What is the most-watched sport on television all over the World? What a silly question, isn’t it? It is cricket, though there is no need to mention it. The stadiums get filled with different-colored jerseys by the fans to watch their team and their favorite players in live action.
This is among the most beloved sports around the globe. There are many superstars born of the game, and the batsmen are the most hyped; they are the ones responsible for scoring and chasing the runs and entertaining the world with their mad skills.
Here, we are going to talk about the top 10 cricket players with the most centuries in the game.
List Of Top 10 Cricketers With The Highest Number Of Centuries
Name of the player | Number of ODI centuries | Number of centuries in T20 | Number of Test centuries | Total number of centuries |
Sachin Tendulkar(1989-2013) | 49 | – | 51 | 100 |
Virat Kohli(2008-2023) | 46 | 1 | 29 | 76 |
Ricky Ponting(1995-2012) | 30 | – | 41 | 71 |
Kumar Sangakkara (2000-2015) | 25 | – | 38 | 63 |
Jacques Kallis (1995-2014) | 17 | – | 45 | 62 |
Hashim Amla (2004-2019) | 27 | – | 28 | 55 |
Mahela Jayawardene (1997-2015) | 19 | 1 | 34 | 54 |
Brian Lara (1990-2007) | 19 | – | 34 | 53 |
Rahul Dravid (1996-2012) | 12 | – | 36 | 48 |
AB de Villiers (2004-2018) | 25 | – | 22 | 47 |
Sachin Tendulkar
The God of cricket himself is at the top of the list. He made his debut in the game at just the age of 16 in 1989 and played for a long period of 23 years in the game. He played his first game in a Test match against Pakistan.
Also, he has played over 200 test matches in his cricket career, the highest number of matches any player has played.
He has won 51 Test centuries; he scored 114 in Perth against Australia in 1992, 169 in Cape Town against South Africa in 1997, 155 in Chennai against Australia in 1998, 136 in Chennai against Pakistan in 1999, and 241 in Sydney against Australia in 2014 are some best played centuries in Test Cricket.
Now, if we look into his ODI career, he has played 463 matches from 1989 to 2012, scored more than 18000 runs, and has an average of more than 44 runs.
In the 50-over format, he has scored 49 centuries, which is where he scored the 100th century of his career in 2012 against Bangladesh.
He scored 200 in Gwalior against South Africa in 2010, 175 in Hyderabad against Australia in 2009, 140 in Briston against Kenya in 1999, and 143 in Sharjah against Australia in 1998.
Virat Kohli
The second name on the list for the most century in cricket is Virat Kohli. He is also the only active player on this list. By far, he has scored 76 centuries, 29 of them made in Test cricket, and 46 of them made in ODIs.
He made his debut in August 2008 against Sri Lanka and made his first century the following year when he scored 107 against Sri Lanka. His 133 not-out score against Sri Lanka in 86-ball placed India in the second-highest run-chase any team has ever done in Australia.
He made his first century in the 2013 Triangular Series as a captain against West Indies.
He scored a century in the ODI test series and remained not out in just 52 balls, and that is the fastest ODI century an Indian has ever made. Among all of his 46 ODI centuries, 26 of those came in the second innings.
Ricky Ponting
The third on the list for most century in cricket is Ricky Ponting. He is also one of the greatest captains the cricket field has ever seen. The skipper from Australia played international cricket from 1995-2012, and during his cricket career, he scored 71 centuries across all formats.
He has scored 13378 runs in 168 Test matches with an average run of 51.85. He has 41 centuries in Test matches, and the best one he scored was against India.
Also, he scored 242 in Adelaide against India in 2003, 257 in the same year in Melbourne, and 221 in 2012 in Adelaide. A few of his other memorable plays are his 156 against England in Manchester in 2005 and 143 in Sydney in 2006 against South Africa.
He finished his 375th match with an average score of 42.03. He scored 82 half-centuries and 30 centuries. H scored 145 in New Delhi against Zimbabwe in 1998 and 129 in Bloemfontein in 2002 against South Africa. He also scored 140 in Johannesburg in the 2003 ODI World Cup against India.
Kumar Sangakkara
The former Sri Lankan captain is regarded as among the most technically sound batsmen in cricket history. Sangakkara holds the record for the highest number of centuries by any Sri Lankan player, with a number of 63 centuries.
He has scored centuries in all formats, with a remarkable number of wins in ODIs as well as Test matches. Also, he made 38 centuries in Test matches and 25 centuries in ODIs.
He has an average of 57.40 in 134 Tests. In 2010, he scored 219 against India, and in 2007, he made 192 against Australia. Similarly, he made 230 against Pakistan in 2002. Also, in 2004 and 2006, he made 232 and 287 against South Africa, respectively.
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis used to be a titan for the South African team. This right-handed batsman has a total of 62 centuries in his 19 years of cricket career.
He made 45 centuries in Test cricket and 17 in ODIs. Kallis made his name heard when he scored 101 on the fifth day of the 1997 Boxing Day Test.
So, his test career ended with an average score of 55.37. Moreover, in ODIs, he had an average score over 44. Additionally, his greatest performance was in 2006, in Durban, against India. In that match, South Africa scored 248, and 119 was contributed by Kallis himself.
Bottom line
Well, the list has given all the names of the players who have the most century in cricket history.
Apart from the players mentioned above, there are other players as well who have an exceptional record in the game. Virender Sehwag, Alastair Cook, and Ross Taylor also have 38 centuries in their name. Moreover, David Warner and Rohit Sharma have 45 and 44 centuries, respectively.
Sachin Tendulkar has the most number of centuries in Test cricket. Also, Meg Lanning has the most number of centuries in women’s cricket.
Don Bradman has the most double centuries in Test cricket, which is 12. Moreover, it is the overall number of centuries cricket history has ever witnessed.
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