There have been some beautiful innings, but none better than these T20 international centuries… many of which occurred in barely a handful of overs.
Twenty20 cricket is everything old heads think the young mind desires; short & sweet. As opposed to the five days it takes Test cricket, the sport’s traditional format, to reach a result, T20 cricket is over in a matter of hours.
When time is short, it can’t be wasted. There is no time to settle into a T20 innings. Runs are needed, and they’re needed now, not in a few overs. It’s why player averages dip significantly in T20 cricket, where the best currency is the speed of runs, rather than volume.
And it’s also why some of cricket’s fastest centuries ever have been scored in T20 Internationals. Players simply do not have the luxury of waiting for the bad balls, they must strike at all of them, and strike well.
For a fairer list, we’ve broken down the 10 fastest T20 International centuries by the number of balls faced. For example, three players have hit a T20 International century in 35 balls. Rather than list them as three separate entries, we feel it’s fairer to list them as one entry.
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The fastest T20 international centuries ever
10. 45 balls
Richard Levi, South Africa v New Zealand, 19 February 2012
Suryakumar Yadav, India v Sri Lanka, 7 January 2023
13 sixes! 13 sixes! That’s how many Richard Levi hit on his way to a 45-ball ton as his side downed New Zealand by 8 wickets.
Similarly, Suryakumar Yadav was instrumental in his side’s victory over Sri Lanka, though he hit a relatively paltry nine sixes in his innings, to go with seven fours.
9. 44 balls
Aritra Dutta, Singapore v Japan, 11 February 2024
Japan would’ve felt a score of 215 would get them over the line. In stepped Aritra Dutta, Singapore’s opening batsman who clocked his ton after 44 balls and, before going on to score 122.
8. 43 balls
Jean-Pierre Kotze, Namibia v Botswana, 20 August 2019
Quinton De Kock, South Africa v West Indies, 26 March 2023
The damage was already done by the time Jean-Pierre Kotze walked out to bat against Botswana. His side already had 120 runs on the board. This didn’t stop him swiftly causing more damage.
Another man familiar with the quick destruction of opposition is Quinton De Kock, one of the finest strikers of the ball in modern cricket.
7. 42 balls
Hazratullah Zazai, Afghanistan v Ireland, 23 February 2019
Liam Livingstone, England v Pakistan, 17 July 2021
Afghanistan batsman, Hazratullah Zazai, found or cleared the boundary rope a monstrous 27 times in his 42-ball ton, which led to his side’s 84-run victory. On the contrary, Liam Livingstone’s innings couldn’t get England over the line against Pakistan, though the fact he was able to do so against Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, makes it incredibly impressive.
6. 41 balls
George Munsey, Scotland v Netherlands, 16 September 2019
Shaheryar Butt, Belgium v Czech Republic, 29 August 2020
George Munsey’s 41-ball T20 century was exceptional. He finished on 127 of 56, sending exactly 25% of the balls he faced for six, a remarkable feat of power hitting if we’ve ever seen one.
For Belgium’s, Shaheryar Butt, a top-order collapse meant the middle-order batsman was essentially opening the batsman. He took his opportunity and ran with it, smacking one of the fastest centuries in T20 internationals.
5. 40 balls
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, Japan v South Korea, 15 October 2022
Ollie Hairs, Scotland v Italy, 24 July 2023
Japanese captain, Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming played in the innings of a lifetime for his 40-ball T20 international century, hitting 10 fours and 10 sixes. Scotland’s Ollie Hairs smashed 14 fours and eight sixes in his innings, that he ended unfinished on 127.
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4. 39 balls
Sivakumar Periyalwar, Romania v Turkey, 29 August 2019
Zeeshan Kukikhel, Hungary v Austria, 5 June 2022
Johnson Charles, West Indies v South Africa, 26 March 2023
West Indian batsman Johnson Charles hit his 39-ball T20 international century in the same game South African keeper-batsman, Quinten De Kock, hit one in 43 balls! What are the chances of that?
Sivakumar Periyalwar’s innings was pivotal in Romania downing Turkey by 173 runs, while Zeeshan Kukikhel’s innings ended one run short of 150 as Hungary beat Austria by four wickets.
3. 35 balls
David Miller, South Africa v Bangladesh, 29 October 2017
Rohit Sharma, India v Sri Lanka, 22 December 2017
Sudesh Wickramasekara, Czech Republic v Turkey, 30 August 2019
Batting at five in South Africa’s mammoth 83-run victory over Bangladesh, David Miller struck the ball without consideration for his opponents, hitting 18 boundaries in a remarkable innings.
Two months later, India’s Rohit Sharma hit 22 boundaries on his way to a 35-ball T20 ton which included an opening partnership of 165 runs with KL Rahul, who ended on 89 off 49, 29 runs less than Sharma’s final score of 118 despite Rahul facing six more balls.
Sudesh Wickramasekara, who also batted fifth for the Czech Republic in the innings he scored a 35-ball T20 century, smacked 18 boundaries as his nation registered a total of 278, enough for a 257-run victory.
2. 34 balls
Kushal Malla, Nepal v Mongolia, 27 September 2023
Nepal’s Kushel Malla was instrumental in his side’s victory over Mongolia, registering the second-fastest T20 international century at 34 balls, finding or clearing the boundary rope 20 times, not bad for an innings that ended up last 50 balls.
1. 33 balls
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Namibia v Nepal, 27 February 2024
Namibian batsman, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, broke the record for the fastest T20 international century with this mammoth knock against Nepal. Batting at number five, Loftie-Eaton’s innings contained 11 fours and eight sixes. To cap it off, he took 2/29 as Namibia won by 20 runs.
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