3 Indians who hit their maiden ODI hundred after a long wait

Scoring a maiden hundred is a very special moment for any batter. It will always be cherished by players – regardless of how much they go on to achieve in their careers.

Some of the greatest batters in the history of the sport took their time when it came to scoring their first ODI hundred. The reasons might vary; either they batted lower down the order or they weren't as good in the limited overs format.

Let's take a look at three Indian cricketers who hit their maiden ODI hundred after a long wait.

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#1 Sunil Gavaskar – 100 innings

Although Sunil Gavaskar gained legendary status owing to his exploits in Test cricket, he was also a regular feature in the Indian ODI team. He has played 108 ODIs and scored above 3000 runs at an average of 35.13.

However, the Mumbai batter made his first and only ODI hundred in the 100th innings of his career. He scored 103* off 88 balls against New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup fixture. His knock helped India chase down 222 comfortably, with more than 13 overs to spare.

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#2 Sachin Tendulkar – 75 innings

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest batter in the history of the game. He amassed over 18000 runs in 463 ODI matches for India at a mind-boggling average of 44.83. Tendulkar's illustrious career also included 49 centuries in this format.

The Little Master scored his maiden ODI hundred against Australia in Colombo in 1994. He opened the batting and delivered a magnificent knock of 110 runs off 130 balls, with eight fours and two sixes.

His innings allowed India to set a target of 247, and eventually win the match by 31 runs.

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#3 Yuvraj Singh – 60 innings

Yuvraj Singh seals 2011 World Cup semi-final place for India. (Image Credits: Getty)

Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was the Player of the Tournament in India's 2011 World Cup victory. He was one of the finest Indian middle-order batters in the 50-over format; scoring over 8700 runs at a healthy average of 36.55 in a career spanning 304 matches.

Since Yuvraj was primarily a middle-order batter, he did not get many chances to reach the three-figure mark. He scored his maiden ODI century against Bangladesh in Dhaka in the TVS Cup 2003 with a knock of 102* off 85 deliveries.

India beat the Tigers by a massive margin of 200 runs. Yuvraj was adjudged the Player of the Match for his match-winning performance with the bat.