Most Centuries in ODI World Cup History
Scoring a century in an ODI World Cup is one of the toughest achievements in international cricket. Batters face the best bowling attacks in high-pressure matches where one poor performance can affect a team’s entire tournament. World Cup hundreds often become career-defining innings because they come on cricket’s biggest ODI stage and can decide group matches, knockout games and even finals.
Several legendary batters have built exceptional World Cup records, but Rohit Sharma stands above everyone for centuries. The Indian opener has scored seven ODI World Cup hundreds, one more than Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. Kumar Sangakkara, Virat Kohli and Ricky Ponting are next with five each.
The latest completed ODI World Cup in 2023 also changed the leaderboard significantly. Rohit moved clear at the top, Warner reached six hundreds, Kohli increased his total to five, and Quinton de Kock scored four centuries in one edition.
Most Centuries in ODI World Cup History
The following table lists the leading century-makers in men’s ICC ODI Cricket World Cup history from 1975 through the 2023 tournament.
| Rank | Player | Team | Centuries | Matches | Highest Score | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rohit Sharma | India | 7 | 28 | 140 | 2015-2023 |
| 2 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 6 | 45 | 152 | 1992-2011 |
| 2 | David Warner | Australia | 6 | 29 | 178 | 2015-2023 |
| 4 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 5 | 37 | 124 | 2003-2015 |
| 4 | Virat Kohli | India | 5 | 37 | 117 | 2011-2023 |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 5 | 46 | 140* | 1996-2011 |
| 7 | Sourav Ganguly | India | 4 | 21 | 183 | 1999-2007 |
| 7 | Mark Waugh | Australia | 4 | 22 | 130 | 1992-1999 |
| 7 | AB de Villiers | South Africa | 4 | 23 | 162* | 2007-2015 |
| 7 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 4 | 27 | 161* | 2007-2015 |
| 7 | Quinton de Kock | South Africa | 4 | 27 | 174 | 2015-2023 |
| 7 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 4 | 40 | 115* | 1999-2015 |
Rohit Sharma – 7 World Cup Centuries
Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most centuries in ODI World Cup history with seven.
He played his first World Cup in 2015 and scored 137 against Bangladesh in the quarter-final at Melbourne. That innings helped India reach the semi-finals and gave Rohit his first World Cup hundred.
His record changed dramatically in 2019. Rohit scored five centuries in a single tournament, becoming the first batter in World Cup history to achieve that feat. His hundreds came against South Africa, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Rohit entered the 2023 tournament level with Sachin Tendulkar on six World Cup hundreds. He moved ahead by smashing 131 from 84 balls against Afghanistan in Delhi.
He reached his century from only 63 balls, which was India’s fastest World Cup hundred at the time.
Rohit has scored 1,575 World Cup runs from 28 matches, with seven centuries and a highest score of 140.
Sachin Tendulkar – 6 World Cup Centuries
Sachin Tendulkar held the World Cup century record for many years before Rohit Sharma passed him in 2023.
Tendulkar played in six World Cups between 1992 and 2011. He scored 2,278 runs, which remains the record for the most runs by a batter in men’s ODI World Cup history.
His six centuries came against Kenya twice, Sri Lanka, Namibia, England and South Africa.
Tendulkar’s highest World Cup score was 152 against Namibia during the 2003 tournament. He finished that edition with 673 runs, which remained the record for the most runs in one World Cup until Virat Kohli scored 765 in 2023.
Tendulkar’s final World Cup came in 2011, when India won the trophy on home soil. He scored two hundreds during that campaign and finished with 482 runs.
David Warner – 6 World Cup Centuries
David Warner is Australia’s leading World Cup century-maker with six hundreds from only 29 matches.
He scored his first World Cup century during Australia’s title-winning 2015 campaign, making 178 against Afghanistan in Perth.
Warner became even more productive in 2019. He scored three centuries and finished the tournament with 647 runs, only one behind tournament leader Rohit Sharma.
His 2019 hundreds included 166 against Bangladesh, 122 against South Africa and 107 against Pakistan.
