Since Universe Boss Chris Gayle scored the first century in a T20 Internationals fixture back in 2007, 84 different players have scored 109 centuries in the shortest format of the game. The 100-run mark was once considered insurmountable in the format, mainly because batsmen are expected to risk losing their wicket to maintain the strike rate. But the advent of league cricket and a new generation of stars exclusively specialising in the 20-over format has made scoring a century now a routine occurrence.
Despite the growth of hard hitters and specialist batsmen around the world, very few players have managed to score more than one century in T20 Internationals. Just 17 players have more than one hundred to their credit in the game’s 15-year history, with just five players scoring more than two centuries in their career.
Let’s take a look at five players with the most century-plus scores in T20 Internationals:
Glenn Maxwell – 3
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is considered one of the best power hitters in the world, with the 34-year-old establishing himself as one of the shortest format’s most valuable batsmen. A veteran of Australia’s limited-overs squad, Glenn Maxwell has scored three centuries and 10 half-centuries to amass 2159 runs in his career, with a terrific strike rate of 150.97.
Glenn Maxwell scored his 1st T20I century against Sri Lanka in September 2016, scoring an unbeaten 145-run knock in just 65 balls to propel the visitors to 263/3. It remains the highest total by a big-three country in the format. His second T20I century came against arch-rivals England at home in February 2018, when he helped Australia singlehandedly chase down the total with an unbeaten 103-run knock.
The third century was a special one for Glenn Maxwell, as he led Australia to their maiden T20I series win on Indian soil with an unbeaten 113-run knock in 55 balls.
Colin Munro – 3
The first batsman to score three international centuries in the T20 format, New Zealand’s Colin Munro became a regular presence for the Black Caps in limited-overs cricket over the years. Despite his mixed form in One-Day Internationals, Colin Munro was a prolific batsman in T20Is, scoring 1,734 runs in 65 games at a strike rate of 156.44.
All three of Colin Munro’s centuries were scored in 2017. Two of Colin Munro’s international centuries were at the Bay Oval in Tauranga – the first against Bangladesh and the second against West Indies. But the New Zealand player’s finest innings was in India, where he scored an unbeaten 109-run knock to level the series for the visitors.
Sabawoon Davizi – 3
Perhaps one of the most underrated players on the planet, Czech Republic’s Sabawoon Davizi has scored three centuries in the format to stand on level terms with other international greats. The 25-year-old all-rounder has scored 1093 runs in the shortest format of the game in the last three years, with a brilliant average of 43.72 and strike rate of 140.48.
After scoring a century against Malta in October 2019, Sabawoon Davizi returned to form last year by scoring two centuries in quick succession last year. With the ICC expanding the T20 World Cup to more nations, Sabawoon Davizi could soon make his name on the world stage.
Suryakumar Yadav – 3
Suryakumar Yadav became the latest player to join the list with his terrific knock in Rajkot last week. A late entrant to India’s T20 squad, Suryakumar Yadav has now become India’s main batsman in the format and has all the potential required to become the format’s all-time great. 2022 was truly the breakthrough year for the 32-year-old, as he smacked two centuries and nine half-centuries in 31 games to amass 1164 runs, climbing to the top of ICC’s batsman rankings.
Suryakumar Yadav’s first century came against England at Trent Bridge last year, where despite his heroic 117-run knock, India failed to chase down the high total set by the hosts. His second century came against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui, where his unbeaten 111-run knock propelled India to 191/6. But his finest performance was on display against Sri Lanka last week, with the Team Mumbai batsman scoring seven 4s and nine 6s to charm the audience.
Rohit Sharma – 4
India’s captain and hitman Rohit Sharma leads the list with four international centuries in T20s, the highest by any batsman in the history of the format. Apart from holding numerous records in the format, Rohit Sharma also holds the record for the fastest century in T20s – scoring a hundred runs in just 35 balls.
Rohit Sharma’s first T20I century came against South Africa in October 2015, when he became the second Indian batsman to achieve the feat after Suresh Raina. His third and fourth T20I centuries came against England and West Indies respectively in 2018, with the opener remaining not-out in both innings.
But Rohit Sharma’s finest innings came against Sri Lanka in December 2017, where he hit twelve 4s and ten 6s to reach the 100-run mark in just 35 balls, equalling the record for the fastest century held by David Miller. Rohit Sharma’s innings took India to 260/5 in 20 overs, the highest score for India in the format and the fourth-highest total in the format overall.
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