On 10 May 2018 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Rishabh Pant scored 128 not out off 63 balls. That was 68.4 per cent of Delhi Daredevils' 187 for 5, and his team still lost by nine wickets with seven balls to spare. It remains the highest individual score by a batter on the losing side in IPL history. It also belongs to a much bigger and more uncomfortable story: across our ball-by-ball archive of 1,169 IPL matches from 2008 to 2025, 110 centuries were scored, and 27 of them ended in defeat.
That works out to roughly one hundred in four. A century is the most decisive thing a batter can do in a T20 innings, yet a quarter of the time it was not enough. This record book is a list of masterpieces signed on the losing side, from Andrew Symonds at Hyderabad in April 2008 to Rishabh Pant at Lucknow in May 2025. It also explains why so many have come in the last three seasons.
The Loneliest Hundreds — The Core Story
Pant 128* (2018): the benchmark nobody wants
Delhi lost both openers inside the powerplay against Sunrisers Hyderabad that night in May 2018. Rishabh Pant then took over. He hit 15 fours and seven sixes and walked off unbeaten after the final delivery. Only one other Delhi batter passed 20: Harshal Patel, with 24.
The reply was ruthless. Shikhar Dhawan made 92 not out and Kane Williamson 83 not out, an unbroken stand that took SRH to 191 for 1 in 18.5 overs. Dhawan won Player of the Match. Pant, aged 20, had played the innings of the season for a side that finished last. Seven years later his name tops this list twice: the 118 not out he made for Lucknow Super Giants against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 27 May 2025 is fourth on it. That night LSG made 227 for 3, and RCB chased it down in 18.4 overs behind Jitesh Sharma's 85 not out.
Jaiswal 124 (2023): Player of the Match in a defeat
On 30 April 2023, at Wankhede, Yashasvi Jaiswal made 124 off 62 balls for Rajasthan Royals with 16 fours and eight sixes. That was 58.5 per cent of RR's 212 for 7, and he was dismissed caught and bowled by Arshad Khan in the final over. Mumbai Indians needed 17 off the last over. Tim David hit Jason Holder for six off each of the first three balls and finished it with three balls to spare.
Jaiswal was still named Player of the Match. That is rare but not unique: eight of the 30 highest losing-side scores in IPL history won the award despite the result. Sometimes even the judges could see that the loser had played the best innings of the night.
Samson 119 (2021): one blow short
The cruellest finish on this list came at Wankhede on 12 April 2021. In his first match as RR captain, Sanju Samson chased Punjab Kings' 221 for 6 almost on his own. He hit 12 fours and seven sixes in 119 off 63 balls. Rajasthan needed 13 off Arshdeep Singh's final over. Samson took a dot, then a single, and hit a six off the fourth ball. With five needed from two balls he declined a single to stay on strike, then holed out going for the winning six. RR lost by four runs.
The record shows how unusual that innings was in one respect: 24 of the 27 losing hundreds were scored batting first. Only three came in a chase: Samson's 119, Rohit Sharma's 105 not out in 2024 and Yusuf Pathan's 100 in 2010. A chasing century usually wins the game; when it doesn't, the margin is almost always tiny. Samson's and Pathan's teams both lost by four runs.
Saha 115* (2014): the hundred in the final
Wriddhiman Saha's 115 not out off 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 final at the Chinnaswamy on 1 June was the first century ever scored in an IPL final. It still sits on this list, because Kolkata Knight Riders chased 200 with three balls to spare behind Manish Pandey's 94. Of the 27 losing hundreds, Saha's is the only one in a title match. It may be the most painful entry here. Wriddhiman Saha's innings was 57.8 per cent of his team's total, on the biggest night of the season.
