The ODIs are one of the two limited-overs formats in international cricket where the batters have the liberty to play out a handful of balls to settle down before accelerating their innings, as compared to the T20Is where a player has to go all out from the first ball itself.
This leeway in the ODIs helps the batters to advance in their innings strategically and on a few occasions, convert it into a century.
There have been instances in international cricket where a batter enjoys playing against a certain nation more than others and has registered multiple centuries against them.
India cricket team batter Virat Kohli has scored 10 centuries against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format, making him the player with the most ODI hundreds against one team. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar's nine tons against Australia also put him joint-second with Kohli, who has nine tons against the West Indies.
Most ODI hundreds against one team
| Player | Team | Opposition | Centuries |
| Virat Kohli | India | Sri Lanka | 10 |
| Virat Kohli | India | West Indies | 9 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | Australia | 9 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | Australia | 8 |
| Virat Kohli | India | Australia | 8 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | Sri Lanka | 8 |
| Aaron Finch | Australia | England | 7 |
| Saeed Anwar | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 7 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | India | 7 |
Virat Kohli - 10 centuries vs Sri Lanka, nine vs West Indies
Indian cricket team batter, who is the only active batter with 10,000-plus runs in ODIs, has scored 10 hundreds against Sri Lanka so far.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka are the opposition against whom Virat Kohli recorded his maiden ODI century in December 2009, a year after he made his international debut against the same team.
The right-handed batter scored four more centuries versus the Lankans in 2012. Kohli’s first century against the West Indies came in December 2011. He also struck three tons against the Windies in 2018 and two in 2019.
The former India captain averages 60-plus in ODIs against Sri Lanka and West Indies, which is more than any other team against whom he has played more than 30 ODIs.
Sachin Tendulkar - nine centuries vs Australia
Widely regarded as the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar made Aussies his favourite opponents in 50-over cricket, smashing nine of his 49 ODI centuries against the formidable opponents, his most against a single opponent.
Australia is the opponent against whom Tendulkar registered his maiden ODI century in September 1994. He scored three tons against the Aussies in 1998 is the most he managed against them in a year.
The little master’s 175 against Australia in November 2009 can be considered among his best ODI knocks, albeit in a losing cause.
Following a lean patch compared to his high standards of just eight centuries between 2004 and 2009, Tendulkar’s selection in the team came under immense scrutiny. He answered his critics in style with a swashbuckling knock as India fell just short of the massive 351-run target against Australia.
Three months later in February 2010, he became the first batter to score a double century in ODIs (200* vs South Africa), helping his team record one of the highest ODI team totals in the history of the format.
Rohit Sharma - eight centuries vs Australia
Rohit Sharma has hit eight centuries against Australia so far in a stunning ODI career.
The hitman, who holds the record for most double tons (3) in ODIs, all of which feature among the fastest double centuries in ODIs, recorded his first against the mighty Australians in November 2013.
In January 2016, he made 171* at Perth, which was the then-record for the highest ODI score against Australia by a visiting batter. His most recent ODI ton also came against Australia in 2020.
Photo credit: Alamy
