Across the first 18 seasons of the Indian Premier League, from April 2008 to the end of IPL 2025, exactly 110 individual centuries were scored, according to Cricsheet's ball-by-ball record of 1,169 matches. That is one hundred for roughly every 10.6 games, and one for every 18 or so fifty-plus innings (1,946 innings reached 50). In a format built for cameos, a T20 century has always been rare.
The rarity is shifting, though. Between 2008 and 2022 the league averaged about five centuries a season. Then 2023 produced 12, IPL 2024 produced a record 14, and 2025 added nine more. Almost a third of all IPL hundreds (35 of 110) came in those three seasons. This piece looks at the whole Century Club: who leads it, which franchises produce hundreds, where they get scored, and why a hundred matters more in a chase than when setting a total.
The Kings of Three Figures
Only 58 batters reached 100 in an IPL innings between 2008 and 2025, and 32 of them managed it once. The batters who did it repeatedly are a small group.
Virat Kohli: Eight Hundreds and the 2016 Season
Virat Kohli leads with eight IPL centuries, all for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Four of them came within 25 days in 2016: 100 off 63 balls against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot on 24 April, 108 against Rising Pune Supergiants on 7 May, 109 off 55 against Gujarat Lions on 14 May, and 113 off 50 against Kings XI Punjab on 18 May, the last three at the Chinnaswamy. Kohli finished 2016 with 973 runs, the IPL single-season record.
He didn't reach 100 again until 19 April 2019 at Eden Gardens (100 off 58 against Kolkata). In May 2023 he scored hundreds in back-to-back innings: 100 off 63 balls in Hyderabad on 18 May, then 101 off 61 against Gujarat at home on 21 May. His eighth was 113 off 72 balls in Jaipur on 6 April 2024.
Kohli has also lost more IPL games after scoring a hundred than any of the other leaders. Three of his eight (2016 in Rajkot, 2023 against Gujarat, 2024 in Jaipur) came in defeats. Each time, the opposition answered with a hundred of its own or chased the total down.
Jos Buttler: Seven Hundreds, Seven Wins
Jos Buttler is second with seven centuries in only 120 innings, a conversion rate of one hundred every 17 innings, about twice Kohli's. All seven came for Rajasthan Royals and all seven came in wins. No other prolific centurion has that record.
His 2022 season matched Kohli's 2016 tally: 100 against Mumbai on 2 April, 103 against Kolkata on 18 April, 116 against Delhi on 22 April, and 106 against Bangalore in Qualifier 2 on 27 May, which sent Rajasthan into their first final since 2008. He finished with 863 runs. In 2024 he made 100 off 58 against RCB on 6 April and 107* off 60 against Kolkata ten days later, one of the best chases the league has seen. He now plays for Gujarat Titans, but every one of his IPL hundreds was scored for Rajasthan.
Chris Gayle: Six Hundreds and the 175*
Chris Gayle scored six IPL centuries, and all six came in wins. Five were for Bangalore: 102 against Kolkata and 107 against Kings XI in 2011, 128 against Delhi in 2012, 175 off 66 balls against Pune Warriors on 23 April 2013, and 117 against Kings XI in 2015. The sixth was 104 for Kings XI Punjab against Sunrisers in April 2018, when he was 38.
The 175* has been the highest individual IPL score for more than a decade, and it included a 30-ball hundred. In his 145 IPL innings Gayle averaged a century every 24 innings.
KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and the Next Group
KL Rahul has five hundreds for three franchises: two for Kings XI (100 against Mumbai in 2019 and 132 against Bangalore in 2020, then the highest IPL score by an Indian), two for Lucknow in 2022, both against Mumbai, and 112 off 65 for Delhi against Gujarat on 18 May 2025. He has also made 40 fifties, so many of his starts stopped short of 100.
David Warner, Shane Watson and Shubman Gill each have four. Gill scored three of his four within 12 days in May 2023: 101 against Sunrisers on 15 May, 104 at the Chinnaswamy on 21 May (which knocked RCB out on the night Kohli scored 101), and 129 off 60 against Mumbai in Qualifier 2 on 26 May. His fourth, 104 against Chennai on 10 May 2024, came in the same innings as Sai Sudharsan's 103. The two put on 210 for the first wicket.
