John Campbell smashes 65-ball ODI century to break Chris Gayle's record against India in Guwahati
GUWAHATI: West Indies opener John Campbell etched his name into the record books on Wednesday, racing to a breathtaking century off just 65 balls against India in the second One-Day International at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Batting first with his side looking to level the three-match series after losing the opening ODI by eight wickets, the left-hander brought up his hundred in the 17th over with a single off India leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, en route striking nine fours and five sixes.
Faster than Gayle, faster than everyone before him
The ton rewrote two pages of the records book in quick succession. Having already broken legend Chris Gayle's benchmark for the fastest half-century by a West Indies batter against India - reaching fifty in just 29 balls - Campbell went on to eclipse Gayle again in terms of overall tempo. His 65-ball hundred stands as the fastest ever recorded by a West Indies batter against India in men's ODIs.
Fastest ODI centuries for West Indies vs India (where ball-by-ball data is available)
- 65 balls – John Campbell, Guwahati, 2026
- 72 balls – Ricardo Powell, Singapore, 1999
- 73 balls – Marlon Samuels, Vijayawada, 2002
- 74 balls – Shimron Hetmyer, Guwahati, 2018
- 85 balls – Shimron Hetmyer, Chennai, 2019
Fastest fifties for West Indies vs India in ODIs
- 29 balls – John Campbell, Guwahati, 2026
- 30 balls – Chris Gayle, Ahmedabad, 2002
- 30 balls – Chris Gayle, Port of Spain, 2019
- 32 balls – Wavell Hinds, Vadodara, 2002
- 33 balls – Nicholas Pooran, Visakhapatnam, 2019
Campbell's blitz gave West Indies a commanding platform early in the chase-defining phase of the match, in stark contrast to the collapse that had haunted them in the series opener.
Toss, teams and changes
Earlier at the coin toss, Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the flip and elected to field first. Hosts India made just one alteration to their XI, handing paceman Auqib Nabi his ODI debut while leaving out seamer-batsman Nitish Kumar Reddy as they bolstered their pace attack.
West Indies swung through four changes. Tour centurion Romario Shepherd/Jonathan Greaves - Justin Greaves, scorer of a maiden ODI hundred in the first match - was ruled out with a calf injury, with Keacy Carty stepping in to open the innings. Sherfane Rutherford and seam-bowling allrounder Keemo Paul came in alongside mystery left-arm wrist-spin option Vitel Lawes. Dropping out were young right-hand bat Jewel Andrew, medium-pacer Matthew Forde and veteran left-armer spinner Gudakesh Motie.