Earlier in the World Cup, Aiden Markram had raced to a hundred off only 49 balls, the fastest in the history of World Cup cricket by one ball. Glenn Maxwell now took only 40 balls for his hundred, beating the previous record by a substantial margin.

Against Pakistan, Kusal Mendis raced to his ton in 65 balls. Other entries at 65 balls or fewer at the 2023 World Cup include Markram (61 balls against England), Rohit Sharma (63 against Afghanistan), and Kusal Mendis (65 against Pakistan).

The two fastest World Cup hundreds – Maxwell’s and Markram’s – both took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, as did Rohit’s.

List of fastest World Cup centuries:

40 balls – Glenn Maxwell (Australia v South Africa, Delhi 2023): Maxwell started ‘slowly’, making 35 off the first 21 balls he faced. He took only 19 more to reach his hundred, and eventually got out for a 44-ball 106. Maxwell’s hundred is also the fourth-fastest in all ODIs. He faced his first ball in the 41st over of the innings.

49 balls – Aiden Markram (South Africa v Sri Lanka, Delhi 2023): Coming at 214-2 in the 31st over, Markram plundered the Sri Lankan attack to smash the World Cup record. He fell six runs later.

50 balls – Kevin O’Brien (Ireland v England, Bengaluru 2011): One of the greatest innings of all time, O’Brien’s 63-ball 123 helped Ireland chase down 328 against England in a historic triumph. It remains the highest chase in World Cup cricket.

51 balls – Glenn Maxwell (Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney 2015): Like Markram, Maxwell had come in after an enormous partnership. Taking full advantage of the now-defunct batting powerplay, he made 102 in 53 balls.

52 balls – AB de Villiers (South Africa v West Indies, Sydney 2015): The spectacular phase of de Villiers’ innings came after he brought up his hundred. He took 12 balls to reach his third fifty – at 64 balls, it remains the quickest 150 – and hit two sixes to finish on 162 not out in 66 balls.

57 balls – Eoin Morgan (England v Afghanistan, Manchester 2019): Morgan’s 17 sixes that day remain a record, not only in the World Cup but also across all ODIs. His 148 took 71 balls.

61 balls – Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa v England, Mumbai 2023): Two weeks after smashing the World Cup record, Klaasen had another top-ten entry en route to a 67-ball 109.

63 balls – Fakhar Zaman (New Zealand v Pakistan, Bengaluru 2023): Chasing 402 to stay afloat in the semi-final race, Fakhar slammed the fastest World Cup ton by a Pakistan batter to give his team a headstart.

63 balls – Rohit Sharma (India v Afghanistan, Delhi 2023): Rohit’s hundred was his seventh in World Cup cricket – one more than Sachin Tendulkar’s previous world record. He made 131 in 84 balls.

65 balls – Kusal Mendis (Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Hyderabad 2023): Particularly harsh when the fast bowlers pitched short, Mendis continued to hit until he fell for a 77-ball 122.