5 famous Indian players who scored only one ODI century 

It is a dream of every batsman to score at least a single international century in any format of the game. Historically, India is known for producing talented batsmen who possess good footwork and technique. From Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli, the nation has seen several batsmen succeed in the international arena, accumulating a large number of international tons in the process.

In the ODIs, 38 different Indian players have managed to score at least a single century. As usual, Tendulkar tops the century list with 49 tons. Meanwhile, the current Indian skipper, Kohli, is only six hundreds away from equaling the former's feat.

On the other hand, a group of unfortunate players has managed to score only one century in throughout their ODI career. Among them, let us look at five famous Indian players who scored only one ODI century in their playing career.

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#5 Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar is one among the long list of players who never realised their full potential in the international arena. His international numbers are quite ordinary when compared to his overall domestic numbers.

In his limited ODI career, Manjrekar batted at various positions from 1-8. His highest amount of success came at the no.3 slot as he batted there 33 times in 70 ODI innings. In fact, his lone ODI century also came at this position.

It was the third and final ODI between South Africa and India in the former’s 1991 tour to India. Batting first, India were off to a good start as the Indian openers stitched a decent 50+ run partnership. When Sanjay Manjrekar joined Ravi Shastri in the middle, the score was 86 for 1.

On one end, Shastri played a calculative inning to score his fourth ODI century. Meanwhile, on the other end, Manjrekar went at a brisk clip to score his maiden ODI century.

He scored 105 runs in just 82 balls with a strike rate of 128.04. Even though Manjrekar managed to score occasional fifties in the latter stages of his career, he never came close ro reaching the 3-figure mark once again.

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#4 Robin Singh

Robin Singh was a vital all-rounder for team India during the 1990s in ODIs. His power-hitting, handy medium-fast bowling, and agile fielding made him a regular in India’s ODI setup.

He was primarily a lower middle-order batsman. However, at times, he came in at no.3 in the pursuit of quick runs. India’s third ODI against Sri Lanka in their 1997 tour was one such instance of Robin Singh batting higher up the order.

Batting first, India lost the wicket of Sourav Ganguly very early in the innings. When Robin joined Tendulkar in the middle, the score was 30 for 1. Soon, the score became 44 for 2 with the dismissal of the Master Blaster.

Later, the duo of Singh and Rahul Dravid resurrected the innings by stringing together a 162-run partnership.

After the dismissal of Dravid, Robin continued his excellent work and scored his maiden ODI century. He scored 100 runs in 102 balls at a strike rate of 98.03 before losing his wicket to Kumar Dharmasena.

#3 Dilip Vengsarkar

A great servant of Indian cricket ,who began his career during the mid-70s, Dilip Vengsarkar was one of the major pillars of the Indian batting until the late 80s.

Someone who was just born to bat, Vengsarkar stood up for his team and was known to score runs in the toughest of circumstances. His three centuries at Lord’s and a series-winning effort against England in 1986 is still remembered as one of the high points in his career.

However, the Mumbai batsman couldn’t replicate his success in the shorter version of the game. With the limited opportunities he got in the ODIs, Dilip had a decent career with an average hovering in the mid-thirties.

However, he could only score one century in this format compared to seventeen in the longest format.

His highest score of 105 in ODIs came against England in a losing cause at Pune in 1984. Batting first, India scored 214 with Vengsarkar being the major contributor with his 124-ball 105. However, in the 45-over match, the visitors were too good for the home side as they cruised to an easy 4-wicket win with 10 balls to spare in the match.

#2 Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev’s solitary ODI century has its very own story and legacy in the history of cricket. After losing two consecutive matches, India faced Zimbabwe in a must-win encounter at the 1983 World Cup (Prudential World Cup).

After winning the toss, Kapil, the Indian skipper, decided to bat first. By the time the game began, Kapil was taking a shower in the dressing room. However, he was forced to cut short his shower as the Zimbabwean fast bowlers ran through the Indian batting line-up.

When the skipper arrived at the crease, the score was 9 for 4. Soon, it became 17 for five and what followed afterwards became one of the best knocks in the history of ODI cricket.

It was a once in a lifetime innings by the former Indian captain as he scored a mammoth 175 off just 138 balls. Kapil’s well-calculated knock helped India post a competitive score of 266. Ultimately, India won the match by a small margin of 31 runs and that game laid the platform for their World Cup triumph.

#1 Sunil Gavaskar

The first name in this list might be surprising to many. But, former legendary Indian batsman, Sunil Gavaskar, is at the the top of our list.

Despite a stellar Test record, Gavaskar never found his feet in the limited-overs format. In fact, his painful knock of 36 runs from 174 deliveries in the inaugural match of 1975 World Cup is arguably one of the worst performances in the history of both ODI and World Cup cricket.

Coming to his solitary ton, India faced New Zealand in the last group match of the 1987 World Cup. The Indian bowlers restricted the New Zealand batsmen to a challenging score of 221. Nevertheless, the Indian openers, Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth did the bulk of the damage in the second innings and helped India chase down the target in just 32.1 overs.

In particular, Gavaskar scored 103 runs in just 88 balls with a strike rate of 117.04. Interestingly, it was the opener’s penultimate innings on the international stage as he retired from cricket at the end of the mentioned World Cup.