To score a century in ODIs is already a huge feat. Scoring one under 50 balls has been achieved only by a select few. Fastest ODIs centuries have been scored by some of the most aggressive hitters of the game, and the record has stood unbroken for more than a decade now.
At the moment of writing in September 2026, AB de Villiers possesses the record of the fastest century in ODI cricket with 100 coming in 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015. The astonishing innings ended with 149 runs from 44 balls.
In case of India, the record should be noted with one detail. Virat Kohli holds the record of the fastest ODI century in the men’s game with 52 balls, whereas Smriti Mandhana holds the record of the fastest century of any ODI batter from India in both genders with 50 balls in 2025.
What Is the Fastest Century in ODI History?
The fastest century in men’s ODIs belongs to AB de Villiers with his 31-ball hundred against West Indies. De Villiers scored the record hundred in the extraordinary innings in Wanderers in Johannesburg on 18 January 2015. He scored 149 runs in just 44 balls, including 9 fours and 16 sixes.
The South African cricketer took only 31 balls to score the century, beating the record of Corey Anderson by 5 balls. Moreover, de Villiers scored 50 in 16 balls, setting a record at the time. South Africa scored 439/2 in the game and won by 148 runs against West Indies.
| Record | Details |
|---|---|
| Fastest ODI century | AB de Villiers |
| Balls to 100 | 31 |
| Runs scored | 149 |
| Opposition | West Indies |
| Venue | Johannesburg |
| Date | 18 January 2015 |
| Fours | 9 |
| Sixes | 16 |
| Strike rate | 338.63 |
| South Africa’s score | 439/2 |
| Result | South Africa won by 148 runs |
The record still stands as of September 2026.
Fastest Century in ODI History: Top Records
The record has changed hands only several times since its inception. For almost 18 years, Shahid Afridi had held it, but Corey Anderson broke it in 2014. More than a year later, AB de Villiers made the astonishing 31-ball hundred.
Glenn Maxwell joined the list with his 40-ball century in 2023 World Cup, Asif Khan also made a 41-ball century for UAE in 2026, as well as Cameron Green’s 47-ball hundred in 2025. Rahmanullah Gurbaz also entered the list with his 48-ball century against India in 2026.
| Rank | Player | Balls | Runs | Opposition | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AB de Villiers | 31 | 149 | West Indies | 2015 |
| 2 | Corey Anderson | 36 | 131* | West Indies | 2014 |
| 3 | Shahid Afridi | 37 | 102 | Sri Lanka | 1996 |
| 4 | Glenn Maxwell | 40 | 106 | Netherlands | 2023 |
| 5 | Asif Khan | 41 | 101* | Nepal | 2023 |
| 6 | Mark Boucher | 44 | 147* | Zimbabwe | 2006 |
| 7 | Brian Lara | 45 | 117 | Bangladesh | 1999 |
| 8 | Shahid Afridi | 45 | 102 | India | 2005 |
| 9 | Jesse Ryder | 46 | 104 | West Indies | 2014 |
| 10 | Jos Buttler | 46 | 116* | Pakistan | 2015 |
| 11 | Jos Buttler | 47 | 162* | Netherlands | 2022 |
| 12 | Cameron Green | 47 | 118* | South Africa | 2025 |
| 13 | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 48 | 102 | India | 2026 |
| 14 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 48 | 134 | Pakistan | 1996 |
| 15 | Aiden Markram | 49 | 106 | Sri Lanka | 2023 |
AB de Villiers’ 31-Ball Century
The record innings of AB de Villiers took place in the second ODI of the series South Africa played against West Indies in 2015. South Africans were already playing aggressively and Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw made their centuries. But the arrival of de Villiers increased the pace. He only required 16 balls to make 50. From here, the attack became even more ruthless. He made his century from 31 balls and eventually ended up making 149 from 44 balls.
His last innings involved 16 sixes and 9 fours and therefore 118 out of his 149 runs came in boundaries. This innings gave him a strike rate of more than 338, a very high figure in today’s ODI cricket. The most important thing about his innings was that it is the fastest century in ODI cricket.
Who Held the Fastest ODI Century Record Before AB de Villiers?
Before AB de Villiers, it was held by Corey Anderson of New Zealand. Anderson made his century from 36 balls against West Indies at Queenstown on 1 January 2014. He ended unbeaten on 131 from 47 balls, with 14 sixes and 6 fours.
His record had taken over the record of Shahid Afridi’s 37 ball century, which was there since 1996.
| Player | Balls | Year | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shahid Afridi | 37 | 1996 | Sri Lanka |
| Corey Anderson | 36 | 2014 | West Indies |
| AB de Villiers | 31 | 2015 | West Indies |
De Villiers therefore broke the record by a substantial five balls, making his achievement even more remarkable.
Fastest Century in ODI by Indian
Whether it is men’s ODI or all Indian ODI? If we talk about men’s ODI cricket then the record goes to Virat Kohli, who has made his century in 52 balls against Australia at Jaipur on 16 October 2013.
He ended up scoring unbeaten century of 100 from 52 balls, with 8 fours and 7 sixes. The team chased down 360 in just 43.3 overs and won by 9 wickets. His century has broken the previous record of Virender Sehwag of 60 balls, which he had done against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2009.
| Indian men’s batter | Balls | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 52 | Australia | 2013 |
| Virender Sehwag | 60 | New Zealand | 2009 |
| Virat Kohli | 61 | Australia | 2013 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 62 | New Zealand | 1988 |
| KL Rahul | 62 | Netherlands | 2023 |
| Rohit Sharma | 63 | Afghanistan | 2023 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 64 | England | 2008 |
| Kedar Jadhav | 65 | England | 2017 |
| Suresh Raina | 66 | Hong Kong | 2008 |
So, if the search is specifically for the fastest century in ODI by Indian men’s cricket, the answer is Virat Kohli – 52 balls.
