Hitting a century in an ICC tournament is a big deal but at the same time a tough one for any cricketer in the world. The stakes are high, and the competitiveness at its peak in a tournament of that magnitude. And if a player manages to score multiple centuries at such a grand stage, he can surely claim to have a successful cricketing career. That is exactly why some of the best cricketers on the planet are entitled to be greats. Today we will be looking at such great players to have scored the most centuries in ICC tournaments.
Which players have the most centuries in ICC tournaments?
#6 Joe Root – 7 centuries:
Joe Root holds sixth place in this list with seven centuries in ICC tournaments. Root’s first century in an ICC tournament came in the Pool A match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 against Sri Lanka. He scored 121 off 108 deliveries to help England post a total of 309, which Sri Lanka chased successfully. He scored his second against Bangladesh in the 1st match Group A match of ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Chasing 306, Joe Root smashed an unbeaten 133 off 129 to guide England to an eight-wicket win.
Joe Root hit two centuries in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. First, he scored 107 off 104 delivery against Pakistan in the 6th match of the World Cup. Unfortunately, England lost this match despite his efforts. Root then scored another against West Indies in the 19th match. He smashed an unbeaten 100 off 94 balls to help register an easy win for England. The last three of his seven centuries in ICC tournaments came in the World Test Championship. He scored a double century against India and a double century, and a century against Sri Lanka.
#5 David Warner – 7 centuries:
David Warner has also scored seven centuries in ICC tournaments. Warner’s first century in an ICC tournament came against Afghanistan in the Pool A match of World Cup 2015. He thrashed the Afghan bowling line-up with his unbeaten 178 off 133 deliveries. Warner then scored three more centuries in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He first scored a 107 against Pakistan, then a 166 against Bangladesh, and 122 against South Africa. David Warner has also scored three centuries in the ICC World Test Championship. He scored a 154 and a 335 in back-to-back tests against Pakistan in 2019. His last century in an ICC tournament was an unbeaten 111 in the 3rd test against New Zealand in 2020.
#4 Sachin Tendulkar – 7 centuries:
The Great Sachin Tendulkar stands at the number four spot with seven centuries. Interestingly all his centuries came in ODI ICC Trophies, with six of them in World Cups. Sachin scored two centuries in the World Cup 1996. He first scored an unbeaten 127 against Kenya and another unbeaten 137 against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar then scored an unbeaten 141 in the quarter-final of Wills International Cup 1998, a.k.a. ICC Champions Trophy 1998.
Sachin Tendulkar hit his next century in an ICC trophy against Kenya in the World Cup 1999, where he smashed an unbeaten 140 off just 101 balls. His fifth came against Namibia in World Cup 2003, where he scored 152. Finally, he scored two more in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, first a 120 against England and then a 111 against South Africa to wrap up his seven.
#3 Chris Gayle – 7 centuries:
The Universe Boss takes the number three spot in this list with seven centuries. Chris Gayle registered his first ICC tournament century against Kenya in the 42nd match of ICC World Cup 2003, where he scored 119 off 151 balls. His next three came in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006. He smashed an unbeaten 104 against Bangladesh, a 101 against England, and an unbeaten 133 against South Africa in the second semi-final.
Chris Gayle then scored his fifth in the opening match of the inaugural ICC World T20 against South Africa in 2007. For his sixth, Gayle smashed a 215 off just 147 balls against Zimbabwe in the Pool B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Interestingly this score of his is the second highest in a World Cup to date. Gayle scored an unbeaten 48 ball 100 against England in World T20 2016 as his last century in an ICC tournament.
#2 Sourav Ganguly – 7 centuries:
Sourav Ganguly has also scored seven centuries in ICC tournaments, but he takes the second spot in this list because he has done it in just 34 ICC tournament matches. Ganguly smashed a 183 against Sri Lanka in ICC World Cup 1999 to open his account of centuries in ICC tournaments. He then scored two more in the ICC Champions Trophy 2000. Ganguly first scored an unbeaten 141 against South Africa in the semi-final and then a 117 against New Zealand in the final.
Sourav Ganguly scored his fourth ton in an ICC tournament against England in the ICC Champions Trophy 2002. He scored an unbeaten 117 in a successful run-chase. Ganguly’s last three centuries came in the ICC World Cup 2003, where he scored an unbeaten 112 against Namibia and an unbeaten 107 and 111 against Kenya in two different matches.
#1 Rohit Sharma – 11 centuries:
“The Hitman” Rohit Sharma tops the list of the most centuries in ICC tournaments with 11 centuries. Rohit hit five in ICC World Cup 2019, one in ICC World Cup 2015, one in ICC Champions Trophy 2017, and four in ICC World Test Championship. He opened his account with 137 against Bangladesh in the quarter-final of World Cup 2015. Rohit then went on to score one more against Bangladesh in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, where he smashed an unbeaten 123.
The ICC World Cup 2019 was the golden tournament for Rohit Sharma, where he became the first cricketer ever to score five centuries in a World Cup. He scored an unbeaten 122 against South Africa, 140 against New Zealand, 102 against England, 104 against Bangladesh, and 103 against Sri Lanka. However, this was not the end yet as he hit three more centuries against South Africa in 2019 and one more against England in 2021 in the ICC World Test Championship.
Even after stacking up 11 centuries in ICC tournaments, Rohit’s run still hasn’t come to a halt as he will most likely play both the next ODI World Cup and Test Championship.
