A century is considered a landmark score for any batsman on a large stage, such as at the international level, and a player’s number of centuries is usually recorded in their career statistics. In international cricket, a century is roughly equivalent to a five-wicket or 10-wicket haul and is commonly referred to as a ton or hundred. Top-order batsmen have a better chance of hitting a century because they get to play more balls. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most centuries scored in international cricket. Here’s a list of cricketer who has scored most centuries in their international cricket career.
List Of Top 10 Players With Most Centuries In International Cricket (Most hundreds)
Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer in history to have scored 100 international centuries. Ricky Ponting comes second with 71 centuries, and the former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, sits third with 70 centuries in terms of the overall most centuries in international cricket. Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar has 100 centuries in his 24-year long cricket career, while Ricky Ponting has 71 centuries in 17 years and former Indian captain Virat Kohli has 70 centuries in just 13 years still a lot more to come as he is the active player.
| Rankings | Players with most hundreds | Matches | Career Runs | Batting Average | No. of Centuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sachin Tendulkar | 664 | 34,357 | 48.52 | 100 |
| 2. | Ricky Ponting | 560 | 27,483 | 45.95 | 71 |
| 3. | Virat Kohli | 463 | 23,726 | 53.55 | 70* |
| 4. | Kumar Sangakkara | 594 | 28,016 | 46.77 | 63 |
| 5. | Jacques Kallis | 519 | 25,534 | 49.10 | 62 |
| 6. | Hashim Amla | 349 | 18,672 | 46.56 | 55 |
| 7. | Mahela Jayawardene | 652 | 25,957 | 39.15 | 54 |
| 8. | Brian Lara | 430 | 22,358 | 46.28 | 53 |
| 9. | Rahul Dravid | 509 | 24,208 | 45.41 | 48 |
| 10. | AB de Villiers | 420 | 20,014 | 48.11 | 47 |
1. Sachin Tendulkar, 100 Centuries
Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as the greatest batsman in international cricket history, began his international career at the age of 16 in a test match against Pakistan in Karachi. In 1990, he scored his first international century in a test match against England at Old Trafford in Manchester, kicking off a career that has seen him score the most international centuries in cricket to date. In his 24-year cricket career, he has scored the most centuries by a batsman, with 51 centuries in Test matches and 49 in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar has never scored a century in T20 international cricket, having scored only 10 runs in his first and only T20I against South Africa in 2006.
2. Ricky Ponting, 71 Centuries
Ricky Ponting is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time. No other Australian has scored more Test runs only Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have scored more Test runs and only Tendulkar has scored more Test centuries. Between 2004 and 2011, he was the most successful captain in international cricket history, with 220 wins in 324 matches under his captaincy with a winning percentage of 67.91%.
His first international century came in the One-Day International format. In a 1996 Tri-series, his 138-ball 123 helped Australia post 213/5 against Sri Lanka. The Australians, on the other hand, were defeated by three wickets. Ponting’s maiden Test century came against England in the 1997 Leeds Test when his 202-ball 127 helped Australia reach 300 after being reduced to 50/4 early in the match. His efforts fueled the visitors’ match-winning total of 501/9. Ponting, like Sachin Tendulkar, retired from international cricket without scoring a century in T20 international cricket. Ricky Ponting retired as the second-most prolific batsman in terms of total international runs and centuries, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar. Ricky Ponting, a true legend of the game, even he played in the IPL, though not with much individual success.
3. Virat Kohli, 70 Centuries*
Virat Kohli has 70 centuries in just 463 innings. He has 43 hundreds in ODIs and 27 centuries in Test cricket. He is the only active player in international cricket with the most hundreds. The king of cricket has scored 23,726 runs in international cricket, making him only the third Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, to reach that milestone. Virat scored his first international century against Sri Lanka in 2009. With a target of 316 to chase in 50 overs, the daring batter hit a 114-ball 107 alongside Gautam Gambhir (150 not out) to propel India to a seven-wicket victory in Kolkata.
His 133* off 86 balls against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012 helped India chase down a challenging target of 321 in just 36.4 overs. Another gem from Virat Kohli in ODI cricket is the 183 runs he scored against rival Pakistan in the Asia Cup in 2012. Kohli had to wait for seven matches for his first Test century. The knock of 116 off 213 balls came in a 298-run loss to Australia in Adelaide. Virat Kohli last scored a century in international cricket on November 23, 2019. It was against Bangladesh in the historic Pink Ball Test in Kolkata, where he scored 136.
4. Kumar Sangakkara, 63 Centuries
Kumar Sangakkara has 63 international centuries, placing him fourth on the list of the Most Centuries in International Cricket. The Sri Lankan legend had one of the greatest international cricket careers of all time, playing 134 Test matches for his country and scoring 12,400 runs at an astounding average of 57.4. In his cricketing career, he scored 63 centuries and 153 half-centuries. Kumar Sangakkara is the fastest man to score 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 (jointly held), 11,000, and 12,000 runs in Test cricket. Kumar Sangakkara, like other legends, played 56 Twenty20 International (T20I) matches between 2006 and 2014, but he never scored a century; his best score in the format is 78. Sangakkara announced his retirement from Test cricket on June 27, 2015.
5. Jacques Kallis, 62 Centuries
Jacques Kallis is a South African cricket coach and former player. He is one of the greatest cricketers of all time, and as South Africa’s greatest batsman ever, he is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium swing bowler. South African right-handed batsman Jacques Kallis scored 62 centuries in a 19-year career, 45 in Tests and 17 in ODIs. Jacques Kallis is a modern-day powerhouse, having scored over 10,000 runs and taken over 250 wickets in both forms of the game. In one-day international cricket, right-handed batsman Jacques Kallis scored his maiden century in January 1998, bringing total 111 against New Zealand. In December 1995, Kallis made his Test debut against England. Just over two years later, in his seventh Test match, he scored his first Test century, making 101 against Australia.
After playing in the second test against India in Durban in December 2013, he retired from Test and first-class cricket. In this match, he scored his 45th Test century, making him one of the few batsmen to score a century in his final Test. On July 30, 2014, he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
Conclusion
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