The World Cup is a big stage for players to make a name for themselves. Even with one dominant performance, a player could be remembered throughout their lifetime and beyond. Glenn Maxwell, with the fastest century in the World Cup, is one such name who has made history.
The other batters featuring on the top 5 batters with the fastest ODI centuries list are Aiden Markram, Kevin O’Brien, and AB de Villiers. Glenn Maxwell features twice in the list, showing how destructive he can be.
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Fastest Century in the ODI World Cup
The following table shows the list of the top 10 batters with the fastest century in ODI World Cup history:
| Player | Country | Balls (For Century) | Opposition |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 40 | Netherlands |
| Aiden Markram | South Africa | 49 | Sri Lanka |
| Kevin O’Brien | Ireland | 50 | England |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 51 | Sri Lanka |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 52 | West Indies |
| Eoin Morgan | England | 57 | Afghanistan |
| Travis Head | Australia | 59 | New Zealand |
| Heinrich Klaasen | South Africa | 61 | England |
| KL Rahul | India | 62 | Netherlands |
| Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan | 63 | New Zealand |
Revisiting the Top 5 Fastest ODI Centuries in the ODI World Cup
The following is a list of the top five batters with the fastest hundreds in the ODI World Cup:
Glenn Maxwell – 40 Balls – 2023
Maxwell features on our list not just once, but twice. He broke the record set by Aiden Markram in the same tournament, where he slammed a century in just 49 balls against Sri Lanka.
- Incidentally, Maxwell’s hundred came on the same ground.
- Against the Netherlands, he went on a rampage, hitting the bowlers right from ball one.
- It took him just 40 balls to reach the ton, and by the time he was done, he had slammed 106 in just 44 balls, which had nine boundaries and eight maximums.
Aiden Markram – 49 Balls – 2023
South Africa’s Aiden Markram had the fastest century in the World Cup just a few days prior, before Maxwell broke the record.
- At this very same ground where Maxwell broke his record, he had slammed a century in just 49 balls, which came against Sri Lanka as South Africa posted a humongous 428/7.
- By the time Markram was done, he had slammed 106 off just 54 balls with a boundary count of 14 and three maximums.
Kevin O’Brien – 50 Balls – 2011
Kevin O’Brien took his counter-attacking approach to another level as he slammed 111 off just 63 balls. In fact, he had slammed a hundred in just 50 balls as he helped his team snatch an unlikely chase against England in the 2011 ODI World Cup.
- Ireland had fielded first and conceded in excess of 300. In reply, Ireland was struggling at 111/5, after which O’Brien started to show what he was capable of.
- By the time he was done, he had hit 13 boundaries and six sixes.
Glenn Maxwell – 51 Balls – 2015
Maxwell returns to the list because he has the fourth-fastest century in the World Cup. He smashed Sri Lankan bowlers out of the park at Sydney Cricket Ground during the 2015 ODI World Cup.
- He completed his century in just 51 balls, and by the time he was done, he had slammed 103, which had ten boundaries and four maximums.
- As a result, Australia posted a mammoth 376/9, beating Sri Lanka by 64 runs.
AB de Villiers – 52 Balls – 2015
AB de Villiers has the fifth-fastest century in the World Cup, which came against the West Indies in the 2015 ODI World Cup at Sydney Cricket Ground.
South Africa had batted first and were doing fine, but then came de Villiers, and the equation turned on its head.
- No one thought that South Africa would post a humongous total of 408/5, and de Villiers was at the forefront of it.
- He carted Jason Holder all over the park and didn’t spare the spinners either.
- He completed his century in just 52 balls, and by the time he was done, he had smashed 162 off just 66, which had 17 boundaries and 8 maximums.
- What made de Villiers’ innings so destructive was his ability to play shots all across the stadium. That was why he was called Mr. 360.
Fastest Centuries in T20 World Cup
The following is the list of the top 5 batters with the fastest centuries in the T20 World Cup:
- Chris Gayle – 47 Balls – 2016
- Chris Gayle – 50 Balls – 2007
- Brendon McCullum – 51 Balls – 2012
- Rilee Rossouw – 52 Balls – 2022
- Ahmed Shehzad – 58 Balls – 2014
Betting on the Cricket World Cup
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Concluding Thoughts
All these centuries made the ODI World even more marketable, especially to the youngsters who were fans of T20 cricket.
All these batters had contrasting features, like how Markram and de Villiers were as different as chalk and cheese despite belonging to the same country.
Glenn Maxwell features not once but twice on this list, as he not only has the fastest century in the World Cup but also has the fourth-fastest century in the World Cup.
Also, we can clearly see a pattern that some of these centuries came on the same grounds.
For instance, Markram and Maxwell both achieved their feats at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Maxwell’s fourth-fastest century and De Villiers’ fifth-fastest century in the World Cup came in Sydney.
Soon, these records are expected to be broken!!!
