Top 10 Fastest centuries in T20s

Top 10 Fastest centuries in T20s: The advent of T20 cricket has firmly shifted the advantage towards the batsmen, who had tougher time during the 80s and 90s. Shorter boundaries, thicker bats, and fielding restrictions have made things tougher for the bowlers, who are at the receiving end of the batsmen’s wrath more often than. And as far as the batsmen are concerned, the T20 format kick-started the modern day batting style, with the likes of David Warner and AB de Villers incorporating the techniques used in the shortest formats in the longer formats too. With so many hard hitters and fearless batsmen playing around the world, no record for the fastest fifties and centuries is safe. Here are the Top 10 Fastest centuries in T20s: 10. Loots Bosman – 41 balls: Loots Bosman. (Photo Source: ESPNcricinfo Ltd) Loots Bosman can be considered as one of the first ever players to be considered as a specialists in this format. A player known for his exploits at the top of the order, he purely made it to the South African national team as a T20 specialist. And this one was the break-through innings which grabbed many eyeballs. In 2004-05’s Standard Pro20 series, Bosman smashed a 41-ball hundred, the then second quickest in the format, against Eagles. His carnage was such that, he singlehandedly drove Lions to 150 within 12 overs. He was eventually dismissed for 104, not before putting him within the sights of the national selectors. Also Read – Top 10 fastest centuries in T20 Internationals 9. David Willey – 40 balls: David Willey. (© Getty Images) Yes, you have read it right. David Willey, the English international cricketer who is the new-ball bowler in the shorter formats, has made a T20 century. And what’s more, it came in just 40 balls, the 9th fastest of all time! Son of former cricketer Peter Willey, he is a perfect mould for the shorter formats, and that includes him being more than handy with the ball. Coming in as an opener for Northamptonshire while chasing a modest 166 in the NatWest Blast quarterfinal, Willey, according to his own words, “Got a decent bat, managed to get hold a few”. Which ended up him getting a T20 century in 40 balls, the fastest of the tournament. He was dismissed on the very next ball after reaching his century. 8. Ahmed Shahzad – 40 balls: Ahmed Shehzad. (Photo Source: BPL T20) Chasing a mighty 185 in the semi finals, Duronto had it’s task cut out to reach the finals of the inaugural edition of the prestigious T20 tournament held in Bangladesh. And Ahmed Shahzad, a quirky youngster who’s resemblance to Virat Kohli wasn’t missed, elevated himself to hog the international limelight with a sublime century for the occasion, in just 40 balls. A tournament known for being low scoring, scoring a century was a rarity, and for it coming at just 40 balls is something else all together. Shahzad completely overshadowed the efforts of Rahim and Ervine of Barisals, and helped Duronto to storm through the target in just 16 overs. 7. Craig Simmons – 39 balls: Craig Simmons. (© Getty Images) Not many would have heard the name CJ Simmons, who is a journeyman having played just about 50 recognized matches in his entire career. But he had his moment of glory, perhaps his greatest moment yet, at the WACA in the 2013 edition of the Big Bash tournament. He made his century in just 39 balls, and etched his name into the record books forever for making the fastest ever T20 century in Australia. His efforts helped his team narrowly beat Adelaide Strikers, and rightfully, he was the player of the match. Currently, his involvement in cricket is limited to Big Bash tournament, wherein he plays for Adelaide Strikers. 6. David Miller – 38 balls: David Miller. (Photo Source: BCCI) David Miller was yet another IPL prospect to be selected for international team based on performances in the IPL, and this knock was an indication of what kind of a player the southpaw was. With the team reeling at 64/4 chasing 191, Miller unleashed a carnage of an innings rarely seen while chasing in a T20 match. Yes, it wasn’t a chance-less inning. But considering that the century came in just 38 deliveries, and more importantly, for a winning cause, makes such small glitches within the innings negligible. The fact that the innings overshadowed a “Gayle-storm” 94, shows how devastating the knock really was. 5. Scott Styris – 37 balls: Scott Styris. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Perhaps the most unlikely name on this list, Scott Styris was never considered to be in the same league of his former teammate Craig McMillan or Nathan Astle as far as hard hitting is concerned. But in a roll-back-down-the-years kind of knock, Styris, even at this ripe age, smashed the Glouchestershire bowlers all over the park. In the process, he bagged his second T20 century, but this one coming at a freakish 37 balls. Despite some fightback from the Glouchestershire batsmen, the target of 231 set by Sussex was too big, as they fell short by 39 runs. 4. Yusuf Pathan – 37 balls: Yusuf Pathan scored his century in 37 balls. (Photo Source: Indian Premier League) Yusuf Pathan, the elder Pathan brother, came into limelight with his excellent performances in domestic cricket and IPL. Known for his off-spinners and pinch hitting, the very second match of the 2010 edition of the IPL saw what kind of damage he could do. With all hopes of chasing down 213 down and out, Yusuf came out all guns blazing, and with every hit gave renewed hopes of a miracle victory. It was his day that not only he smashed the-then IPL’s fastest century, it took a freak run-out to dismiss him. His heroics eventually went down in vain as Mumbai managed to sneak past by just 4 runs. 3. Joost van der Westhuizen – 35 balls: Joost van der Westhuizen. (Photo Source: ICC) The only international knock getting featured in this list, ironically, came in an unofficial T20I between Namibia and Kenya. A youngster back then, van der Westhuisen buried away the Kenyan bowlers. He single handedly drove Namibia to an extremely good 228, out of which he scored a humongous 145. Such was his effort, that he scored 145 off just 50 balls, consisting of 12 hits over the park. Additionally, the next highest score from his own team was 22. Kenya, despite the efforts from their openers, fell short by 50 runs. 2. Andrew Symonds – 34 balls: Andrew Symonds. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A batsman who can lord upon any bowling attack on his day, Andrew Symonds played a knock which sent out signs of things to come from this format. Chasing a modest 156 in the-then named T20 Cup, Symonds showed no mercy, hammering 112 out of the 157 runs scored while chasing. None of the bowlers were spared, with each of them ending up with economy rate >10. His 34-ball century stood the test of time, until the arrival of a certain Jamaican. 1. Chris Gayle – 30 balls: Chris Gayle. (Photo Source: Getty Images) While the likes of Virender Sehwag and Shahid Afridi were known to be tailor made for the format, it was the big Jamaican who made the format his own. A guy with astonishing 8000+ runs, 16 centuries in the T20 format, Chris Gayle can perhaps lay his claim as the greatest ever T20 player. And this knock, against a hapless Pune Warriors, exemplified his stature as one of the most devastating batsmen of all time. He scored a mind-blowing 175 in that match, a record figure, coming off just 66 runs. Also, he reached his century in just 30 deliveries, shattering Symonds’ then record of 34 deliveries. A record which can stand the test of time, the only player amongst current crop capable of breaking it is perhaps Gayle himself, and a certain AB de Villers. Nevertheless, this knock will be forever remembered for it’s destructiveness. Also Read – Top 10 Fastest centuries (by balls received) in Recognized cricket (All Stats Updated Till 6th July 2016)

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Top 10 Fastest centuries in T20s

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