Swift hundreds: Batsmen with most Test centuries struck in less than 100 balls
Test cricket is considered the purest and the toughest format of the game. There are some cricketers, however, who did not fear mixing and matching the T20 approach in Test cricket, as they went about to hit the ball hard even in the format mostly known for attrition and defence. On that note, here are 5 cricketers who scored most Test centuries in less than 100 balls –
5. Ross Taylor – 2 centuries
Taylor managed to smash a century in less than 100 balls twice in his career. The first such occasion came against Australia at Hamilton in March 2010, when he reached a century in just 81 balls during his 104-ball 138 knock. The second instance was slower as compared to the previous one, as Taylor notched up a century in 99 balls against India in the Bengaluru Test in 2012.
4. Ian Botham, Shahid Afridi – 3 centuries
Botham scored two such centuries against Australia in 1981: at Manchester (86 balls) and Leeds (87 balls), before he got a 99-ball ton at Nottingham versus New Zealand in 1983.
Afridi, on the other hand, scored a 78-ball century against West Indies in the Bridgetown Test, 2005, and scored another in as many balls at Lahore in 2006 against India. He followed up with a 99-ball century at Faisalabad in the same series against India.
3. David Warner, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum – 4 centuries
Warner got two of them in 2012: against India at Perth (69 balls) and against South Africa at Sydney (93 balls). He got one in 82 balls in 2015 against West Indies in Sydney.
Gayle’s fastest century came against Australia during the 2009 Perth Test (70 balls). By then he already had a 79 and 80-ball Test ton against South Africa and England in 2003 and 2004 respectively. His fourth and last such incident came in 2004 against South Africa at St. Johns (96 balls).
McCullum’s first such century was a 94-ball ton at Harare against Zimbabwe in 2005. In 2014, he smacked a 74-ball and 78-ball ton against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at Christchurch and Sharjah respectively, before slamming a 56-ball ton at Christchurch against Australia, the fastest Test ton in Test history to this day.
2. Adam Gilchrist – 6 centuries
Gilchrist comes second on the list with six such efforts. He reached a ton in 84 balls against India at Mumbai in 2000, followed by a 91-ball ton against South Africa at Cape Town next year. Gilchrist achieved the feat twice in the 2003-04 season with a 94-ball century against England at Sydney and an 84-ball century against Zimbabwe at Perth.
In the immediately following year, he raced off to an 86-ball ton against New Zealand at Wellington, while the final instance was his quickest and fourth-quickest of all time: 57-ball century at Perth against England.
1. Virender Sehwag – 7 centuries
Sehwag tops the list with seven centuries. In the first instance, Pakistan was at the receiving end at Lahore in 2006, when he got a ton in 93 balls during his 247-ball 254. He smacked a 78-ball ton against West Indies at Gros Islet in 2006, while the third was an 87-ball century against Sri Lanka at Galle, 2008.
His fourth such Test ton came against the same opposition, this time in 97 balls at Kanpur, followed by an 87-ball century at Kolkata against South Africa and a 90-ball century against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The 7th and final instance was in the Ahmedabad Test, 2012 when Sehwag scored a ton against England in 90 balls.
