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In cricket, a century is scored when a batter makes one hundred runs. It’s a remarkable achievement. It requires time and concentration. Most batters take several overs to reach this milestone. But some batters don’t waste any time. They attack from the very first ball. They hit boundaries. They run quickly between the wickets. They score runs at a rapid pace. These are the women who have scored the fastest centuries in international cricket. They did it in T20 and ODI matches. They did it against strong bowling attacks. They did it when the pressure was at its highest. In modern cricket, speed matters. The team that scores runs the fastest often wins. These Eight women understood this. They played aggressively and quickly. They reached the hundred-run mark when no one thought it was possible. This is how they did it.
| Player | Team | Balls | Format | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deandra Dottin | West Indies | 38 | T20I | South Africa | 2010 |
| Meg Lanning | Australia | 45 | ODI | New Zealand | 2012 |
| Alyssa Healy | Australia | 46 | T20I | Sri Lanka | 2019 |
| Tammy Beaumont | England | 47 | T20I | South Africa | 2018 |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | India | 49 | T20I | New Zealand | 2018 |
| Smriti Mandhana | India | 50 | ODI | Australia | 2025 |
| Meg Lanning | Australia | 51 | T20I | England | 2019 |
| Danielle Wyatt | England | 52 | T20I | India | 2018 |
Dottin scored a century in thirty-eight balls. She achieved this feat in 2010 in a T20I match against South Africa in St. Kitts. This is the fastest century in the history of women’s international cricket. No one has ever scored a century so quickly in any format. Thirty-eight balls is incredibly fast. In a T20 match, each team gets one hundred and twenty balls. Dottin scored a hundred runs in less than a third of the balls in an innings. She had to score more than two and a half runs per ball. That means boundaries every over. That means no dot balls. That means a perfect performance.
She was playing for the West Indies. The match was in St. Kitts. The crowd was roaring. Dottin came out to bat and went on the attack. She hit the ball hard. She found the gaps. She cleared the boundaries. The South African bowlers couldn’t stop her. They tried different lengths. They tried different lines. Nothing worked. Dottin kept hitting. When she reached a hundred runs, the record was hers. It still belongs to her.
In 2012, in a One Day International (ODI) match against New Zealand in Sydney, Lanning scored a century off just 45 balls. This is the fastest ODI century in women’s cricket. ODI matches are longer than T20 matches; each team gets 300 balls. But Lanning didn’t need that many. Most batters take seventy or eighty balls to score 100 runs in an ODI. Lanning took 45. She was playing on her home ground in Sydney. She knew the ground well. She knew the conditions. New Zealand bowled well, but Lanning batted even better.
She hit boundaries consistently. She ran quickly between the wickets. She didn’t take unnecessary risks. But she scored more than two runs per ball. That’s incredibly fast batting in an ODI. At the time, Lanning was young. She later became the captain of Australia. She went on to become one of the greatest batters in the game. But in 2012, she was simply a young player scoring runs at an unbelievable pace.
Alyssa Healy scored a century off 46 balls in a T20I match against Sri Lanka in Sydney in 2019. She is a wicketkeeper and opening batter. She plays at the top of the batting order and plays aggressively. Only Deandra Dottin has scored a faster century. Healy was playing on her home ground. She opened the batting. Sri Lanka bowled first. Healy attacked from the very beginning. She didn’t wait. She didn’t wait to get settled. She hit the ball hard and often.
Sydney is her home ground. She has played there many times. She knows where the boundaries are. She knows the angles. She used that knowledge. She scored runs all around the ground. Australia posted a big total. They won easily.
Beaumont scored a century off 47 balls in a T20I match against South Africa in Taunton in 2018. She is an opening batter and opens the batting for England.
She was playing in Taunton, where the ground is small and the boundaries are short. This benefits batters who hit the ball hard. Beaumont hits the ball hard, and she took full advantage of the conditions.
South Africa tried to stop her with their bowling, but they couldn’t. Beaumont hit boundaries in almost every over. She scored quickly from the start and didn’t slow down. England posted a big score and won the match. Beaumont’s innings laid the foundation for the victory.
Harmanpreet Kaur scored a century off 49 balls against New Zealand in a T20I match in Providence in 2018. This is the fastest T20I century scored by any Indian woman. No other Indian woman has scored a century faster than this. She was playing in the Caribbean. Providence is in Guyana. The conditions were good for batting, and Kaur took full advantage of them. She hit boundaries and ran quickly between the wickets.
Kaur is known for her power hitting. She can easily clear the boundary. She showcased this strength against New Zealand. She dominated the bowling attack. New Zealand tried everything, but nothing worked. Kaur kept scoring runs. When she reached her century, the record was hers.
Smriti Mandhana scored a century in just fifty balls in a One Day International match against Australia in Delhi in 2025. Most batters take considerably longer than that. She was playing on her home ground in Delhi, so she was familiar with the conditions there.
Australia is a strong team. Their bowlers are among the best in the world. Mandhana faced them and scored runs quickly. She is a left-handed opening batter. Her timing is excellent. She doesn’t need to hit the ball hard to score boundaries; she places the ball well. Against Australia, she did both. She timed the ball perfectly and placed it precisely. India posted a big score.
In 2019, Lanning scored another quick century in a T20I match against England in Chelmsford, this time in just 51 balls. This came seven years after her ODI century. By then, she had become captain and was considered one of the best batters in the world.
She was playing in England, and Chelmsford is known for its good batting pitch. Lanning took full advantage of the conditions. She scored runs all around the ground, hitting boundaries and running quickly between the wickets. Australia won the match comfortably.
Wyatt scored a century off 52 balls against India in a T20I match in Mumbai in 2018. The match was played at the Brabourne Stadium. India was playing on their home ground. The crowd was huge, and the noise was deafening. But it didn’t affect Wyatt at all. She opened the batting and attacked the Indian bowlers from the very first ball. She hit boundaries in almost every over. India tried different bowlers, but none of them could stop her. Wyatt kept scoring runs.
England posted a big total and won the match. Wyatt’s century was the turning point of the match. She showed that England could challenge India even on their home ground.
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