Top 5 fastest ODI hundreds ever scored by an Indian captain — Ranked by balls faced
Here are the top five fastest centuries in the ODI cricket ever scored by the captain of the Indian men's cricket team as they have been ranked by the balls the batters have faced in the list.
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Scoring fastest hundreds in the ODIs isn’t an easy job. A batter will need to start aggressively, coming early in the innings and taking advantage of the first 10 overs, where only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard ring. India’s current captain of the ODIs, Shubman Gill, gets his name in the fifth position of the list as the Indian captain.
The 50-over formats always provide the best chance for batters to take their time in an innings, get settled as per the surface, conditions, and the opposition for the game, and then show their natural approach with the bat. For the top order batters, it becomes easier to tackle the situation.
Gill has been in tremendous form in the last couple of weeks. During the second qualifier of the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for the Gujarat Titans (GT) against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, the right-handed batter smashed a fine century to shoulder his side to their third final.
A week after the end of the tournament, he led the Indian side in the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the same venue and cracked a dashing knock of 126 runs to contribute to their biggest win in the history of red-ball cricket.
The Punjab-born followed it up with an unbeaten knock of 84 runs against the same opposition in Dharamsala during the opening ODI of the three-match series before smashing a fine knock of 154 runs off just 110 balls at a strike rate of 140, thanks to 22 boundaries and a pair of sixes.
At the start of his career, Gill wasn’t renowned for showing his aggressive batting. But over the years, as the eras have changed, the right-handed batter has developed his batting skills.
He got his name in the record book against Afghanistan through the supreme knock in the heat, the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, as the hosts joined South Africa in getting the most number (8) of 400s in the ODIs.
The full ranked list — Top 5 fastest ODI centuries by Indian captains in balls faced
India have always been blessed with their strong top order. They have several batters, who have used their aggression to smash the bowlers around the park in the ODIs and break some incredible records. Here is the list of the top five fastest ODI centuries by the Indian captains in terms of balls faced-
#5 Shubman Gill- 77 balls vs Afghanistan, Lucknow 2026
With India opting to go with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the opening position with Rohit Sharma, Gill had to demote himself to number three. Walking out to bat in the third over of the innings, the right-handed batter broke the jail with a flurry of boundaries around the park and celebrated his half-century off just 38 balls with a massive six. It was his sixth 50+ score in home ODIs since Jan 2024 out of seven innings.
See Also: Watch: Gill's one-handed catch — IND vs AFG 1st ODI 2026
In the previous game, Gill became the second-fastest to reach 3000 runs in the 50-over format. He continued the same style of batting in Lucknow against Afghanistan and brought up his ninth 50-over hundred in just 77 balls.
That became the fifth fastest century for India as the captain of the side in terms of balls being faced. That was also the fifth fastest ODI century against Afghanistan as his partner, Ishan Kishan, found himself in the third rank of the list in just 71 balls.
Gill, after smashing the third fastest ODI 150 for India off 108 balls, was dismissed on 154 runs in 110 balls, with the help of 22 boundaries and a pair of sixes as the national side ended up with 402 in 49.5 overs of the innings.
Brief Scores- India 402 (Shubman Gill 154, Ishan Kishan 125, Nangeyalia Kharoti 4/76) vs Afghanistan 232 (Rahmat Shah 79, Arshdeep Singh 3/45) by 170 runs.
#4 Rohit Sharma- 76 balls vs England, Cuttack 2025-
It was the second ODI game of the series between India and England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The visitors posted a good score of 304 runs, thanks to a couple of half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Joe Root and a late flourish from their lower order.
India needed a good start and someone to stay till the end of the chase to take them home. Rohit Sharma provided them with an aggressive start inside the power play. He smashed his 332nd six during the contest to overtake Chris Gayle in the ODIs and never backed down to celebrate the half-century off just 30 balls.
Despite losing two successive wickets in the contest, the opening batter kept nailing the spinners and pacers around the ground, creating massive pressure on the opposition captain to make several changes in the field.
See Also: From Manav Suthar to Rohit Sharma: Indian POTM on Test debut
Finally, he reached his 32nd century off just 76 balls with a huge six. He soaked up the applause by raising his bat. There was a lot of criticism going around due to his poor form in the longest format, but once it came to the ODIs, Rohit showed his class. He was dismissed for 119 runs off 90 balls at a strike rate of 132.22, thanks to 12 boundaries and seven sixes.
