Top 5 Slowest Centuries in IPL History ft. Kohli, Pandey, Tendulkar, Warner, and Buttler
The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League has kicked off in sublime fashion as the first 20 matches of the ongoing IPL season have produced multiple run-fests with Sunrisers Hyderabad breaking the record for the highest team total in IPL history which was almost broken by Kolkata Knight Riders few days after SRH scripted history.
While Royal Challengers Bengaluru has failed to put up a 200+ total on the board in the ongoing IPL season, Virat Kohli has been in sublime touch as the former Indian skipper has scored 300+ runs in only five matches with the second batter in the Orange Cap race has not even crossed the 200-run mark.
While Kohli has put on a show scoring runs left and right, RCB has won only one of the five matches with the other star batters like Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Rajat Patidar yet to join the party.
Apart from scoring a multitude of runs, the responsibilities have shifted in T20 cricket to play at a certain strike rate and many pundits and fans have been criticizing Kohli for accumulating runs at a slower pace than required, especially in the century against Rajasthan Royals.
Without wasting further time, let’s walk through five players who have scored the slowest centuries in the history of the cash-rich league.
#3 Jos Buttler (RR vs MI, IPL 2022)
Jos Buttler won the ‘Orange Cap’ award in IPL 2022 scoring 863 runs at a strike rate of 149.05 as the Englishman carried his side to the final. In one of the earlier matches from IPL 2022, Buttler scored one of the slowest centuries of his T20 career as he compiled 100 runs in 66 balls before getting clean-bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal failed to contribute at the top in the first innings which forced Buttler to drop the anchor from one end at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Shimron Hetmyer’s blistering innings helped Rajasthan Royals to post 193 runs on the board.
Ishan Kishan’s half-century followed by an impressive knock of 61 runs off 33 balls by Tilak Varma put MI in contention but the failure of the lower middle order prevented the Rohit Sharma-led side from bagging the two points on offer as RR won by a margin of 23 runs.
#3 David Warner (DD vs KKR, IPL 2010)
David Warner opened the innings with Virender Sehwag
David Warner started his career with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL and scored his maiden T20 century against Kolkata Knight Riders in the third season of the cash-rich league.
Batting first at the Feroz Sha Kotla Stadium, Warner gave an enthralling start to the hosts’ innings but Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Dinesh Karthik were dismissed in the first three overs.
Paul Collingwood acted as the perfect foil for Warner from the other end as the southpaw completed his century in 100 balls and ended up with an unbeaten score of 107 runs off 69 balls as the Englishman compiled 53 runs off 45 balls helping DD post 177 runs on the board.
In the run-chase, Chris Gayle was the only batter who could enter the thirties as a collective bowling effort from the hosts handed the hosts a 40-run win over the Knight Riders.
#3 Sachin Tendulkar (MI vs KTK, IPL 2011)
Batting first at the Wankhede Stadium in 2011, Sachin Tendulkar compiled 100 runs off 66 balls scoring 12 boundaries and 3 maximums while Ambati Rayudu scored 53 runs off 33 balls to help MI post 182/2 as the likes of Keiron Pollard, Rohit Sharma, and Andrew Symonds didn’t even get to face a single ball in the innings.
Chasing the target of 183 runs, Brendon McCullum and Kochi Tuskers skipper Mahela Jayawardene compiled 128 runs in less than 14 overs in the opening partnership. Ravindra Jadeja’s promotion to No.3 worked wonders as the all-rounder helped the Kerala-based side trounce MI in their own backyard.
#1 Virat Kohli (RR vs RCB, IPL 2024)
Virat Kohli currently leads the Orange Cap race in IPL 2024
Questions have often been raised about Kohli’s longevity in the shortest format of the game and the Modern Master has often deflated those claims with splendid innings after splendid innings. The Delhi-born batter has the most runs in IPL history and still holds the record for most runs in a single IPL season as he smashed 973 runs in IPL 2016, a freak record that still stands to date.
In Match 19 of IPL 2024, Kohli scored 113 runs off 72 balls helping RCB post a total of 183 runs on the board as Faf du Plessis was the only other notable contributor with 44 runs off 33 balls. Chasing the target, Buttler’s sixth IPL ton came up in 58 balls as the Englishman along with the RR skipper Sanju Samson helped the Royals get their fourth win on the trot.
#1 Manish Pandey (RCB vs DC, IPL 2009)
Joining Virat Kohli at the top of this unceremonious list is one of his former teammates, Manish Pandey. The Karnataka skipper opened the batting alongside Jacques Kallis in the match against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and witnessed the batting crumble alongside him as Kallis, Rahul Dravid, and Ross Taylor failed to get their score in double digits.
Kohli came out to play at No.6 in that match and scored 19 runs off 9 balls while Pandey smacked a ton in 67 balls and ended up with a score of 114 runs off 73 balls scoring 10 boundaries and 4 maximums.
Chasing a target of 171 runs on a tacky Centurion pitch, Herschelle Gibbs scored 60 runs off 43 balls but didn’t get enough support from skipper Adam Gilchrist, Symonds, Rohit, and Venugopal Rao as RCB sealed a 12-run win with Kohli also bowling three overs in the run-chase.
DC went on to exact revenge on RCB in the final of that season as the Hyderabad-based franchise lifted the title with the Royal Challengers failing at the final step under the leadership of Anil Kumble.