The Data Deep-Dive
The top 12 — highest scores in a losing cause
| # | Batter | Score | Team | Opponent | Season | Team total | Share | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rishabh Pant | 128* (63) | Delhi Daredevils | SRH | 2018 | 187/5 | 68.4% | lost by 9 wkts |
| 2 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 124 (62) | RR | MI | 2023 | 212/7 | 58.5% | lost by 6 wkts |
| 3 | Sanju Samson | 119 (63) | RR | PBKS | 2021 | 217/7 | 54.8% | lost by 4 runs |
| 4 | Rishabh Pant | 118* (61) | LSG | RCB | 2025 | 227/3 | 52.0% | lost by 6 wkts |
| 5 | Andrew Symonds | 117* (53) | Deccan Chargers | RR | 2008 | 214/5 | 54.7% | lost by 3 wkts |
| 6 | Wriddhiman Saha | 115* (55) | Kings XI Punjab | KKR | 2014 (Final) | 199/4 | 57.8% | lost by 3 wkts |
| 7 | Virat Kohli | 113* (72) | RCB | RR | 2024 | 183/3 | 61.7% | lost by 6 wkts |
| 8 | KL Rahul | 112* (65) | DC | GT | 2025 | 199/3 | 56.3% | lost by 10 wkts |
| 9 | Sunil Narine | 109 (56) | KKR | RR | 2024 | 223/6 | 48.9% | lost by 2 wkts |
| 10 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | 108* (60) | CSK | LSG | 2024 | 210/4 | 51.4% | lost by 6 wkts |
| 11 | Mayank Agarwal | 106 (50) | Kings XI Punjab | RR | 2020 | 223/2 | 47.5% | lost by 4 wkts |
| 12 | Shikhar Dhawan | 106* (61) | DC | Kings XI Punjab | 2020 | 164/5 | 64.6% | lost by 5 wkts |
Share = batter's runs as a percentage of the team total. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball data, IPL 2008–2025.
Two patterns stand out. First, 10 of the top 12 were unbeaten or batted deep into the final over, which means these batters did not lose their teams the game by getting out. Their teams lost because the other side's batting was even better. Second, the column of opponents reads like a list of record chases. RR's 224 for 8 against KKR on 16 April 2024 (Jos Buttler 107 not out after Narine's 109) equalled the highest successful chase in IPL history at that point. KL Rahul's 112 not out at Delhi on 18 May 2025 was overhauled by Gujarat Titans without the loss of a wicket: B Sai Sudharsan 108 not out and Shubman Gill 93 not out, 205 for 0 in 19 overs.
Hundred-versus-hundred nights
Six of the 27 losing centuries were answered by a century from the opposition on the same night:
| Date | Losing hundred | Winning hundred | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May 2023 | Heinrich Klaasen 104 (SRH) | Virat Kohli 100 (RCB) | Hyderabad |
| 21 May 2023 | Virat Kohli 101* (RCB) | Shubman Gill 104* (GT) | Bengaluru |
| 6 Apr 2024 | Virat Kohli 113* (RCB) | Jos Buttler 100* (RR) | Jaipur |
| 16 Apr 2024 | Sunil Narine 109 (KKR) | Jos Buttler 107* (RR) | Kolkata |
| 23 Apr 2024 | Ruturaj Gaikwad 108* (CSK) | Marcus Stoinis 124* (LSG) | Chennai |
| 18 May 2025 | KL Rahul 112* (DC) | B Sai Sudharsan 108* (GT) | Delhi |
All six came from 2023 onwards. Before 2023, no losing hundred in the IPL had been answered by a hundred from the winning side.
Losing hundreds by era
| Period | Losing hundreds | Notable entries |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–2012 | 3 | Symonds 117 (2008), Yusuf Pathan 100 off 37 (2010), Sachin Tendulkar 100 (2011) |
| 2013–2017 | 6 | Watson 101 (2013), Saha 115 in the final (2014), Amla 104 and 104 (2017) |
| 2018–2022 | 8 | Pant 128* (2018), Samson 119 (2021), Agarwal 106 (2020) |
| 2023–2025 | 10 | Jaiswal 124 (2023), Kohli 113 (2024), Pant 118 (2025) |
The last three seasons produced more losing hundreds (10) than the IPL's first nine seasons combined (7 from 2008 to 2016). Hashim Amla's two in 2017 came within 17 days of each other, both for Kings XI Punjab, both 104, and both lost. Virat Kohli is the only batter with three: 100 not out in 2016, 101 not out in 2023 and 113 not out in 2024.
Most runs in losing causes — career
| Batter | Runs in defeats | 50+ scores in defeats |
|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 3,731 | 29 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 2,780 | 19 |
| David Warner | 2,768 | 25 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2,724 | 17 |
| KL Rahul | 2,423 | 20 |
| Sanju Samson | 2,160 | 14 |
Kohli's 3,731 runs in defeats would, on their own, rank among the most career runs for many IPL franchise legends. That is partly longevity: he has played every IPL season for one franchise. It also reflects RCB's long run without a title before 2025, when so much of the batting rested on one player.
