5 batters with most hundreds in international cricket ft. Virat Kohli
Scoring a hundred in an international cricket match is a big achievement for any batter. Of course, cricket is a team game, but reaching three figures gives a batter a different kind of high. The same is evident in the pumped-up celebration of some cricketers after reaching the landmark.
Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for having scored the most hundreds of hundreds in the Test format. He played 200 Tests during his illustrious career and notched up as many as 51 centuries. If we talk about ODIs, another Indian batting star Virat Kohli holds the record. He has hit 50 hundreds in 295 ODIs. Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma jointly hold the T20I record, with five tons each.
On that note, let's take a look at the top five batters who feature on the list of players with the most number of hundreds in international cricket.
#5 Jacques Kallis (62)
South African legend Jacques Kallis occupies the fifth spot on the list of batters with the most hundreds in international cricket. The former Proteas all-rounder featured in 519 international matches (617 innings) and notched up 62 tons.
Kallis played 166 Tests and scored 13289 runs at an average of 55.37, with 45 hundreds and 58 fifties. The 48-year-old also featured in 328 ODIs, scoring 11579 runs at an average of 44.36, with 17 hundreds and 86 half-centuries.
Kallis played 25 T20Is but did not register a three-figure score. He notched up 666 runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike rate of 119.35, with five fifties, which included a best of 73.
#4 Kumar Sangakkara (63)
Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara is fourth of the list of batters with the most hundreds in international cricket. He played 594 matches (666 innings) in which he notched up 63 centuries.
Sangakkara featured in 134 Test matches, amassing 12400 runs at an average of 57.40, with 38 hundreds and 52 half-centuries. The former left-handed batter also had a stellar ODI record, scoring 14234 runs in 404 matches at an average of 41.98, which included 25 tons and 93 fifties.
Looking at his T20I record, Sangakkara featured in 56 matches and scored 1382 at an average of 31.40 and a strike rate of 119.55, with eight half-centuries. His best score in the format was 78.
#3 Ricky Ponting (71)
Aussie legend Ricky Ponting features in the top three on the famed list of batters with the most number of hundreds in international cricket. Ponting featured in 560 matches (668 innings) and notched up 71 hundreds.
The former Australian captain played 168 Test matches and scored 13378 runs at an average of 51.85. His stats included 41 hundreds and 62 half-centuries. The 49-year-old also featured in 375 ODIs and smashed 13704 runs at an average of 42.03, with 30 centuries and 82 fifties.
Ponting also played 17 T20Is, scoring 401 runs at an average of 28.64 and a strike rate of 132.78. He notched up two fifties in T20Is, with a best of 98*.
#2 Virat Kohli (80)
Former Indian captain Kohli is second on the list of batters with the most hundreds in international cricket. He has so far featured in 533 matches (591 innings) and has as many as 80 centuries to his name.
Kohli has so far been part of 113 Test matches and has scored 8848 runs at an average of 49.15, with 29 hundreds and 30 half-centuries. Looking at his stats in the one-day format, he has played 295 games and has amassed 13906 runs at an average of 58.18, with 50 hundreds and 72 fifties. Kohli is the first batter to hit 50 centuries in the ODIs.
The 35-year-old has also scored one hundred in T20I cricket, apart from 38 half-centuries. The right-handed batter retired from the format after the 2024 T20 World Cup. He played 125 T20Is, scoring 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 and an impressive strike rate of 137.04.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (100)
India's batting legend Tendulkar holds the unique distinction of being the only batter in world cricket to have notched up 100 international hundreds. He played a total of 664 matches (782 innings) in his international career and amassed 34357 runs at an average of 48.52.
Tendulkar played exactly 200 Tests and scored 15921 runs, averaging 53.78 with 51 hundreds and 68 fifties. He still holds the record for the batter with the most tons in the format. In ODIs, the 51-year-old played 463 matches and amassed 18426 runs at an average of 44.83, with 49 hundreds and 96 fifties. Tendulkar played only one T20I and scored 10 runs off 12 balls.