Top 6 fastest Test tons since 2000
David Warner gave fans a memorable treat after his rare feat of reaching a century before lunch on Day 1 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, Warner’s century off 78 balls isn’t even in the top 10 fastest Test tons. And this is a sheer testimony of the fact that the game has undergone a paradigm shift is evident from the fact that a majority of the tons in a list of fastest hundreds has come this side of the millennium.
There were some gems from the previous millennium too, like the one by Sir Vivian Richards, the second fastest Test ton which came off just 56 balls. However, thanks to T20 cricket and the fearless approach to batting, the bar is getting higher and higher. Players like Warner, Virender Sehwag and Brendon McCullum have a lot to do with this.
This would be a good time to look at the fastest Test tons scored since 2000. 6 out of the top 10 and 13 out of the top 20 have been scored since 2000. Let’s see who scored the top 6 of these, as these make it to the top 10 all-time fastest Test tons as well.
#6 Chris Gayle – 70 balls, Perth 2009
It was one of West Indies’ better tours in the new millennium and they had a genuine opportunity to draw the series in the third Test, trailing Australia 0-1. Australia posted 520 and in reply, Gayle played a breathtaking knock of 102, with 9 fours and six sixes. As a result, West Indies managed to score 312, conceding a deficit of 208. Australia chose to bat and were all out for 150 setting West Indies an achievable target of 359 runs.
West Indies did a pretty fine job of it making 323 but eventually lost by just 35 runs. Gayle was equally severe on all bowlers, reaching his half-century in just 34 balls with a six against Clint McKay and then smashing Nathan Hauritz for two more monster sixes. When Gayle was out, West Indies had scored 136 in just 24 overs, Gayle scoring 102 of them!