49-ball ton! Markram smashes fastest hundred in World Cup history

NEW DELHI: South Africa batter Aiden Markram smashed the fastest ODI World Cup hundred, scripting history in a mere 49 balls, here on Saturday. The 29-year-old reached the three-figure mark off 49 deliveries against Sri Lanka in their ODI World Cup 2023 opener match. The previous record was held by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien (50 balls against England in the 2011 World Cup). Markaram ended his inning on 106 off 54 deliveries, comprised of 14 boundaries and 3 maximums.

South Africa recorded three hundreds in a single innings during the match against Sri Lanka. The Pro-teas equalled its own record for the most ODI hundreds in a single innings while marking the first in-stance of three centuries in an innings in a World Cup match. South Africa opener Quinton de Kock slammed a ton before number three Rassie van der Dussen followed up with his maiden World Cup cen-tury. They were complemented by Markam. South Africa is the only team to have struck three hundreds in an ODI innings, having previously achieved the feat twice in 2015 against West Indies and India. Eng-land is the only other team to have hosted three hundreds in an innings, against the Netherlands in 2022 where it recorded the highest-ever ODI total (498/4). South Africa broke the record of Australia from 2015 with a mammoth 428 for five against Sri Lanka. Agencies

FASTEST HUNDREDS IN WORLD CUP:

e Aiden Markram off 49 balls - South Africavs Sri Lanka - Delhi, 2023 (Final Score: 108)

e Kevin O’Brian off 50 balls - Ireland vs England - Bangalore, 2011 (Final Score: 113)

e Glenn Maxwell off 51 balls - Australia vs Sri Lanka - Sydney, 2015 (Final Score: 102)

e AB de Villiers off 52 balls - South Africa vs West Indies - Sydney, 2015 (Final Score: 162*)

e Eoin Morgan off 57 balls - England vs Afghanistan - Manchester, 2019 (Final Score: 148*)

e Mathew Hayden off 66 balls - Australia vs South Africa - Basseterre, 2007 (Final Score: 101)

e John Davison off 67 balls - Canada vs West Indies - Centurion, 2003 (Final Score: 111)

e Paul Stirling off 70 balls - Ireland vs Netherlands - Kolkata, 2011 (Final Score: 101)

e Kumar Sangakkara off 70 balls - Sri Lanka vs England - Wellington, 2015 (Final Score: 117*)

e Adam Gilchrist off 72 balls - Australia vs Sri Lanka - Bridgetown, 2007 (Final Score: 149)

e Kumar Sangakkara off 73 balls - Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - Melbourne, 2015 (105*)

e Shaiman Anwar off 79 balls - UAE vs Ireland - Brisbane, 2015 (Final Score: 106)

e Brendan Taylor off 79 balls - Zimbabwe vs Ireland - Hobart, 2015 (Final Score: 121)

THREE 100S IN AN ODI INNINGS:

Team Against Venue Date Centurions

SA WI Johannesburg 18-Jan-15 H Amla, R Rossouw, AB de Villiers

SA India Mumbai WS 25-Oct-15 Q de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers

Eng Netherlands Amsteleevn 17-Jun-22 P Salt, D Malan, J Buttler

SA SL Delhi 7-Oct-23 Q de Kock, R van der Dussen, A Markram

HIGHEST TOTALS IN WORLD CUPS:

428/5 - South Africa vs Sri Lanka in New Delhi in 2023

417/6 - Australia vs Afghanistan in Perth in 2015

413/5 - India vs Bermunda in Port of Spain in 2007

411/4 - South Africa vs Ireland in Canberra in 2015

408/5 - South Africa vs West Indies in Sydney in 2015

ALso Read: Afghanistan shock Sri Lanka in warm-up tie at the ACA Stadium

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