Fact check: Glenn Phillips did not score 16-ball century against India

The ODI series was scheduled to begin on November 4 in Auckland, with the final match set for November 15. On Oct 30, New Zealand defeated India by 87 runsin the fourth T20I at Eden Park in Auckland.

New Zealand posted 259-7 in their allotted 20 overs, while India managed 172-9 in response. Phillips played a crucial role in thevictory, scoring a century. New Zealand team alsowon the final T20I on November 1by seven wickets.

However, India clinched the five-match series 3-2. How it startedA day earlier, an X userwho appeared to be a journalist, based on their profile bio and posts, shareda viral video showing Phillips hitting sixes against India, along with a scoreboard showing 100 runs off16 balls.

The caption said: "New Zealand's batsman Phillips smashed India with a barrage of boundaries, hitting 6 sixes in 1 over, and smashed a century off 16 balls. "The post gained 552,200 views. Today, another X user, who also appeared to be a journalist based on their bio and posts, shared thesame clipwith the following caption: “Two new world records.

A century in 16 balls, six after six. New Zealand has set a new trend and completely thrashed India.”The post garnered 45,300 views. Subsequently, the video was shared by other users, as can be seenhere, here, here, here, here, here, andhere, collectively gaining 178,962 views.

MethodologyA fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to its widespread circulation on social media and significant public interest in the purported record-breaking feat, particularly whether scoring a century in just 16 balls was possible. A keyword search was conducted to determine whether any credible sports news outlets had reported the record-breaking century.

However, no such reports were found. A further keyword search for the fastest century in T20 international cricket revealed that Estonia's Sahil Chauhan holds the record, reaching 100 runs in just 27 balls against Cyprus on June 17, 2024, (ICC).

Meanwhile, South African cricketer AB de Villiers holds the record for thefastest century in ODI cricket, scoring 100 runs off 31 deliveries against the West Indies on January 18, 2015.

Furthermore, even if a batter hit six sixes in succession and scored a six off each of 16 deliveries, the total would amount to just 96 runs, falling four runs short of a century.

Further examination of thematch scorecard on Cricbuzzrevealed that Phillips scored 107 runs off 49 deliveries, hitting 10 sixes and six fours against India on October 30, 2026. The figures were also corroborated by areport published by the ICC, confirming that the viral claim of a century in just 16 balls was false.

Fact-check status: False. The claim that New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips scored a century off just 16 balls against India is false. Official match records confirm that Phillips scored 107 runs off 49 deliveries, including 10 sixes and six fours, during the October 30, 2026, T20I match against India.