5 IPL legends who are yet to score a century in over a 100 IPL games

T20 is always known to be more favourable to batsmen than bowlers, the former's free licence helping to get the better of the latter often. Although a century in a T20 game is a challenging ask but most prolific batsmen have managed to score at least one over a decade of IPL.

There are batsmen, however, who are iconic players of their respective teams and have featured in over a hundred 100 IPL games but have not yet managed to breach the three-figure mark. This article talks about 5 such famous batsmen.

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#1 Gautam Gambhir

Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir is an IPL veteran of 148 matches and his tally of 4210 runs is fourth on the all-time list. His runs have come at an average of 31.65 and a strike rate of 124.51.

Having started his career for Delhi Daredevils, Gambhir moved to KKR in 2011 where he led the side to two titles in 2012 and 2014. The kind of bloke that he is, Gambhir has always led from the front as he opens the batting for his team and lays a solid platform for the middle order to capitalise on.

Perhaps his captaincy has made him a reserved batsman as he has never gone on to score a century in IPL cricket. His best score of 93 came in a home game against RCB way back in 2012 and now that he comes back to Delhi in the twilight of his career, Gambhir, who holds the dubious record for most ducks in IPL, would be looking to score a maiden IPL hundred.

#2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Dhoni - an all-time IPL legend

The cricketer to have got sold for the highest price in the inaugural IPL, MS Dhoni may well be an old horse but his stocks have only partially gone down. Having burst onto the international scene with his aggressive instincts that decimated bowling attacks and further going on to lift the inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007, Dhoni was tailor-made for this format.

With 3670 runs, he is 9th on the list of all-time highest run scores in the IPL, but it is worthy to note that all 8 above him are one's who bat in the top 3 in the batting order. An average of 38.22 and a strike rate of 136.88 across 162 IPL matches, Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the greatest IPL legends.

However, he has not yet found a way to cross the three-figure mark as he has not been able to convert any of his 17 half centuries into a century, his best score being that of 79* which came in a losing cause against Punjab just last week.

#3 Kieron Pollard

Pollard has helped Mumbai win two titles

Big-hitting Windies all-rounder Kieron Pollard burst onto the scene courtesy his exploits with Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League T20 2009, the result of which was the interest shown by Mumbai Indians to acquire his services.

Having made his IPL debut in 2010, Pollard has represented Mumbai in each edition of IPL and has been an integral part of their middle order, turning many a match on its head with his ability to score quick runs.

In his 127 IPL appearances, Pollard has scored 2376 runs at an average of 28.28 and an explosive strike rate of 145.76. He has scored 12 half centuries and one can argue that coming into bat lower down the order, he seldom gets enough overs to complete a century.

However, the kind of talent that he is, he has the potential to better his highest score of 78 to more than a hundred.

#4 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj has not left his stamp on the IPL

India were up against England in a do or die match in the ICC World T20 2007 when Yuvraj Singh blasted Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over and not just changed the complexion of that game, but also scripted a fairytale which culminated with India lifting the World Cup.

The T20 format thus became a hit amongst Indians and that was how the IPL was conceived. One of the biggest brands in IPL cricket over the years, Yuvi has not played to potential in the marquee event as he has for India.

Having shifted bases from Punjab, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad, Yuvraj's IPL career that has spanned across 124 matches, has come full circle as he once again features for Kings XI Punjab this season.

2623 runs at 25.22 and a strike rate of 130.42 does not do justice to the cricketing legend that Yuvraj Singh has been over the years. His new team would be delighted if he could better his best score from 83 to that in excess of hundred.

#5 Robin Uthappa

Uthappa won the Orange Cap in 2014

It has long been discussed that Robin Uthappa has deserved more opportunities than he has got, for he has been a consistent performer both in the domestic Indian circuit as well as the glittering Indian T20 league IPL.

After achieving limited success with RCB in the initial seasons, Uthappa's moment of reckoning came when he was bought by KKR post a couple of decent seasons for the now defunct Pune Warriors India.

An integral part of KKR's batting line-up, Uthappa not just helped lay a solid platform for the middle order to capitalise upon, he also put his hand up to fulfil the wicketkeeper's duties that helped KKR restore the right kind of balance. He scored 660 runs in 2014 that led to him winning the Orange Cap and his team winning the championship.

However, even though he opens the batting and gets to play the entire quota of overs, Uthappa, who has amassed 3906 runs at an average of 29.36 and a strike rate of 131.91 across 154 matches, has failed to convert any of his 22 50+ scores into a century. He will surely look to change this sooner rather than later.