A century in Indian Premier League (IPL) is an achievement that many players can only dream of. Because of the structure of the league and T20 cricket, even if a batsman scores a century, he may not end up on the winning team.
On Thursday, May 18th, we witnessed history in the IPL 2023, with two players from opposing teams hitting a century. Heinrich Klaasen hit a brilliant century for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but it was overshadowed by a century from former Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli.
In fact, the Indian legend currently has the most century in IPL history, tied with Chris Gayle at six tonnes. However, it was the South African’s first IPL century, and while some may argue that his knock was the better of the two, Klaasen’s team lost.
On that point, here are three of the finest hundreds in IPL history which came in a losing cause:
1) Yashasvi Jaiswal
This season, the southpaw has been in phenomenal form in the IPL 2023, striking runs for joy. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his first century in the cash-rich league against the Mumbai Indians in the group-stage encounter at his state team’s home field, the Wankhede Stadium.
Despite losing the match, Jaiswal won POTM for his efforts in that match, and he deserved it. With Rajasthan Royals batting first, the 21-year-old produced a stunning century to lead his team to a total of 212.
Jaiswal scored 124 runs in 62 balls, while no other batsman scored more than 18 runs for the club. The team’s second-best run scorer was extras, with the Mumbai Indians giving out 25 of them. RR may not have won the game, but their opener proved he’s here to stay with a performance like that.
2) Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Saha was an important member of the Kings XI Punjab team that reached the IPL finals in 2014. That was their closest call to winning the title, and it was all built up by their wicketkeeper’s stunning century in the final.
Batting in the middle order and arriving at 30-2, Saha pounced on the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers to cruise to a 55-ball-115. The magnificent knock propelled his team to a score of 199/4, which appeared to be plenty on the day.
But KKR had different plans, They won a dramatic final by three wickets with three balls to spare, thanks to Manish Pandey’s 94 and heroics from Piyush Chawla in the last over. Despite producing one of the best knocks in a final, Saha was unable to save his team from losing.
3) Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan was a wrecking force in the shortest version of the game and was a major component in the Rajasthan Royals winning the IPL title in its debut season. In 2010, the Indian all-rounder smashed a 37-ball century against MI at Wankhede Stadium.
He stepped in to bat with his side at 40/3 in the seventh over, having to chase a massive target of 213. From there, he stormed on the Mumbai bowlers, sending them all over the park with nine fours and eight sixes on his route to his century.
He was finally run out at an important point in the game, allowing the Mumbai Indians to win by four runs. Pathan, one can only suppose, would have clinched the deal if he hadn’t been chased out, but it wasn’t to be.
