Who is Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton? Namibia's Cricket Sensation, Breaking Records with the Fastest Men's T20I Century

T20s have changed the landscape of cricket all around the world. The shortest format of the game has made it a more inclusive sport as it has made it practically accessible for other countries to take up this wonderful sport.

With the popularization of T20 cricket and domestic leagues it has spread the games to even those countries that were traditionally not known to play cricket which has done greater good for the game itself. As the game has become more popular and many countries are taking it up, we can see some old records being broken and new ones being formed.

Recently, Namibia’s Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton has broken Nepal’s Kushal Malla’s record for the fastest century in T20I cricket against Nepal only. With this two associate batters now hold the record for the fastest T20I tons in the world. Let’s explore the who all in the list of the fastest centurions in T20 cricket:

5) Sudesh Wickramasekra

Czech Republic is not known for its cricket prowess as a nation but its middle-order Sudesh Wickramasekra has put it in the records chart with his blazing T20I century in just 35 deliveries against Turkey. 

With his smashing ton, he became the fifth-fastest batter to hit an international ton. To add to his heroics, Wickramasekara even contributed with the ball, taking two wickets as Turkey was bundled out for a meagre 21 runs. This resulted in a massive 257-run victory for the Czech Republic.

4) Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball in the world. Though he possesses a strong record against most international teams when it comes to international cricket, he seems to have an affinity for Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma smashed the fastest ton for across all-format and 4th fastest T20I ton overall as brought up 100 in just 35 deliveries in a T20I against Sri Lanka at Indore.  

3) David Miller

As they say, when you get a second chance in life make the most of it. That’s what David Miller did against Bangladesh in a T20I in Potchefstroom when he got berserk and smashed a T20I century in just 35 balls after getting dropped on 0. 

He struck everything with full force, hitting five consecutive sixes off Mohammad Saifuddin's penultimate over to reach an unbeaten 101 runs from only 36 balls. This marked Miller's maiden T20I century and also earned him the record for the fastest T20I century, surpassing his compatriot Richard Levi's previous record of reaching a century in 45 balls.

2) Kushal Malla

Though the Nepal cricket team does not get much exposure at the international level against big teams they have some of the talented most players in their squad which were at display during the Men’s Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. 

Kushal Malla from Nepal went bonkers against Mongolia and went on to score a scintillating ton in just 34 deliveries. Nepal went on to score a mammoth total of 314 for 3 in their quota of 20 overs and recorded a huge victory by 273 runs.

1. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton

Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton created sensation as he scored the fastest century in T20I cricket in just 33 balls during the first match of the Nepal T20I 2024 Tri-series which took Namibia to a formidable total of 206/4 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Loftie-Eaton initially scored a rapid fifty off just 18 deliveries, followed by another fifty runs in the subsequent 15 balls, showcasing exceptional batting prowess within a short period.