With this century, Warner now holds the record for the most international hundreds by an opening batter in world cricket. This achievement surpasses the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who had previously held the record with 45 tons from 346 matches as an opener.
Warner reached this milestone in his 343rd international match, taking 428 innings to achieve it. In comparison, Tendulkar batted only 342 innings as an opener.
Warner achieved this record in the second ODI against South Africa. His innings of 106 off just 93 balls played a crucial role in helping Australia post a mammoth total of 392 for 8 after being sent in to bat first. Alongside Warner, Marnus Labuschagne also contributed with a magnificent century, scoring 124 off 99 deliveries.
Warner’s record-breaking century adds to his already impressive tally of centuries in different formats. He now has 20 hundreds in ODIs, 25 in Tests, and 1 in T20Is.
This achievement places him among the elite group of batters who have scored 40 or more centuries in international cricket as an opener. Apart from Warner and Tendulkar, the other three batters in this exclusive list are Chris Gayle from West Indies with 42 hundreds in 506 innings, Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka with 41 tons in 563 innings, and Matthew Hayden from Australia with 40 centuries in 340 innings.
Among the current players, Indian captain Rohit Sharma leads the list with 39 hundreds in 312 innings as an opener. Overall, Rohit is placed 6th in the list, highlighting the incredible achievements of these exceptional batters.
Warner’s record-breaking century not only cements his status as one of the most prolific opening batters in the history of the game but also reinforces his invaluable contribution to the Australian cricket team.