There have been plenty of century-makers in the 13-years long history of the IPL. These batsmen, though, didn’t set out thinking of achieving the feat but the situation of the game and procured momentum enabled them to pull it off in the due course. While many such knocks ended on the right side of the line, there were few which couldn’t help the team in going the distance. Thus said, nothing could be taken away from the supreme effort displayed by the batsmen and the knocks have indeed cemented a special place in the hearts of cricket lovers. We will be focusing on the quickest achievers in the present article. In the below piece, we look at 5 batsmen, who scored the fastest century in the history of IPL:
1. Chris Gayle – 30 balls
The ‘Universe Boss’ proudly tops the list having scored the fastest century off just 30 balls for RCB. The knock came against PWI during the 31st game at Bengaluru in IPL 2013. Owing to Gayle’s blitzkrieg innings of 175(66) with 13 fours and 17 sixes, RCB reached 263-5 at the end of 20 overs.
The target was too huge for the Pune side to achieve and as expected, they were restricted to 133-9 at the end of 20 overs, losing the contest by 130 runs. For RCB, pacers Rampaul and Unadkat were mighty impressive, scalping 2-21 and 2-37 respectively, while Gayle proved to be a surprising revelation with 2-5.
2. Yusuf Pathan – 37 balls
The Baroda striker is the second fastest to achieve the feat, having done that for RR against MI in the 2nd game at Mumbai in IPL 2010. Mumbai, who batted first, posted 212-6 at the end of 20 overs, courtesy innings of 53(33) by Tiwary and 55(33) by Rayudu.
In reply, Yusuf put his best foot forward for RR, smashing 100(37) with 9 fours and 8 sixes and assisted them in reaching 208-7 at the end of 20 overs. The visitors lost the game by 4 runs, but the one-man-show from Yusuf won the hearts of cricket lovers all over.
3. David Miller – 38 balls
A hard-hitting middle-order batsman from South Africa, Miller is the third fastest to accomplish the feat, having scored it for the PK against RCB in the 51st game at Mohali in IPL 2013. RCB while batting first, posted a commanding total of 190-3 at the end of 20 overs, on the back of innings of 61(33) by Gayle and 51(48) by Pujara.
The chase, though, tough for the Punjab side, was made relatively easy in the end, courtesy of mind-boggling innings of 101(38) by Miller, who smashed 8 fours and 7 sixes. The home team won the game by 6 wickets and 12 balls to spare, dealing a severe blow to the dreadful intentions of the opposition.
4. Adam Gilchrist – 42 balls
One of the best wicketkeeper-batsman in world cricket, Gilchrist stands fourth in the list, having chronicled the knock for the Chargers against MI in the 14th game at Mumbai in IPL 2008. The hosts, who batted first, managed a competitive total of 154-7 in the first innings, owing to knocks of 34(19) by Nayar and 34(18) by Bravo.
Making a light work of the opposition bowling attack and the chase, DC, on the back of staggering innings of 109(47) by Gilchrist and 37(26) by Laxman, achieved the target by 10 wickets and 48 balls to spare. The former’s aggressive century was studded with 9 handsome boundaries and 10 gigantic sixes.
5. AB de Villiers/ David Warner – 43 balls
The 2 swashbuckling batsmen in world cricket are the joint-owners of the record for hitting the fifth-fastest century in IPL cricket, having achieved it in 43 balls. De Villiers was the first to pull it off, who did it against GL during the 44th game at Bengaluru in IPL 2016.
Batting first, RCB posted a hefty total of 248-3 in their 20 overs, courtesy brilliant knocks of 109(55) by Kohli and 129(52) by de Villiers. The latter struck 10 fours and 12 sixes in the process, maintaining a strike rate of 248.08 and played a crucial role in RCB winning the game by a massive margin of 144 runs.
Warner, on the other hand, compiled his innings against KKR during the 37th game at Hyderabad in IPL 2017. Owing to his daredevil knock of 126(59) with 10 fours and 8 sixes, SRH posted a mammoth total of 209-3 at the end of their 20 overs.
KKR did put up a fight on the back of innings of 53(28) by Uthappa and 39(29) by Pandey but still fell short of the target by 48 runs, handing SRH an easy win in the end. The 3 pacers for SRH, Siraj, Kaul and Bhuvi were at their bowling best, snapping up 2 wickets each and playing their role in the comprehensive victory.
