Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag hammered a 60-ball ton to eclipse Mohammad Azharuddin and register the fastest hundred in One-Day Internationals by an Indian in the fourth match against New Zealand in Hamilton, on Wednesday.
Batting on 97, Sehwag danced down the pitch and hit a Daniel Vettori delivery over the bowler's head to bring up his hundred with a big six in the 18th over of the rain-truncated match to better Azharuddin's 20-year-old mark by two balls.
Incidentally, Azharuddin's 62-ball 108, had also come against New Zealand in Baroda in 1988.
Sehwag had earlier smashed a 69-ball century against the Kiwis in Colombo in 2001.
The Indian now has the seventh fastest hundred in ODI history, with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi topping the chart with his 37-ball 102 against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996.
The following table lists the 10 fastest ODI hundreds:
Balls | Batsman | Runs | For | Against | Venue | Year |
37 | Shahid Afridi | 102 | Pak | SL | Nairobi | 1996 |
44 | Mark Boucher | 147* | SA | Zim | Potchefstroom | 2006 |
45 | Brian Lara | 117 | WI | Ban | Dhaka | 1999 |
45 | Shahid Afridi | 102 | Pak | Ind | Kanpur | 2005 |
48 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 134 | SL | Pak | Singapore | 1996 |
55 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 130 | SL | Ban | Karachi | 2008 |
60 | Virender Sehwag | 125* | Ind | NZ | Hamilton | 2009 |
62 | Mohd Azharuddin | 108* | Ind | NZ | Baroda (MP) | 1988 |
64 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 157 | SL | Ned | Amstelveen | 2006 |
64 | Yuvraj Singh | 138* | Ind | Eng | Rajkot | 2008 |