T20 World Cup: Who are the first centurions in each edition? SL’s Nissanka joins Gayle, Raina; check full list

Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka has joined an elite list of cricket players who were the first to smash a hundred in each T20 World Cup edition, including the ongoing one. Nissanka hit his maiden T20 WC hundred against Australia (100*) in Pallekele on Monday (Feb 16), helping his team qualify for the Super 8s, and pushing Australia to the brink of a shock exit. Currently in its 10th edition, this tournament has seen players scoring hundreds in eight of them, so let’s check who were the first ones to do so in each.

Former West Indies opener and T20 great Chris Gayle was the first player to hit a T20 World Cup hundred, smashing a brilliant 117 against South Africa in the first game of the inaugural edition in 2007. The Proteas chased down 206 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

While the next edition in England (two years later) had no centurions, the third one in the West Indies in 2010 saw former India star Suresh Raina enter this list. The left-handed batter hit a match-winning 101 against South Africa at St. Lucia, becoming the first and only Indian to date to hit a century in this tournament’s history.

The next three editions in 2012, 2014 and 2016, respectively, had new names entering the list, starting with former New Zealand captain and England’s current head coach, Brendon McCullum, who made light work of Bangladesh in the 2012 edition with a brilliant 123, which also remains the highest individual score in T20 World Cups thus far.

While ex-England opener Alex Hales was the first to score a hundred in the 2014 edition (116* against Sri Lanka), Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal did so against Oman (103*) in the following edition (in 2016) in India.

Following a five-year hiatus, the competition resumed in 2021, with England’s Jos Buttler smashing his maiden T20 World Cup ton against Sri Lanka (101*) and adding his name to this list. In the 2022 edition in Australia, South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw smashed one against Bangladesh (109), with the next one (two years later in the Americas) had no centurions.

At the ongoing 2026 edition in India and Sri Lanka, Nissanka hit one against Australia, playing perhaps one of the best knocks against the former winners.

Here is the complete list of first centurions in each of the T20 World Cup editions –

• 2007 - Chris Gayle (117) against South Africa
• 2009 – No Centurion
• 2010 – Suresh Raina (101) against South Africa
• 2012 – Brendon McCullum (123) against Bangladesh
• 2014 – Alex Hales (116*) against Sri Lanka
• 2016 – Tamim Iqbal (103*) against Oman
• 2021 – Jos Buttler (101*) against Sri Lanka
• 2022 – Rilee Rossouw (109) against Bangladesh
• 2024 – No Centurions
• 2026 – Pathum Nissanka (100*) against Australia