Smriti Mandhana’s 50-Ball Century
There is one update related to Indian record. In September 2025, Smriti Mandhana has made a 50 ball century against Australia Women in Delhi and beaten Kohli’s 52-ball record if we take into account all Indian ODI matches including men’s and women’s.
Mandhana ended up scoring 125 from 63 balls, with 17 fours and 5 sixes. Her century was the second fastest century in women’s ODI cricket after Meg Lanning’s 45 ball century.
Therefore, the records should be stated clearly:
- Fastest men’s ODI century by an Indian: Virat Kohli – 52 balls.
- Fastest ODI century by an Indian batter across men’s and women’s cricket: Smriti Mandhana – 50 balls.
- Fastest women’s ODI century by an Indian: Smriti Mandhana – 50 balls.
This distinction prevents confusion when the phrase “fastest century in ODI by Indian” is used.
Virat Kohli’s 52-Ball ODI Century
One of Kohli’s most outstanding centuries happened back in 2013 when he achieved his century in an extremely challenging chase. Australia scored 359/5 in the first innings. The team had to chase down 360 to win, but Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli transformed the target into a reasonable chase. Dhawan scored 95 runs, Rohit scored an unbeaten 141 runs and Kohli ended up scoring 100 not out from 52 balls.
This particular century included seven sixes and eight fours. India managed to make 362/1 in 43.3 overs and won the game by nine wickets. It is still the fastest men’s ODI century by an Indian.
Fastest ODI Century in a World Cup
At the moment, the fastest century in the history of the men’s ODI World Cup is the achievement of Glenn Maxwell. He reached 100 from 40 balls against Netherlands during the 2023 World Cup in Delhi. His score was 106 from 44 balls when Australia scored 399/8.
This particular 40-ball hundred also remains the fastest ODI century by an Australian man at the time.
| Player | Balls | Opposition | World Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Maxwell | 40 | Netherlands | 2023 |
| Aiden Markram | 49 | Australia | 2023 |
| Kevin O’Brien | 50 | England | 2011 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 51 | Sri Lanka | 2015 |
| AB de Villiers | 52 | West Indies | 2015 |
The overall ODI record and World Cup record are therefore held by different players.
Fastest ODI Century Against India
One of the fastest hundreds against India in ODI cricket is the 45-ball century of Shahid Afridi against India in Kanpur in 2005. Rahmanullah Gurbaz added one more remarkable achievement in 2026 when he scored a 48-ball century against India in Dharamsala.
That particular hundred remains the fastest ODI century by an Afghanistan batter and becomes one of the fastest hundreds ever scored against India. This means that despite being the record holders in their own batters’ records (Kohli, Sehwag and Mandhana), Indian bowlers have also faced some exceptional acceleration in the game.
How Do Batters Score a 30- or 40-Ball ODI Century?
It takes a unique combination of timing, power, risk-taking and favourable match conditions to score a century in 31 balls. The batter should be able to score at an extreme rate right from the start without saving anything for the final overs. It is necessary to hit many boundaries, but just hitting the sixes is not enough. There is also a need to look for gaps, to score off full deliveries, to attack the fielding restrictions and to keep strike.
Usually, in order to beat any records, the batter needs to stay on the pitch long enough. Quick wickets can hardly allow the batter to accumulate the required amount of balls for the record-breaking innings. De Villiers’ innings is a perfect example of a perfect balance of boundary hitting and unique shot selection.
Fastest Century vs Fastest Fifty in ODI
A fast fifty is not always synonymous with a faster century. It is possible for a batter to start quick and then lose pace while another starts slower before speeding up post fifty. AB de Villiers provides the perfect illustration here. He took 16 balls to complete his fifty and 31 balls for a century. This means he required just 15 more deliveries to go from 50 to 100 runs.
This ability to maintain pace even after the first half of 50 is what makes his record quite tough to break.
Why Is the 31-Ball Record So Difficult to Break?
While a 31-ball century seems achievable due to the extra time available to the batters in ODI compared to T20 cricket, it is still very hard to achieve in the former format. A batter completing a hundred from 31 balls has to have at least more than 3 runs per ball. That means a lot of hitting and few dot balls which is very rare.
Modern day ODI cricket has witnessed some aggressive batting but de Villiers’ record has been safe since 2015.
The coming of some aggressive power hitters such as Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler, and many other modern limited-overs batters has introduced some more names in the fasted century records list. But none of them managed to cross the 31-balls barrier yet.
FAQs
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Conclusion
AB de Villiers 31-ball hundred is the fastest century record in the history of ODI cricket. He went on to score 149 off 44 balls in one of the most ruthless ODI innings of all time. As far as the record for Indian men’s cricket is concerned, Virat Kohli’s 52-ball century against Australia in 2013 remains unbeaten. However, after Smriti Mandhana made a 50-ball hundred against Australia Women in 2025, her name now holds the record for the fastest ODI century by an Indian batter when both men’s and women’s cricket are combined.
After a decade, the record for the fastest century still stands and it remains the record to beat in ODI cricket with the batting becoming more aggressive now.
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