Legacy Impact — What This Means Today
The rise in losing hundreds is not a sign that centuries have become less valuable. It is a sign that targets have become chaseable. In the batting era that began in 2023, with the Impact Player rule adding a specialist batter to every XI, 210 stopped being a safe total. Ten of the 27 losing hundreds came from 2023 to 2025, and nine of those ten were scored batting first. Teams that posted big totals through one dominant innings found that the opposition, with an extra batter and no fear of collapse, could chase them down.
This is why the overall numbers are worth keeping in perspective. Across 2008–2025, a team whose batter scored a century still won 75.5 per cent of the time (83 of 110). A half-century came with a 61.3 per cent win rate across 1,913 innings. A hundred remains the strongest single predictor of victory a batter can supply. What has changed is the size of the remaining 25 per cent and who ends up in it. Increasingly, it is a batter who scores 110 out of 200-plus and watches a deeper batting order chase it down.
That distinction matters when forecasting matches as well as recording them. CricMind's Oracle does not reward a side for having a star batter in form. It rates whole teams on results, venue and recent form, because the record book shows that one player's brilliance, however historic, is regularly beaten by the opposition's batting depth. When the IPL returns, the Oracle's locked pre-match calls will show which XIs carry that depth.
For IPL 2026 fans, the names on this list are not historical figures. Pant captains LSG, Jaiswal and Samson are still among the most dangerous openers in the competition, and Kohli, Rahul, Gaikwad, Narine and Klaasen all appear in the top dozen. The next entry in this record book will probably come from one of them, batting first on a flat pitch in April.
For the wider picture, see CricMind's century club, the highest totals in a losing cause, and the nervous nineties, where Riyan Parag's 95 against KKR in May 2025, lost by one run, would have sat on this list with five more runs.
Three Takeaways
- A quarter of IPL hundreds end in defeat. 27 of 110 centuries from 2008 to 2025 came in losing causes, led by Rishabh Pant's 128 not out in 2018. A hundred still wins about three games in four, but it is not a guarantee.
- Losing hundreds are a first-innings problem. 24 of the 27 were scored batting first. When a chasing centurion loses, it is almost always by a whisker, like Samson and Pathan, who both fell four runs short.
- The modern era has multiplied them. Ten losing hundreds in 2023–2025 compared with seven in the nine seasons from 2008 to 2016. Deeper batting orders mean one great innings is beaten by the opposition's combined batting more often than ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest individual score in a losing cause in the IPL?
Rishabh Pant's 128 not out off 63 balls for Delhi Daredevils against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 10 May 2018. SRH chased Delhi's 187 for 5 with nine wickets and seven balls to spare.
How many IPL centuries have ended in defeat?
In Cricsheet's ball-by-ball record of 1,169 IPL matches from 2008 to 2025, 27 of 110 centuries came in losing causes, about 24.5 per cent.
Who has scored the most IPL hundreds in losing causes?
Virat Kohli, with three: 100 not out against Gujarat Lions in 2016, 101 not out against Gujarat Titans in 2023 and 113 not out against Rajasthan Royals in 2024. Pant, Samson, KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hashim Amla have two each.
Has anyone scored a century in an IPL final and lost?
Yes. Wriddhiman Saha made 115 not out off 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 final, the first century in an IPL final, but Kolkata Knight Riders chased 200 with three balls left.
Which chasing century came closest to winning?
Sanju Samson's 119 against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2021 and Yusuf Pathan's 100 off 37 balls against Mumbai Indians on 13 March 2010. Both teams lost by four runs. Samson was caught on the final ball going for the winning six.
Can a batter win Player of the Match in a losing cause?
Yes. Yashasvi Jaiswal (124 in 2023), Sanju Samson (119 in 2021), Shikhar Dhawan (106 not out in 2020) and Yusuf Pathan (100 in 2010) are among eight batters in the top 30 losing-side scores who won the award despite finishing on the losing team.
How often does an IPL team win when one of its batters scores a hundred?
From 2008 to 2025, 75.5 per cent of the time: 83 wins from 110 centuries. A half-century is linked to a 61.3 per cent win rate.