Any batsman’s dream in the ODI format is to score a hundred runs. But for any batsman, scoring in a World Cup is their greatest dream. The ICC World Cup, after all, is one of the most esteemed competitions worldwide. In this competition, numerous records and screenplays have already been written. One such statistic is the number of centuries scored by players during the World Cup. In light of this, we now examine the batsmen who have scored the most hundreds in the World Cup of cricket.
| Centuries | Players | Runs | Span |
| 6 | Rohit Sharma | 978 | 2015-2019 |
| 6 | Sachin Tendulkar | 2278 | 1992–2011 |
| 5 | Kumar Sangakkara | 1532 | 2003–2015 |
| 5 | Ricky Ponting | 1743 | 1996–2011 |
| 4 | David Warner | 992 | 2015–2019 |
| 4 | Saurav Ganguly | 1006 | 1999-2007 |
| 4 | AB de Villiers | 1207 | 2007-2015 |
| 4 | Mark Waugh | 1004 | 1992-1999 |
| 4 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 1112 | 2007-2015 |
| 4 | Mahela Jayawardene | 1100 | 1999-2015 |
- Rohit Sharma – 5 Centuries
Rohit Sharma is currently considered to be one of the top openers in white-ball cricket. His statistics are astounding, and he has been a pillar of the Indian batting order. In 2015, the batsman from Mumbai who played in his maiden World Cup did reasonably well. Rohit was one of the more seasoned players in the squad going into the 2019 World Cup, and his place at the top of the order was even more important.
In challenging conditions in Southampton, he hit an unbeaten 122 against South Africa and assisted India in chasing down 228. Rohit scored a half-century against Australia, but when India faced its bitter enemy Pakistan, he returned to his hundred-point ways. At Old Trafford in Manchester, the opening batsman scored 140 runs off just 113 balls against Pakistan. After a few poor performances against Afghanistan and the West Indies, he went on to score three consecutive tons to finish the tournament with five, the highest in a single World Cup edition in history.
That was the only hundred from Rohit Sharma that came in a losing cause throughout that tournament. Rohit got 102 against England, but it all in vain as India failed to chase 338. He followed that up by scoring 104 and 103 against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, respectively. In the semi-final match against New Zealand, he finished the tournament with just one point, causing India to suffer a crushing loss. Rohit Sharma won the competition with 648 runs at an 81.00 average.
- Kumar Sangakkara – 4 Centuries
The only player to ever play in ODI cricket to score four consecutive hundreds in the same innings is Kumar Sangakkara. And to make it even more significant, he accomplished it during a World Cup. Sangakkara participated in his final World Cup in 2015, which also happened to be his final ODI competition. Later that year, he would also retire from Test cricket after bidding adieu to T20Is. The seasoned left-hander amassed a total of 991 runs at an average of 45.05. in the previous three World Cups.
He got off to a fairly slow start in 2015, scoring 39 and 7 points in his first two games. But once he got rolling, he was impossible to stop. Sangakkara scored his first century of the year against Bangladesh, scoring an unbeaten 105 off just 76 balls to help Sri Lanka to a decisive victory. Then, in a relatively simple 310 run chase against England, he made an unbeaten 117 off 86 balls. His slowest century came in the following match against Australia, where he struck 104 off 107; it was also Sangakkara’s only century in a match he lost.
The finest hundreds streak in the history of the game in the 50-over format was set by the master Sri Lankan left-hander, who piled on the misery and feasted against Scotland by scoring 124 off 95 balls to make it four in a row. Sri Lanka was eliminated after being humiliated by South Africa thanks to Sangakkara’s 45 in the quarterfinal, which made him the game’s leading scorer. Sangakkara finished the competition with a record 541 runs at an impressive 108.20 average.
- Mark Waugh – 3 Centuries
One of the most enjoyable batters to watch in his era was Mark Waugh. He had a solid record in both Tests and ODIs, but his performance in World Cups was even greater. Over the course of three World Cups, the younger Waugh brother amassed more than 1000 runs at an average of 52.84. In addition, he registered four World Cup hundreds, including three in the 1996 tournament.
In 1992, Waugh made his World Cup debut but had inconsistent performance. He was, nevertheless, just amazing in 1996. In that competition, he amassed 484 runs with an average of 80.67, including three tons. Two of those three hundreds were recorded at the start of the campaign. With 130 and 126 against Kenya and India, respectively, Waugh started the tournament off well and was named Player of the Match in both contests.
He then proceeded to score an unbeaten 76 against Zimbabwe and 110 against New Zealand, helping the Australians to chase down 287. Waugh finished the 1996 World Cup with a few poor performances, which led to Australia finishing in second place.
- Sourav Ganguly – 3 Centuries
Many people tend to forget Sourav Ganguly’s bat-related accomplishments in favour of his fearless demeanour, leadership, and the role he played in the early 2000s Indian cricket revolution. In ODIs, he excelled, averaging 40.73, scoring 11363 runs, including 22 hundreds, and averaging 40.73. He made three tons in the 2003 World Cup and four of those hundreds in other World Cups.
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