“It was good, really enjoyed being out there, scoring some runs for the team. Important game, series on the line. I broke it into pieces how I wanted to bat. It's a format that is longer than T20 cricket and a lot shorter than Tests.” The former Indian ODI captain expressed.
Brief Scores- India 308/6 (Rohit 119, Shubman Gill 60, Jamie Overton 2/27) beat England 304 (Joe Root 69, Ben Duckett 65, Ravindra Jadeja 3/35) by four wickets.
#3 Virat Kohli- 76 balls vs Sri Lanka, Colombo 2017
It was the fourth ODI of the five-match series in 2017 between Sri Lanka and India at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The visitors didn’t make a great start with the bat, losing Shikhar Dhawan on the ninth delivery of the innings. Walking at number three, Virat Kohli looked to be on a mission.
The right-handed batter put his feet on the accelerator early and celebrated his half-century off just 38 balls with a single as Rohit was only on 20 off 22 balls by then. Akila Dhananjaya put the Indian batting line-up under pressure on many occasions of the series, but Kohli’s eyes were telling a story.
See Also: Watch: "No idea how that happened" — Virat Kohli on his most adrenaline-charged IND vs PAK moment
It took the then Indian captain only 76 balls to reach his 29th ODI century with a boundary into the on-side as he raised his bat to thank the crowd. The veteran ended up with 131 runs off just 96 balls at a strike rate of 136.46, thanks to 17 boundaries and two sixes.
“It was one of the good games for us. We spoke about not getting complacent at any stage, and today was a clinical performance. Today was about doing things the way we wanted to do, and I think it is a very satisfying day.” Kohli noted at the end of the game.
Brief Scores- 375/5 (Virat Kohli 131, Rohit Sharma 104, Angelo Matthew 2/24) beat Sri Lanka 207 (Angelo Matthews 70, Kuldeep Yadav 2/31) by 168 runs.
#2 Virender Sehwag- 69 balls vs West Indies, Indore 2011
It was the famous ODI encounter between India and the West Indies in 2011 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, where the former Indian opening batter and the captain of the side for the game, Virender Sehwag, celebrated a double-hundred in the 50-over game.
It was only the second such score back then, followed by Sachin Tendulkar, who achieved the landmark in 2010 at Gwalior. Sehwag smashed the pacers, including Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul, around the ground and celebrated his century off just 69 balls. That was the fastest century by an Indian captain during that period.
See Also: Virender Sehwag and his wife Aarti divorced due to new BCCI President? Know full story
The Delhi-born ended up with 219 runs off just 149 balls at a strike rate of 146.98 with the help of 25 boundaries and seven sixes as India posted a huge score of 418/5 and earned a huge win by 153 runs.
Brief Scores- India 418/5 (Virender Sehwag 219, Gautam Gambhir 67, Andre Russell 1/63) beat West Indies 265 (Dinesh Ramdin 96, Rahul Sharma 3/34) by 153 runs.
#1 Rohit Sharma-63 balls vs Afghanistan, Delhi in 2023-
It was the clash between India and Afghanistan during the ODI World Cup 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. In the chase of 273 runs, the home side went off to a flying start thanks to Rohit, who notched up the joint-fastest 1000 runs in World Cups of just 19 innings. The right-handed batter celebrated his fifty in just 30 balls and continued the same aggressive approach.
In the blink of an eye, the veteran nailed the fastest century in the World Cups off just 63 balls. It was also the fastest century by an Indian captain in the ODIs as he followed it up with a six on the very next delivery. He was dismissed for 131 runs off 84 balls at a strike rate of 155.95, with 16 boundaries and five sixes.
With that century, Rohit went past Ricky Ponting’s 30 centuries in ODIs. It was also his seventh century in ODI WCs, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar’s six. It was also his 29th ODI century as the opener and the fifth fastest for India.
Brief Scores- India 273/2 (Rohit Sharma 131, Virat Kohli 55*, Rashid Khan 2/57) beat Afghanistan 272/8 (Hashmatullah Shahidi 80, Azmatullah Omarzai 62, Jasprit Bumrah 4/39) by eight wickets.
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