Top 10 Batsmen with most ODI centuries

Top 10 Batsmen with most ODI centuries: It is an amazing sight when a batsman raises his bat in the air to acknowledge the cheering crowd as well as his delighted teammates who get off their seats to applaud the stupendous batting effort. For any batsman, it is the ultimate feeling to reach this small yet important milestone. There is a sense of accomplishment in his mind. This sense of accomplishment in the mind motivates them to put forward much better performances in the future. Scoring a century is a very special achievement for any batsman. It denotes his batting skills and penchant for run scoring. Hitting centuries are not easy. Some are hit under difficult and challenging circumstances. However, some of the batsmen have mastered the art of converting their humble starts into the mighty three figures marks. Here we list down Top 10 Batsmen with most ODI centuries: 10. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 22: Chris Gayle. (© Getty Images) It would be insensible to underestimate Chris Gayle’s batting after judging him for his jovial personality. While at the crease, he can be the most disrespectful batsman in the world for the opposition. The thrusting Jamaican all-rounder has become a synonym for the phrase ‘monstrous six’ in modern day limited overs cricket. Gayle made his debut for West Indies against India at Toronto in 1999. Two years later he scored his first century against Kenya. From then onwards, he has scored 22 centuries in his career. Earlier this year, he also became only the 4th player to hit a double hundred in ODIs, the 1st to do so in World Cup cricket and the fastest. He unleashed his wrath by scoring 215 against the helpless Zimbabwe bowling attack at Canberra. Who are the batsmen fastest to 21 ODI hundreds? – Top 7 batsmen fastest to 21 ODI tons 9. Sourav Ganguly (India) – 22: Sourav Ganguly. (© Getty Images) Nobody can dispute the fact that he was a fearless batsman who played to his strengths and did not let the bowlers take advantages of his weakness. His cover drives were delightful. No wonder why he was called as the ‘God of off-side’. He enjoyed challenges as a batsman. Ganguly made his ODI debut in 1992 against West Indies but became a regular in the ODI squad only after 1996. He scored his first century about a year later against Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC). He made 113 in that match. Since then, he scored 22 centuries till the end of his career. 8. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 22: Tillakaratne Dilshan. (© Getty Images) Dilshan believes in the free-flowing style of batting. As an opener, he plays with relentless aggression and gives breezing starts to Sri Lanka. He seldom uses the defensive option and thrashes the bowler whenever allowed. He initially began as a middle order batsman after making his ODI debut in 1999 against Bangladesh but was later upgraded as an opener in the team. It took him little long to hit his first ODI century which came in the year 2006 when he scored 117 against the lowly Netherlands. Until now, he hit 22 centuries in 327 matches he has played in his career. 7. Hashim Amla (South Africa) – 23: Hashim Amla. (© Gallo Images/ Getty Images) Hashim Amla defines fluent stroke play. In a time when every opener wants to be an aggressor, Amla is an exception. He tends to operate smoothly without any rush. Starting out with back foot punches and wristy cuts, he paces his inning nicely after settling down to increase his strike rate gradually without even letting the opposition realize his threat. Amla debuted for South Africa in ODIs in the year 2008. This top order batsman has played in 140 matches and has scored 23 centuries till now. He has scored 6519 runs and is the fastest to do so, his highest ODI score being the 159 runs which came against Ireland at Canberra in the recently concluded in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. In recent years, he has become a prolific run scorer who promises to hit more centuries in coming years. 6. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 24: AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: BCCI) AB de Villiers is hailed as the most ‘complete’ batsman in the world. He made his ODI debut a decade ago. During the earlier years, AB de Villiers was not the inhuman, out of the world kind of batsman we know today. It took him close to two years to register his first ton. It was a patient 146 runs knock against West Indies at St, George. However, in the recent years, he has evolved rapidly as a batsman who plays the most illogical and mind boggling shots gracefully. De Villiers has scored 24 centuries until now in his flourishing career. His 31 ball 100 against West Indies at Johannesburg is the fastest century in the history of ODI cricket. 5. Kumara Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 25: Kumar Sangakkara. (© Getty Images) Kumara Sangakkara in unarguably the classiest left-hander to have ever played for Sri Lanka. A law student before he broke into the team, Sangakkara slowly emerged as a strong pillar in the Sri Lankan batting order for more than a decade. Sangakarra played in 404 ODI matches and scored 25 centuries in 380 innings. His highest individual score is 169 which came against South Africa in 2013. 4. Virat Kohli (India) – 27: Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI) Virat Kohli has become India’s most reliable batting talent in recent years. There has been no other batsman in India as well as the world who has scored runs in ODIs as consistently as he has done in his career so far. Kohli has been the star batsman for India since making his debut in 2008 as a 20-year-old batsman against Sri Lanka at Dambulla. He scored his first century in just his 14th ODI match against the same opposition he debuted in 2009. Since then, he has been unstoppable and has scored centuries regularly. Kohli also happens to be only the 5th batsman to score ODI century against all Test playing nations. Kohli now has 27 hundreds in ODI cricket after playing 177 innings and also completed 7000 runs in the format. 3. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 28: Sanath Jayasuriya. (© LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) Sanath Jayasuriya re-defined the role of an opener in One day cricket. Also known as the ‘Matara Mauler’, Jayasuriya relied on his extraordinary hand-eye co-ordination to play his stroke-filled dominating innings. Jayasuriya was an out and out basher of the ball who never thought twice before launching an assault on the opposition bowlers. His most memorable ODI performance has to be his 1996 World Cup heroics. Jayasuriya has scored 28 centuries in his career in the 445 ODIs he played in his career. His highest score being 189* against India at Sharjah. 2. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 30: Ricky Ponting. (© Getty Images) He is Australia’s best batsman of the modern era and only comes only second to Sir Don Bradman in term batting achievements. His batting technique was perfect and played with against all opposition under different conditions. This great batsman made his ODI debut against South Africa at Wellington in 1995. He hit his first century facing the Lankan bowlers at Melbourne, it was only the 12th match of his career. He scored 30 centuries in his ODI career spanning 17 long years. 1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 49: Sachin Tendulkar. (© MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) Sachin Tendulkar’s name features in most of the batting record in cricket. It is impossible to talk about cricket, especially batting, to be particular, without his name being mentioned. He has won numerous accolades for his matchless batting ability. He has scored an Everest of runs and leads other batsmen by a huge margin when it comes to scoring centuries in Test as well as in ODI format. Tendulkar made his ODI debut way back in the year 1989 against Pakistan. He is also the first batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs, a feat which he achieved against South Africa in 2010. He has scored a whopping 49 centuries his career spanning close to two and a half decades. Who are the batsmen who have hit most hundreds in winning causes? – Top 10 Batsmen with most ODI 100s on winning occasions (All Stats Updated Till 16th January 2017)

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Top 10 Batsmen with most ODI centuries

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