The Data: Who Scores Hundreds, Where, and When
All-Time Leading Century-Makers (2008–2025)
| Rank | Batter | 100s | 50s | Innings | Best | Wins in 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virat Kohli | 8 | 63 | 261 | 113 | 5 of 8 |
| 2 | Jos Buttler | 7 | 24 | 120 | 124 | 7 of 7 |
| 3 | Chris Gayle | 6 | 31 | 145 | 175* | 6 of 6 |
| 4 | KL Rahul | 5 | 40 | 138 | 132* | 3 of 5 |
| 5= | David Warner | 4 | 62 | 187 | 126 | 4 of 4 |
| 5= | Shane Watson | 4 | 21 | 143 | 117* | 3 of 4 |
| 5= | Shubman Gill | 4 | 26 | 114 | 129 | 4 of 4 |
| 8= | Sanju Samson | 3 | 26 | 171 | 119 | 1 of 3 |
| 8= | AB de Villiers | 3 | 40 | 172 | 133* | 3 of 3 |
Warner's line is unusual: four hundreds and 62 fifties, so he passed 50 often but converted rarely. Rohit Sharma is similar, with two hundreds (109 against Kolkata in 2012 and 105 against Chennai in 2024) from 267 innings. Batters who open and bat for long periods tend to collect fifties more often than hundreds.
Centuries by Franchise (Including Former Names)
| Franchise | 100s | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| RCB | 19 | Kohli 8, Gayle 5, de Villiers 3 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 18 | Buttler 7, Samson 3, Jaiswal 2 |
| Punjab Kings (incl. Kings XI) | 16 | Rahul, Sehwag, Gayle, Miller |
| Delhi Capitals (incl. Daredevils) | 11 | Pant's 128*, Warner 2010 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 10 | Hussey 2008, Vijay, Watson's 2018 final |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 9 | Abhishek 141, Head, Klaasen ×2 |
| Mumbai Indians | 8 | Tendulkar, Rohit ×2, Suryakumar ×2 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 6 | de Kock 140, Stoinis 124, Pant 118* |
| Gujarat Titans | 6 | Gill 4, Sai Sudharsan 2 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 | McCullum, Venkatesh Iyer, Narine |
| Deccan Chargers / Rising Pune | 4 | Symonds, Gilchrist, Stokes |
Kolkata stand out at the bottom. After Brendon McCullum's 158 in the first IPL match on 18 April 2008, KKR went 15 years without another hundred. Venkatesh Iyer ended that run with 104 off 51 at the Wankhede on 16 April 2023, and Mumbai still won. Sunil Narine's 109 against Rajasthan in April 2024 also came in a defeat, against Buttler's 107. KKR have won three titles with only three IPL centurions, which says a lot about how they've built their teams around depth, spin and all-rounders.
Where the Hundreds Are Scored
The Wankhede Stadium hosted at least 16 IPL centuries, the most of any ground, ahead of the Chinnaswamy (14), Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium (11), Eden Gardens (9), and Chepauk and Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium (7 each). The Wankhede has true bounce and the Chinnaswamy has short boundaries at altitude, so neither result is surprising. Seven hundreds at Chepauk, usually a slow, spin-friendly ground, is the less expected number.
Do Hundreds Win Matches?
Teams won 83 of the 110 matches featuring an IPL century, or 75.5%. The split by innings is more telling:
| Innings | 100s | Team won | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batting first | 75 | 51 | 68.0% |
| Chasing | 35 | 32 | 91.4% |
A hundred in a chase almost always finishes the job, because a batter still at the crease past 100 is usually there at the end. A hundred while setting a total only tells you what the opposition needs to chase. Rishabh Pant's 128 for Delhi in 2018, Yashasvi Jaiswal's 124 against Mumbai in 2023, Samson's 119 in 2021 and Pant's 118 for Lucknow in 2025 are the four highest IPL scores made in losing causes.
Two matches show this especially clearly. On 23 April 2024 at Chepauk, Ruturaj Gaikwad made 108 to take Chennai past 200, and Marcus Stoinis chased it down with 124. On 21 May 2023, Kohli's 101 lost to Gill's 104, and RCB went out of the tournament.
Hundreds in the Playoffs
Seven IPL hundreds have come in knockout matches:
| Date | Stage | Batter | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May 2012 | Qualifier 2 | M Vijay (CSK) | 113 | Won |
| 30 May 2014 | Qualifier 2 | V Sehwag (KXIP) | 122 | Won |
| 1 Jun 2014 | Final | W Saha (KXIP) | 115* | Lost |
| 27 May 2018 | Final | S Watson (CSK) | 117* | Won |
| 25 May 2022 | Eliminator | Rajat Patidar (RCB) | 112* | Won |
| 27 May 2022 | Qualifier 2 | J Buttler (RR) | 106* | Won |
| 26 May 2023 | Qualifier 2 | S Gill (GT) | 129 | Won |
Patidar's 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow in 2022 is the only IPL playoff hundred by an uncapped player. He had joined RCB as a mid-season replacement, and he is now the captain who led them to the 2025 title. Saha is the only batter to score a hundred in an IPL final and finish on the losing side. Watson's 117 in 2018 is the only final hundred that won the title.
