Former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has surpassed Universe Boss Chris Gayle to score the maximum number of centuries in the history of the Indian Premier League. Kohli, who had begun Indian Premier League 2023 with five IPL centuries to his name, has overdone Gayle to now have seven IPL centuries under his belt.
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Kohli, who scored more than one century in an IPL season after seven years, did so in a must-win match against Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In what is a virtual pre quarter-final for Royal Challengers, Kohli upped the ante in what was pretty much a one-man show.
Kohli, who opened the batting with captain Faf du Plessis (28), scored his first four of the match in the first Mohammed Shami (1/39) over to hint at carrying his form exactly from where he had left in Hyderabad. In the fourth over, Kohli hit three consecutive fours off pacer Yash Dayal (1/39) before hitting a couple of fours off as many spinners in the powerplay.
It was on the penultimate delivery of the 12th over when Kohli ran a single off Noor Ahmad (2/39) to complete a 35-ball half-century. Bangalore, who had lost five wickets within seven overs in the meantime, were literally saved by the right-handed batter as he not only held one end but also ensured smooth flow of runs especially when his teammates not generating any sort of momentum.
Having hit a six and three fours in the last three overs of the innings, Kohli ran a single on the first delivery of the last Mohit Sharma (0/54) over to become the third batter to register consecutive IPL centuries.
Full List of Virat Kohli 100 in IPL History
S. No. | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | Opposition | Ground | Year |
1 | 100* | 63 | 11 | 1 | 158.73 | GL | Rajkot | 2016 |
2 | 108* | 58 | 8 | 7 | 186.21 | RPS | Bengaluru | 2016 |
3 | 109 | 55 | 5 | 8 | 198.18 | GL | Bengaluru | 2016 |
4 | 113 | 50 | 8 | 4 | 226 | KXIP | Bengaluru | 2016 |
5 | 100 | 58 | 9 | 4 | 172.41 | KKR | Kolkata | 2019 |
6 | 100 | 63 | 12 | 4 | 158.73 | SRH | Hyderabad | 2023 |
7 | 101* | 61 | 13 | 1 | 165.57 | GT | Bengaluru | 2023 |