Warner added two more centuries in 2023. He made 163 against Pakistan and 104 against the Netherlands, taking his career total to six and drawing level with Tendulkar.
He finished his World Cup career with 1,527 runs from 29 matches.
Kumar Sangakkara – 5 World Cup Centuries
Kumar Sangakkara scored five World Cup centuries for Sri Lanka, but four of them came during an extraordinary run in 2015.
Sangakkara became the first batter in ODI history to score centuries in four consecutive matches. During the 2015 World Cup, he made hundreds against Bangladesh, England, Australia and Scotland.
Those four consecutive centuries remain one of the greatest batting sequences in World Cup history.
He had previously scored a century against New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup.
Sangakkara finished his World Cup career with 1,532 runs from 37 matches and a highest score of 124.
Virat Kohli – 5 World Cup Centuries
Virat Kohli has scored five centuries across four World Cup campaigns from 2011 through 2023.
His first came on his World Cup debut against Bangladesh in 2011, when he scored an unbeaten 100. India went on to win the tournament.
Kohli added a hundred against Pakistan in 2015 and then produced his most productive World Cup campaign in 2023.
He scored three centuries in that tournament, against Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand.
His 117 against New Zealand in the semi-final was particularly significant because it was his 50th ODI century, taking him beyond Sachin Tendulkar’s previous career record of 49 ODI hundreds.
Kohli finished the 2023 tournament with a record 765 runs and took his World Cup career aggregate to 1,795.
Ricky Ponting – 5 World Cup Centuries
Ricky Ponting also scored five World Cup centuries and remains one of the competition’s most successful batters and captains.
His most famous hundred came in the 2003 final against India in Johannesburg.
Ponting smashed an unbeaten 140 from 121 balls as Australia scored 359/2. Australia then defeated India by 125 runs to retain the World Cup.
He also scored a century in the 2011 quarter-final against India, making 104 in what became his final World Cup match.
Ponting finished with 1,743 World Cup runs from 46 matches.
Most Centuries in a Single ODI World Cup
Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most centuries in a single World Cup edition.
He scored five hundreds during the 2019 tournament in England and Wales. No other player has reached five in one edition.
Kumar Sangakkara and Quinton de Kock are next with four centuries each.
| Player | Team | Centuries | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | India | 5 | 2019 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2015 |
| Quinton de Kock | South Africa | 4 | 2023 |
| Mark Waugh | Australia | 3 | 1996 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | 3 | 2003 |
| Matthew Hayden | Australia | 3 | 2007 |
| David Warner | Australia | 3 | 2019 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 3 | 2023 |
| Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand | 3 | 2023 |
Rohit’s 2019 record was especially impressive because he scored his five hundreds in only nine matches.
Sangakkara’s four centuries in 2015 came in four consecutive innings, while de Kock scored four hundreds during South Africa’s run to the 2023 semi-finals.
Quinton de Kock’s Four Centuries in 2023
Quinton de Kock had one of the most productive batting tournaments by a South African in World Cup history.
He began with 100 against Sri Lanka and immediately followed it with 109 against Australia.
Later in the tournament, he scored 174 against Bangladesh and 114 against New Zealand.
De Kock finished the competition with 594 runs and four centuries.
His four hundreds moved him into the group of players with the seventh-most centuries in World Cup history.
Active Players Climbing the World Cup Century List
The century leaderboard could change again at the 2027 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma remains at the top with seven centuries and was still playing ODI cricket for India in 2026. Another hundred would allow him to extend the record to eight.
Virat Kohli remains another major challenger. He has five World Cup centuries and has confirmed his intention to play the 2027 tournament. Two more hundreds would take him level with Rohit’s current record, while three would move him ahead if Rohit does not add to his tally.
Quinton de Kock is also back in ODI cricket after reversing his retirement. He already has four World Cup centuries and remains part of South Africa’s 50-over plans.
Rachin Ravindra is much younger than the other leading active contenders. He scored three centuries in his first World Cup in 2023, finishing with 578 runs. His early record gives him a realistic chance to climb much higher over future tournaments.
Memorable World Cup Century Milestones
World Cup history has produced several centuries that changed important records.