The Speed Problem: How Fast Hundreds Changed
Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball hundred against Mumbai in March 2010 was the fastest by an Indian for 15 years. David Miller's 38-ball hundred for Kings XI in 2013 came close. On 28 April 2025 in Jaipur, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi reached a hundred in 35 balls against Gujarat Titans and finished on 101 off 38. That made him the youngest IPL centurion and the fastest Indian. Heinrich Klaasen followed on 25 May 2025 with 105* off 39 against Kolkata, after reaching three figures in 37 balls.
Recent hundreds have mostly been about speed:
- Travis Head: 102 off 41 balls against RCB, April 2024
- Will Jacks: 100* off 41 balls for RCB against Gujarat, April 2024
- Priyansh Arya: 103 off 42 balls for Punjab against Chennai, April 2025
- Abhishek Sharma: 141 off 55 balls against Punjab, April 2025, the highest score by an Indian in the IPL
- Ishan Kishan: 106* off 47 balls on his Sunrisers debut, March 2025
In the early seasons, many hundreds took 55 to 65 balls. Most of the 2024–25 hundreds took fewer than 50. The Impact Player rule, introduced in 2023, gives teams an extra batter, so top-order players can attack from the start without much risk of a collapse. That lines up with the jump to 12, 14 and 9 hundreds in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Legacy Impact: What This Means Today
The 2023–25 surge changed what top-order batting looks like in the IPL. Going back through 18 seasons, the batters who score hundreds have two things in common: they bat in the top three, and they keep their strike rate up after reaching 50 rather than slowing down to protect their wicket. Buttler scored at 160+ in most of his hundreds, which helps explain why all seven came in wins.
That matters for current rosters. Kohli remains the benchmark at RCB. Gill and Sai Sudharsan, Gujarat's opening pair, have six IPL hundreds between them. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryavanshi give Rajasthan two of the youngest centurions in the league. Sunrisers have Abhishek, Head, Klaasen and Kishan, four batters who have each hit a hundred in under 50 balls.
CricMind's Oracle doesn't add a bonus for a batter's past hundreds. Its pre-match model works from team form, head-to-head record and venue, and its live layers react to partnerships, wickets in hand and the required rate. The 91.4% chasing figure shows why that matters: once a set top-order batter is deep into a chase, the live win probability should move sharply toward the batting side, and the Oracle's partnership and wickets-in-hand factors are built to capture that.
Three Takeaways
- Hundreds are getting more common. About a third of all IPL hundreds (35 of 110) came in 2023–25. Early IPL centurions batted through an innings; recent ones attack from the first over and often get there in under 50 balls.
- Conversion rate matters more than career runs. Buttler's hundred every 17 innings and Gayle's every 24 put them in a different category from batters with many fifties and few hundreds, such as Warner and Rohit.
- A chasing hundred is close to a guaranteed win. Teams have won 91.4% of the time when a batter scored a hundred in the second innings, compared with 68% batting first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has scored the most centuries in IPL history?
Virat Kohli has the most, with eight, all for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Four came in 2016, two in 2023, one in 2019 and one in 2024. Jos Buttler is second with seven and Chris Gayle third with six.
How many centuries were scored in IPL history from 2008 to 2025?
Cricsheet's ball-by-ball records show 110 individual centuries across 1,169 IPL matches from 2008 to 2025, scored by 58 different batters. IPL 2024 had the most in one season, with 14.
Who scored the first century in IPL history?
Brendon McCullum scored the first, with 158* off 73 balls for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy on 18 April 2008, in the opening match of the tournament.
What is the fastest century in IPL history?
Chris Gayle's 30-ball hundred during his 175* in 2013 is the fastest. Vaibhav Suryavanshi's 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans in April 2025 is the fastest by an Indian, beating Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball hundred from 2010.
Who has the most centuries in a single IPL season?
Virat Kohli (2016) and Jos Buttler (2022) share the record with four each. Shubman Gill scored three in 2023, all within 12 days in May.
Has anyone scored a century in an IPL final?
Two batters have. Wriddhiman Saha made 115 for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 final but finished on the losing side against Kolkata. Shane Watson's 117 in the 2018 final won Chennai Super Kings their third title.
Which team has scored the most IPL centuries?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have the most with 19, including those scored under the Bangalore name. Rajasthan Royals have 18 and Punjab Kings (including Kings XI) have 16. Kolkata Knight Riders have the fewest among current franchises, with three.