Cricket has been played by so many great players and more specifically so many great batsmen. There have been batsmen who have scored runs in one format but failed in another. Only a few have been successful across all formats and performed well. Scoring a century is not an easy task. It requires a lot of concentration, dedication, and commitment. In this list, we will look at the top 5 players with the most centuries in international cricket across all formats.
Sadly, many legends and great players have missed out on this. Yet, the ones who have been able to achieve this feat of being in the top 5 players with centuries across all formats are truly legends of the game and something that cannot be denied. You could have liked these players or hated these players but surely you couldn’t have ignored these great players.
1. Sachin Tendulkar (100 centuries) (India)
Sachin Tendulkar is the most decorated player to have ever played the game. There are people who do not know about cricket but know about Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar was born in 1973 and made his debut in 1989 at the young age of 16. He has had a 24-year long career at the top, having retired only in 2013. Tendulkar has scored a 100 international centuries in 664 matches and 782 innings. He has had a career highest of 248 not out and has also scored 164 half centuries. He scored the first ever 200 in Men’s ODIs and it is considered one of the Greatest Innings of Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virat Kohli (77 centuries and counting) (India)
One of the best batsmen in world cricket right now, Kohli is expected to score many more centuries and maybe even reach the number 1 spot. Virat Kohli started his career in 2008 and has now played for 10 years. Kohli is expected to play for another 3-4 years and can surely attain the number 1 spot on this list. Kohli has 77 centuries to his name in a total of 510 matches and 566 innings. He has the highest score of 254* and has also scored 134 fifties till now. He completed 13,000 runs in the ODI and became the fastest to do so. He already scored close to 26,000 runs in his international career.
3. Ricky Ponting (71 centuries) (Australia)
Ricky Ponting is one of the most dangerous batsmen to have played the game. The world cup winning captain is also as per statistics the best captain in cricket till date. Ponting was the captain of a very strong Australian side that went on to dominate cricket for quite some time. It remains one of the strongest and feared teams in cricketing history. Ricky Ponting's captaincy record is exceptional with a win percentage of 77% in ODIs and 62% in Test Cricket. Ponting who was born in 1974 started his career with Australia in 1995 (the same time as Kallis did with South Africa). He retired in 2012 having played for 17 years. Ponting has scored 71 international centuries in 560 matches and 668 innings. He has also scored 146 half centuries with a career-best score of 257.
4. Kumar Sangakkara (63 centuries) (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara has the 4th highest number of centuries in cricket. He is perhaps one of the most underrated and underappreciated players having played cricket. He was also the captain of the team that lost to India in the 2011 world cup final. Sangakkara was born in 1977 and made his debut in 2000. He has a relatively shorter career in comparison to other players having played the game for 15 years, retiring in 2015. Having started his career a little late, Sangakkara has played in 594 matches. In a total of 666 innings, he has scored 63 centuries and 153 half centuries. He has the highest score of 319 and is considered one of the best test knocks of Sangakkara.
5. Jacques Kallis (62 centuries) (South Africa)
Arguably the best all-rounder to have played cricket, Jacques Kallis comes fourth in our list of the most international centuriesKallis was born in 1975 and started his career in 1995. He went on to play till 2014, having played the game for 19 years. Over the course of his 19-year career, Kallis played a total of 519 matches and 617 innings scoring 62 centuries. He had the highest score of 224 and went on to score 149 half-centuries for his country.
Must Read | Most half centuries in ODI Cricket