Dennis Amiss scored the first century in men’s World Cup history when he made 137 for England against India in the opening tournament in 1975.
Viv Richards produced one of the most famous World Cup final hundreds in 1979, scoring an unbeaten 138 against England at Lord’s.
Ricky Ponting’s unbeaten 140 against India in the 2003 final remains one of the greatest innings in a World Cup title match.
Adam Gilchrist then scored 149 from 104 balls against Sri Lanka in the 2007 final. It remains the highest individual score in a men’s World Cup final.
In 2015, Kumar Sangakkara became the first batter to score four consecutive ODI centuries, with all four coming during the World Cup.
Martin Guptill made history in the same edition with an unbeaten 237 against West Indies in the quarter-final. It remains the highest individual score in men’s World Cup history.
Rohit Sharma’s 2019 campaign produced another landmark when he became the first batter to score five hundreds in one World Cup.
Four years later, Rohit scored his seventh career World Cup hundred against Afghanistan and moved past Tendulkar’s record of six.
Virat Kohli created another historic moment in the 2023 semi-final. His century against New Zealand was his 50th ODI hundred, breaking Tendulkar’s overall ODI century record.
The Rise of World Cup Centuries
Centuries have become much more common as ODI batting has evolved.
Early World Cups featured lower scoring rates, fewer matches and conditions that often favored bowlers. Batters also approached the first 30 to 40 overs far more cautiously than modern players do.
Changes in fielding restrictions, better bats, improved fitness and the influence of T20 cricket have encouraged more aggressive batting.
The 2015 tournament produced a major rise in centuries, while the 2023 World Cup pushed batting standards even higher.
The 2023 edition produced 40 individual hundreds, the most in a single men’s World Cup.
South Africa alone recorded nine centuries during that tournament, while India produced seven.
These numbers help explain why modern players such as Rohit, Warner, Kohli and de Kock have climbed so rapidly up the all-time list.
Which Country Has Produced the Most Leading World Cup Centurions?
India dominate the top of the individual century list.
Rohit Sharma has seven, Sachin Tendulkar has six, Virat Kohli has five and Sourav Ganguly has four.
Australia are also strongly represented through David Warner, Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh.
Sri Lanka have Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene among the batters with at least four hundreds.
South Africa’s leading names include AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock, both with four.
The list shows that repeated World Cup centuries require more than one great tournament. Most of the leading players performed across several editions and adapted to different countries, pitches and bowling attacks.
Conclusion
Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most centuries in ODI World Cup history with seven hundreds from 28 matches. His record includes an extraordinary five centuries in the 2019 edition.
Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner are joint-second with six centuries each. Kumar Sangakkara, Virat Kohli and Ricky Ponting follow with five.
The 2023 tournament significantly changed the record books. Rohit became the outright leader, Warner reached six, Kohli moved to five and Quinton de Kock scored four centuries in one tournament.
With Rohit, Kohli, de Kock and emerging players such as Rachin Ravindra still relevant to the ODI game, the century leaderboard could change again when the next World Cup arrives.
FAQs
Who has scored the most centuries in ODI World Cup history?
Rohit Sharma holds the record with seven centuries from 28 World Cup matches.
How many World Cup centuries did Sachin Tendulkar score?
Sachin Tendulkar scored six World Cup centuries between 1992 and 2011.
How many World Cup centuries has Virat Kohli scored?
Virat Kohli has scored five World Cup centuries through the 2023 tournament.
Who has scored the most centuries in a single World Cup?
Rohit Sharma holds the record with five centuries during the 2019 World Cup.
How many World Cup centuries did David Warner score?
David Warner scored six World Cup centuries from 29 matches, making him Australia’s leading century-maker in the tournament.
Who scored four centuries in the 2023 World Cup?
Quinton de Kock scored four centuries for South Africa during the 2023 World Cup.
Rivcky John
A prominent figure in sports journalism for the last two decades. Cricket Analyst & Writing News, Features, Match Previews/Reviews/Reports, And Opinion Pieces on Cricket. You can connect with him on Facebook also.