Scoring 50 centuries in international cricket is no mean feat. It requires years of hard work and consistency to get past this landmark.
Thus far, only 10 batters have managed to score as many centuries across formats combined. But who among them is the fastest to get there?
So here’s a look at the fastest batters to score 50 international centuries.
Fastest to 50 International Centuries across Formats
| Rank | Player | Team | Innings to 50 International Centuries | Milestone Opponent | Year | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Joint) | Virat Kohli | India | 348 | Sri Lanka | 2017 | Kolkata | Eden Gardens |
| 1 (Joint) | Hashim Amla | South Africa | 348 | Sri Lanka | 2017 | Centurion | SuperSport Park |
| 3 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 376 | Zimbabwe | 2000 | Nagpur | VCA Ground |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 418 | South Africa | 2006 | Durban | Kingsmead |
| 5 | Joe Root | England | 455 | Sri Lanka | 2024 | London | Lord’s |
| 6 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 465 | Australia | 2005 | Adelaide | Adelaide Oval |
| 7 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 520 | India | 2010 | Nagpur | VCA Stadium |
| 8 | Rohit Sharma | India | 535 | Australia | 2025 | Sydney | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 9 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 593 | Bangladesh | 2014 | Chittagong | Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium |
| 10 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 667 | Bangladesh | 2014 | Dhaka | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium |
Fastest to Every 5X ODI Centuries
Key Insights on Fastest Batters to 50 International Centuries
Quickest to 50 International Centuries by Innings and Time
Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla are the joint fastest batters to score 50 centuries by innings in international cricket. Both batters took 348 innings each for India and South Africa, respectively.
Kohli, however, is the fastest to 50 international centuries in terms of time taken from debut. He needed nine years and 91 days from his debut in August 2008.
Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, is the slowest by time, taking 18 years and 125 days from his debut in June 2007 to score his 50th ton.
Sachin Tendulkar, second on the list, became the first-ever batter to score 50 international centuries in 2000. He scored an unbeaten 201 off 281 balls against Zimbabwe in the first innings of the Nagpur Test.
Fastest to Every Test Century Milestone
Youngest and Oldest to 50 International Centuries
Tendulkar was 27 years and 215 days old when he brought up his 50th hundred. This made him the youngest batter to score 50 international centuries.
Rohit, meanwhile, is the oldest batter to score 50 international centuries. He was 38 years and 178 days old when he smashed the landmark hundred (121* off 125) against Australia in the 2025 Sydney ODI. (Check out Rohit’s centuries here.)
Except for Tendulkar and Kohli, all other batters reached 50 hundreds after turning 30. Kohli was 29 years and 11 days old. (Check out Kohli’s Test centuries tally here.)
Format-specific 50th Century Records
As of now, Tendulkar is the only batter to score 100 centuries across formats combined. He brought up his 100th ton in 763 innings.
Tendulkar is also the lone batter to smash 50 Test centuries, with his landmark hundred coming in his 290th innings. He eventually ended up with 51 Test hundreds.
Kohli, meanwhile, is the fastest batter to score 50 ODI centuries, bringing up the milestone hundred in 279 innings. He smashed 117 off 113 balls against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup semi-final to go past Tendulkar’s ODI tally. (Check out Kohli’s ODI centuries tally here.)
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