The Five Fastest 100s in T20I Cricket

The short and crisp manner of T20I cricket has often resulted in batters coming out all guns blazing and scoring runs at a faster pace. 

This fearless batting approach has helped batters accumulate staggering knocks off fewer balls. And the importance of such knocks is high in T20Is, isn’t it?

Batters scoring quick-fire fifties has become normal, but now they are going one step ahead and bringing up hundreds in record balls.

Here, in this article, we’ll list the 5 fastest 100s smashed by batters in T20I cricket.

5. Sudesh Wickramasekara (35 Balls) | Czech Republic vs Turkey, 2019

The Czech Republic were taking on Turkey in the sixth match of the 2019 Continental Cup. The Czech Republic won the toss and elected to bat first.

Their openers provided them with a blazing start, scoring 70 runs for the opening wicket. They lost 2 more wickets, adding 37 more runs.

Then came Sudesh Wickramasekara, who ripped apart Turkey’s bowling attack, smashing them for 8 fours and 10 sixes. The right-hand batter completed his hundred off 35 balls, making it the fastest T20I century by an associate batter at that time.

Wickramasekara’s rumbling helped the Czech Republic post a staggering 278 runs on the board.

4. Rohit Sharma (35 Balls) | India vs Sri Lanka, 2017

Another batter reached his ton in 35 balls, and he’s none other than Rohit Sharma. The Hitman was on song while leading India against Sri Lanka in the second T20I match of the 2017 series.

The Indian opener has a penchant for scoring huge knocks against Sri Lanka. Remember his 2 ODI double centuries against them?

It was just another day when Rohit went bonkers against his favourite opponent. Put into bat first, he opened the inning with KL Rahul and forged a formidable opening partnership of 165 runs.

Rohit launched a barrage of boundaries, tearing down the Sri Lankan bowling attack. In the meantime, he smashed the then joint-fastest ton, reaching the 100-run mark in 35 balls.

Eventually, he was dismissed on 118 runs, which included 12 fours and 10 maximums. Sharma’s blitzkrieg enabled India to score their highest T20I total of 260 runs.

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3. David Miller (35 Balls) | South Africa vs Bangladesh, 2017

Before Rohit Sharma’s rampage in December 2017, David Miller unleashed his beast against Bangladesh in October 2017. Batting first, South Africa were in a tricky situation on 78/3 at the halfway mark.

David Miller walked in at No. 5. The left-hander took some balls to settle down, but once he got hold of things, he started smashing the Bangladeshi bowlers to every corner.

Miller brought up his half-century in 23 balls, and then he flew off. He took just 12 balls to score the next 50 runs, completing his ton off 35 balls.

Miller remained unbeaten on 101, blasting 7 fours and 9 sixes, of which 5 came in consecutive deliveries in the 19th over.

2. Kushal Malla (34 balls) | Nepal vs Mongolia, 2023

Nepal’s Kusal Malla broke the joint record held by Miller, Rohit, and Wickramasekara in 2023. Nepal were up against Mongolia in the opening match of the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Mongolia, playing their first-ever T20I match, invited Nepal to bat first. But Mongolia had a forgettable outing as Nepal created record after record.

Nepal lost their first wicket on 42 runs, and Kushal Malla strode out on the crease. He started with a bang, scoring boundaries for fun.

Malla reached his fifty in 19 balls and raced to his century with a six on the 34th ball. Now Malla’s 34-ball 100 is the second-fastest century in T20I cricket.

1. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (33 balls) | Namibia vs Nepal, 2024

Just 5 months after Kushal Malla’s breathtaking knock, Nepal were on the receiving end as Namibia’s Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton shattered Malla’s record.

Both teams locked horns in the first match of the Nepal Triangular Series in February 2024. Namibia elected to bat first and posted 206 runs on the board, riding on the back of Loftie-Eaton’s blistering knock.

Coming to bat at No. 5 when Namibia were hanging in a fix on 62 for 3, Loftie-Eaton got to work immediately. The left-hander started dealing in fours and sixes, breaching the 50-run mark in 18 balls.

He didn’t stop there and continued his carnage, taking the Nepali bowlers to the cleaners. Loftie-Eaton hammered his century with a four, taking only 33 balls, making it the fastest hundred in T20I cricket.

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