Since the inception of Twenty-20, cricket has also evolved into a sport with fast-moving action. In the format, the batsman gets to play only a handful of deliveries, thus, they have to make every single ball count. As a result, these batters hit big shots and broke records in order to help their teams win.
Likewise, after his century against Gujarat Titans in the last group stage match, Virat Kohli became the player with the most centuries in the history of IPL. However, you might be wondering about the other names on the list. Thus, come with us as we take a look at the top 5 players with the most centuries in the history of IPL.
#5 KL Rahul: 4 Centuries
KL Rahul is currently sidelined due to an Injury, however, his batting prowess can’t be ignored. He has been leading Lucknow Super Giants since last season, and before that, he was the captain of Kings XI Punjab.
Playing as an opener, Rahul scored his first IPL ton against Mumbai Indians in a losing effort in 2019. In the next edition, he scored 132 in just 69 deliveries and stood until the end to make sure his side won the match. Last season, under the banner of Lucknow Supergiants, Rahul scored two centuries and took his side to the playoffs. However, they failed to reach the final.
Consequently, Shane Watson has also scored four centuries in his IPL career as his last two tons came in 2018, where he scored 106 and 117 respectively for Chennai Super Kings and also helped them win the crown in the same year. He was active until 2021 before he announced his retirement.
#4 David Warner: 4 Centuries
David Warner has been consistent in IPL since making his debut in 2009
David Warner is arguably the most successful foreign player in the history of the Indian Premier League. He made his debut in the biggest T-20 league in the world in 2009 and since then, he has scored 6,397 runs in a total of 176 matches, majorly playing for Delhi and Hyderabad.
Playing for Delhi Daredevils, the former Australian Captain scored his first century in 2011 against Kolkata Knight Riders. His second ton came after a gap of two years as he smashed 109 against Deccan Chargers. In 2017, the 36-year-old played his best innings in the league as he scored 126 runs in 59 deliveries against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Fans got to witness his last century in 2019, when he was leading Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 100* against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad. Talking about his performance recently, Delhi Capitals’ batting line-up collapsed on a number of occasions in the group stage. Otherwise, they would have been a part of the playoffs.
Warner stood like the lone warrior plenty of times but lacked support from other batters. He scored a total of 516 runs, scoring six fifties as the Capitals ended their season in the ninth spot.
#3 Jos Buttler: 5 Centuries
Jos Buttler was brought into the Indian Premier League in 2018 by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of 4.4 crores. Since then, he has managed to establish himself as one of the most important men in the Royals’ lineup. Also, he’s among the only four players who have managed to score back-to-back centuries in the Indian Premier League.
In 2022, Buttler had a stellar season as he scored 873 runs in 17 matches to win the orange cap. Interestingly, four out of the five IPL tons by the Englishman came last season, with his highest score being 116. Moreover, his first IPL century came on 2nd May 2021 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Buttler started the 2023 campaign in great style but he failed to score regularly as he got out for a duck on five occasions in a total of 14 matches, making an unwanted record. The 32-year-old player scored 392 runs in the campaign with a couple of great innings too but all of them were majorly outclassed by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
#2 Chris Gayle: 6 Centuries
Chris Gayle’s 175-run innings against Pune Warriors will also be remembered as a highlight
Fans in IPL always enjoyed watching Chris Gayle scoring huge shots and the Universe Boss loved scoring huge boundaries. The West Indies batsman had a one-of-a-kind persona as he was really fun-loving. However, he was similarly lethal when it came to the cricket pitch.
Gayle scored his first-ever IPL hundred in 2011 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. In the same season, the Universe Boss’ scored his second ton against the pace-led Kings XI Punjab bowling line-up. In 2012, he played a brilliant 128-run inning against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Thus, in 2013, Gayle utterly traumatized the bowlers of Pune Warriors with his 175-run inning in just 66 balls. With the help of innings from AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, RCB recorded the biggest win in the history of the Indian Premier League.
After struggling against bowlers a little, he made his comeback in 2015 with a ton against one of his favorite sides, Kings XI Punjab. The fans got to witness Chris Gayle’s last century in 2018, which he scored for Punjab, playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
#1 Virat Kohli: 7 Centuries
Leaving behind his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate, Chris Gayle, the former Indian captain has become the player with the most centuries in the history of the Indian Premier League. He reached the peak after he scored his second century of the 2023 campaign in the last match of the group stage against Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans.
On May 21st, Virat Kohli scored his seventh century of the season however, the Royal Challengers still failed to qualify for the playoffs. Kohli was in great form across the whole season, pairing up with Faf du Plessis, he helped his side stay in the playoffs contention until the very last group stage fixture.
The 2023 season of the Indian Premier League was special for the 34-year-old as he earlier became the first batsman in history to cross the massive 7000-run milestone. Moreover, after failing to cross the 500-run mark for four consecutive seasons, he finally scored 639 runs this season, with the help of two centuries in the last two matches.
In his IPL career, the 34-year-old has played a total of 237 matches and scored a whopping 7263 runs, with the help of seven centuries. Kohli scored four tons in his legendary 2016 season where he took the team to the final scoring 973 runs. In 2019, fans saw his fifth century and this season, he again took the headlines with two more.
