5 Batsmen With Most Centuries Against India In ODI Cricket

Over the years, there have been a lot of overseas batsmen who have inflicted a lot of pain on Indian fans courtesy of their consistent performances against Team India in different formats of the game.

From the Sanath Jayasuriyas’ to the Ricky Pontings’ to the AB de Villiers’ to the Gayles’ and now Steven Smiths’ and many others, every era has produced batters who have taken the liking to the Indian attack and have hammered them with absolute disdain,

On that note, here’s a look at top-5 batsmen with the most ODI 100s against Team India:

5. Steve Smith – 5

Steve Smith absolutely loves playing against India irrespective of formats.

You can gauge the extent of dominance that Smith has enjoyed over India bowlers from the fact that out of his overall 11 ODI tons, 5 of them have come against India.

Smith has featured in 21 ODIs against India and he has smashed as many as 1123 runs at an average of 62.39 and a strike rate of 105.05.

The last time Smith batted against India, he smashed back-to-back 61-ball 100s at his favorite venue- SCG.

4. AB de Villiers – 6

One of the modern-day greats, AB de Villiers also loved batting against India.

But, unlike other visiting batters who had success against India, ABD was actually lauded by the Indian fans even when he scored runs against their own team.

De Villiers batted in as many as 32 times in ODI cricket against India and he racked up 1357 runs at an average of 48.46 and a strike rate of 111.13 which includes 5 50s and 6 100s.

His highest score of 61-ball 119 came during the 2015 series decider in Mumbai where he, along with Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis obliterated the Indian attack to pieces.

3. Ricky Ponting – 6

Ricky Ponting may have had his struggles against India in India in Test match cricket but in 50-over cricket, there were no such issues as ‘Punter’ took the Indians to the cleaners irrespective of where he played against them.

Ricky Ponting smashed 2164 runs in 59 ODI matches against India at an average of 40.07 and a strike rate of 81.41 which includes 9 50s and 6 100s.

His most famous knock against India came in the 2003 World Cup final where he smashed a billion hopes into pieces courtesy an unbeaten whirlwind knock of 140 in just 121 balls to set up the third WC triumphs for the Aussies.

2. Kumar Sangakkara – 6

The stylish Sri Lankan batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, loved batting against Team India, and it is thoroughly reflected in the numbers that he accumulated against the Men in Blue.

Sangakkara batted against India in 76 matches in which he racked up as many as 2700 runs at an average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 81.62 which also includes 18 50s and 6 hundreds with his highest score being 138* during an ODI best remembered for MS Dhoni’s whirlwind 183*.

1. Sanath Jayasuriya – 7

An instigator of the whirlwind change in the approach by batters in ODI cricket, Sanath Jayasuriya loved batting against India.

The Matara Mauler batted against India in 89 matches in which he scored as many as 2899 runs at an average of 36.23 and a strike rate of 96.98.

Jayasuriya holds the record of most ODI centuries by a batter against India. The swashbuckling southpaw smashed 7 hundreds against Team India which also includes his highest score of 189 in a tri-series final in Sharjah in 2000.

Also Read: ICC World Test Championship 2019-21: Team-Wise Prize Money Won In The Tournament

(All Stats Updated Till 25th June, 2021)