Most hundreds in ODI World Cups: To hit a century in the ODI World Cup is every batsman’s dream. There are a few who hit a ton or two throughout their World Cup career. The batters at times choose the biggest stage to express themselves. Clive Lloyd, Aravinda de Silva, Ricky Ponting, and Adam Gilchrist all smashed centuries in a World Cup final. The fact that their team won the world title makes the century even more sweeter.
There are few batsmen though who have been a different beast in the World Cups. They have smashed centuries for fun in the tournament.
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We look at batters with the most hundreds in ODI World Cups:
#5 David Warner – 4
The Australian opener has played just two editions of the World Cup so far. He is all set to play his third come the 2023 World Cup in India. David Warner though has been unstoppable in both editions. He played a significant role in Australia’s World Cup win at home in 2015. Warner had a 600+ run tournament in the 2019 edition.
He has smashed 4 centuries in 18 matches and piled up 992 runs. Warner is tied on 4 centuries with 5 other batters but he beats them to the list as none of them have scored it in just 18 innings.
#4 Ricky Ponting – 5
The veteran of 5 World Cups, Ricky Ponting was fabulous in the tournament too. He largely went unnoticed in the first two editions (1996 and 99). Ponting came into his own in the 2003 edition wherein he captained the side to glory. Australia didn’t drop a single game across two editions of the World Cup (2003 and 2007).
Ponting’s captaincy and batting played a huge role in this dominance. He in fact scored a century in his last World Cup match in 2011. Ponting’s tally of 5 centuries in 46 games earns him a fourth spot on the list.
#3 Kumar Sangakkara – 5
He had his best World Cup in the last one that he played. The 2015 World Cup was Sangakkara’s swansong and he scored 4 centuries in a row. One of the finest left-handers to ever play the game, Sangakkara scored a total of 5 World Cup centuries. His numbers are right up there with the very best. He amassed 1,532 runs in 37 games at an average of 56.74. He pips Ponting to the third spot as he scored the same number of centuries in 9 few innings.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar – 6
The moment he retired in 2011 it felt as if none of his records especially in the World Cup would be broken. Sachin Tendulkar had scaled such insurmountable peaks in cricket, in ODIs, and especially in World Cups. He and Javed Miandad are the only two players who have featured in 6 World Cups. Tendulkar scored 2 centuries in the 96 edition, 1 each in 99 and 2003, and 2 in 2011. He finished his World Cup career with 6 centuries in 45 games.
#1 Rohit Sharma – 6
No player in the history of the World Cup has a better century/match ratio than Rohit Sharma. The opener has smashed 6 centuries in 17 World Cup games meaning a century in less than every third game. Sharma had a decent World Cup in 2015 but it was the World Cup in 2019 that rewrote his legacy as an ODI player.
He scored centuries against five teams and India ended up winning four of them including the ones against South Africa and Pakistan. Sharma was in fact the top run-scorer in the 2019 World Cup. His average, century count, and conversion rate in the World Cup are all benchmarks for other players!
