Top 5 IPL hundreds in a losing cause

A batsman scoring a century in the T20 format is not something that happens very often. It requires a special skill-set to reach the three-figure mark in this format. The IPL 2017 is set to get underway in few days’ time and with the likes of Chris Gayle, David Warner, AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli etc. set to take part, we can expect more centuries in the tournament.

In the first nine editions of the IPL, we have seen 42 centuries scored and on a majority of the occasions, the batsmen ended up on the winning side. Out of the 42, only 7 instances saw the batsmen ending up on the losing side in spite of scoring a century.

Let us take a look at the top 5 IPL hundreds that were scored in a losing cause.

Note: Steve Smith (against Gujarat Lions in 2016) and Shane Watson (against Chennai Super Kings in 2013) are the otehr two instances when batsmen ended up on the losing side even after scoring a century

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#5 Virat Kohli vs Gujarat Lions, 2016

Going into the 2016 IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli had zero IPL hundreds to his name and by the end of the season, the right-hander had four. Kohli was in a stunning form throughout the tournament as he piled on the runs and took his team to the final single-handedly.

Out of the four hundreds he scored, three came in a winning cause while his first century couldn't fetch his team the two points they would have wanted.

It came against Gujarat Lions at the SCA stadium in Rajkot. Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first. In the absence of Chris Gayle, Shane Watson opened the batting with Kohli and got out in the second over of the match. Kohli, along with AB de Villiers put on a 51-run partnership before veteran leg-spinner Pravin Tambe sent AB back to the pavilion.

Kohli was joined by KL Rahul, who was given one final chance as Mandeep Singh, who was supposed to replace Rahul in the XI got injured just before the start of the match. Rahul scored his fifty and Kohli, who was 13 short of his century with just 4 balls left in the innings, hit a six followed by boundaries off the last two balls to reach the milestone.

RCB ended their innings with 180 runs for two wickets with Kohli remaining unbeaten on 100 off 63 balls with 11 fours and one six while Rahul was not-out on 51 off 35 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes.

Gujarat Lions chased down the target with three balls to spare, thanks to an unbeaten fifty from Dinesh Karthik and some notable contributions from Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 2011

Mumbai made 182/2 in their 20 overs with Sachin scoring an unbeaten 100 off 66 balls

'India loses whenever Sachin Tendulkar scores a century'- This is a phrase which almost all the Indian fans would have heard. But in reality, India has lost only 27 out 100 times when Sachin scored a century. But, the same cannot be said of IPL as the Master Blaster ended up on the losing side on the only instance he managed to reach the three-figure mark in the tournament's history.

After being put into bat in a league game at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Mumbai Indians got off to a steady start before losing the wicket of Davy Jacobs in the ninth over of the innings. Sachin was joined by Ambati Rayudu in the middle and the duo pulled things back for their team. Rayudu reached his fifty and sacrificed his wicket in the last over of the innings to allow Sachin Tendulkar to score his first IPL hundred.

Sachin hit a boundary off the penultimate ball and took a single off the last ball of the innings to reach the milestone. Mumbai made 182/2 in their 20 overs with Sachin scoring an unbeaten 100 off 66 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. This wasn't enough for Mumbai as Kochi chased down the target with an over to spare.

Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene scored fifties and took their team home. McCullum was declared the Man of the Match for his match-winning 81 off 60 balls.

#3 Andrew Symonds vs Rajasthan Royals, 2008

Symonds reached his century off 43 balls and remained unbeaten on 117 from 53 balls

In the first one week of the inaugural edition, as many as three batsmen scored centuries. While Brendon McCullum and Mike Hussey ended up on the winning side, Andrew Symonds's efforts went in vain. After being put into bat by the Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers lost the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi inside the first three overs.

Symonds walked into bat and tried to revive the innings alongside skipper VVS Laxman before the latter was dismissed for a run a ball 16. Symonds continued to attack and in Rohit Sharma, Symonds found a good batting partner, who complemented his game.

Symonds reached his century off 43 balls and remained unbeaten on 117 from 53 balls with the help of 11 fours and seven sixes. He put on an 111-run partnership with Rohit in 10.3 overs and took his side to 214/5 in their 20 overs.

Unfortunately for Symonds, Yusuf Pathan scored a 21-ball fifty (61 runs off 28 balls) along with Graeme Smith’s steady 71 and Mohammad Kaif’s quick-fire 34 took the Royal home by 3 wickets with just one ball to spare. Pathan was named the Player of the match for his knock that had four fours and six sixes.

#2 Wriddhiman Saha vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2014

Saha remained unbeaten on 115 off just 55 balls with 10 fours and 8 sixes

The 2014 IPL final at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru saw a batsman scoring a century in the final for the first time in the tournament's history. Put into bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab lost Virender Sehwag and skipper George Bailey in the first six overs.

Wriddhiman Saha, in the company of Manan Vohra, reconstructed their innings and put on a 129-run partnership for the third wicket in 12 overs.

Vohra departed for a 52-ball 67 and it was then Saha took a majority of the strike. He reached his maiden IPL century and remained unbeaten on 115 off just 55 balls with 10 fours and 8 sixes. He was at ease facing the mystery spinner Sunil Narine as he kept sweeping him for fours and sixes.

Punjab ended their innings at 199/4 in their 20 overs and went into the break as the favourites a no team has scored 200 in an IPL final.

But, to everyone's surprise, Kolkata Knight Riders breached the 200-run mark for the first time in an IPL final and chased down the target set by Punjab. Manish Pandey was the star of the show for KKR with a 50-ball 94 and was backed well by Yusuf Pathan's 22-ball 36.

Kolkata sneaked home with 3 wickets in hand and 3 balls to spare. Manish Pandey was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning knock.

#1 Yusuf Pathan vs Mumbai Indians, 2010

After taking 21 balls to reach his fifty, Pathan just took 16 more balls to score his next 50 runs

How often you see a man, who scored a 100 off just 37 balls in a T20 match ends up in a losing side? In spite of scoring the fastest IPL 100 off just 37 balls (later it was broken by Chris Gayle’s 30-ball 100), Yusuf Pathan couldn’t take his team over the line.

Chasing 213 to win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium, Rajasthan Royals were off to a disastrous start by losing 4 wickets for just 66 runs in the 10^th over. It was then when Pathan took charge as he gave no respite to the bowlers.

He kept smashing fours and sixes and kept Royals in the hunt. After taking 21 balls to reach his fifty, Pathan just took 16 more balls to score his next 50 runs and reached the three-figure mark in just 37 balls. He was run out soon after scoring his 100 with the scorecard reading 173/5 in 17 overs.

His teammates, who scored a combined total of 108 runs in 13.5 overs, couldn't do the job for his team as Royals managed to score 208/7 in their 20 overs and lost the match by 4 runs. Pathan's knock that had nine fours and eight sixes went in vain. Earlier in the match, fifties from Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary took Mumbai to a decent total of 212/6 in their 20 overs.