Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell struck a century from 40 deliveries during Wednesday’s Cricket World Cup fixture against the Netherlands in Delhi, India.
Maxwell surpassed the previous record for the fastest Cricket World Cup century. The previous record was held by Proteas batsman Aiden Markram, who hit a 49-ball century against Sri Lanka in Delhi earlier this month.
Maxwell eventually fell for 106 from 44 balls, including nine fours and eight sixes.
“This feels pretty good. It cleared my head a little bit to be able to just go out there and play,” said Maxwell.
“When I’m switch-hitting, I just have to get my hands through it faster. It came off cleanly today, so I’m happy with that.
“The Netherlands put in some good stops in the field. They stopped a few shots that seemed almost certain boundaries.
“Credit to David Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who batted really well as well. They made it a lot easier for me to come out and play the way I did.”
Maxwell’s century is the fourth fastest in the history of ODI cricket. The fastest belongs to South Africa’s AB de Villiers, from 31 deliveries, against the West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015.
New Zealand’s Corey Anderson and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi have the second and third fastest ODI centuries, respectively. Anderson hit a ton off 36 deliveries against the West Indies in Queenstown in 2014. Afridi collected a ton from 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Kenya in 1996.