tended to reduce in some venues. And the proliferation of T20 cricket has normalised ultra-aggressive batting that bleeds into ODI strategies. De Villiers' 31-ball record may be the absolute ceiling for a 100-run mark, but new batting approaches could push even this benchmark in future years.
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the record for the fastest century in ODI cricket?
AB de Villiers of South Africa holds the record for the fastest ODI century, reaching 100 from just 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg on 16 January 2015. He went on to score 149 from 44 balls in that innings, hitting nine sixes and seventeen fours. His 31-ball hundred broke Corey Anderson's record of 36 balls set a year earlier in January 2014.
How fast was Shahid Afridi's record century?
Shahid Afridi scored an ODI century from 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in October 1996 at the age of 16 — a record that stood for 18 years until Corey Anderson broke it in 2014. Afridi hit 11 sixes and 6 fours using a bat borrowed from Waqar Younis. At the time, the innings was considered an almost impossible aberration; it is now viewed as an early signal of what ultra-aggressive ODI batting could achieve.
Has anyone scored a 100-ball century in an ODI?
A 100-ball ODI century is considered a very good but not exceptional pace of scoring in the modern game — it equates to a strike rate of 100, which is common for middle-order and lower-middle-order batsmen in modern ODIs. Opening batsmen and power hitters regularly score centuries in 70-90 balls in current ODI cricket. De Villiers' 31-ball and Anderson's 36-ball records are the fastest, while centuries in 50-60 balls occur several times each year on good batting pitches.