Test Cricket is about protecting your wicket and grind it out in the middle to wear down the opposition, but there have been some exceptions to this theory in the history of cricket. Some of them played with the hit em’ all attitude even before the arrival of modern-day cricket. Today we will be looking at such exceptions who bolted down to their centuries without wasting much time and balls. So here are a few players to have scored the most Test centuries in less than 100 balls:
1. Virender Sehwag – 7 centuries:
Virender Sehwag has scored the most number of Test centuries under 100 balls. He did it on seven different occasions in his Test career. The Nawab of Najafgarh is known for his fearless batting since his early days in International Cricket. He didn’t use to shy away from taking the attack to the bowlers, even in test cricket. This attitude helped him score seven test tons under 100 deliveries.
Sehwag did it for the first time at Lahore in the first test of the Pakistan tour in 2006. He got to his 11th test century in just 93 balls and ended up scoring 254 off 247 deliveries. Sehwag got to his next test century under 100 balls as well. He scored 180 off 190 deliveries in the second test of India’s tour of the West Indies in 2006 and completed his century in just 78 balls. Then came an 87-ball century in the second test against Sri Lanka in 2008. Sehwag got to his century with a boundary and went on to score an unbeaten 201 in the first innings.
Virender Sehwag’s fourth century under 100 balls came in the home series against Sri Lanka in 2009. He hit a 97-ball century in the 2nd test in Kanpur. It was followed by an 87-ball century against South Africa in Kolkata and a 90-ball century against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2010. Sehwag hit one last century in less than 100 balls against England in November 2012, where he smashed a 90-ball century in Ahmedabad.
2. Adam Gilchrist – 6 centuries:
Adam Gilchrist has scored the second most centuries in less than 100 balls. He first did it against an Indian side led by Sourav Ganguly in February 2001. He smashed an 84-ball century batting at number seven in the 1st test of the India Tour. His second time was in the 1st away test against South Africa in 2002. Gilchrist smashed a 91-ball century in the 1st innings in this match in Cape Town. Next up was a 94-ball ton in the 5th test of the home series against England in early 2003.
Gilchrist hit his fourth in the 1st test of the home series against Zimbabwe at Perth in October 2003. The second last of his six centuries under 100 balls came in the first innings of the 2nd test of Australia’s tour of New Zealand in 2005. He scored an 86-ball century and got out after scoring 162 off 146 deliveries on the Wellington pitch. And finally, as his sixth Gilchrist hit the second-fastest Test century of that time in the 3rd test of England’s tour of Australia in 2006. He smashed a 57-ball century which was the second-fastest after Sir Vivian Richards in tests then. This century of his still is the fourth fastest test ton of all time.
3. David Warner, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum – 4 centuries:
Three batters have scored four centuries in under 100 balls and share the third spot on this list. These batters are David Warner, Chris Gayle, and Brandon McCullum. David Warner scored his first against India at Perth in 2012, where he smashed a 69-ball century. His second came as a 93-ball ton against South Africa in 2012. Warner’s third was an 82-ball ton against West Indies at Sydney in January 2016. He scored his fourth and last century in less than 100 balls against Pakistan at Sydney. In this 3rd test of the Pakistan tour of Australia, Warner got to his century in just 78 balls.
Brendon McCullum opened his account of test centuries in less than 100 balls with a 94-ball century against Zimbabwe at Harare in August 2005. Then in late 2015, he smashed a 78-ball century against Pakistan and a 74-ball century against Sri Lanka in the gap of just a month. In February 2016, Brendon McCullum claimed the record of the fastest test century of all time against Australia. He got to his century in just 54 balls surpassing Vivian Richards‘s 56-ball ton.
Chris Gayle scored two of his four centuries under 100 balls against South Africa. He first smashed a 79-ball century at Cape Town in January 2004 and then a 96-ball ton at St. John’s in May 2005. Apart from these two, Gayle scored one in 80 balls in the 4th test of the West Indies tour of England in August 2004. His fastest test century came against Australia at Perth in December 2009 when he scored a 70-ball century.
4. Ian Botham, Shahid Afridi – 3 centuries:
Two players share the fourth spot in this list. Ian Botham and Shahid Afridi pulled off this feat of scoring a test century in less than 100 balls three times each. Ian Botham scored an 86-ball century and an 87-ball century against Australia in 1981. His third and final one came in August 1983 when he scored a 99-ball century against New Zealand.
Shahid Afridi has scored two 78-ball centuries in his career. He scored one against West Indies at Bridgetown in May 2005 and the other against India at Lahore in January 2006. Afridi’s third century under 100 balls also came against India in the 2nd test of the India tour of Pakistan in January 2006. He scored a 99-ball century in this drawn match held at Faisalabad.
5. Ross Taylor – 2 centuries:
Ross Taylor has hit a test century in less than 100 balls on two occasions in his career. Taylor did it for the first time in the 2nd test of Australia’s tour of New Zealand at Hamilton in March 2010. He scored 138 off 104 in the 1st innings getting to his century off just 81 deliveries. Taylor pulled it off again in September 2012 by hitting a 99-ball century in the first innings of the 2nd test between India and New Zealand at Bengaluru.
