Who Rules the Tons? Top Scorers With Most Centuries in IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) justifies the tagline “talent meets opportunity.” The league has provided a huge platform for many youngsters to showcase their potential to the whole world. Not only the rookies but veterans too have displayed their prowess in a format, which demands batters to go after bowlers from ball 1.

The IPL is seen as a league where every day there’s an opportunity for every new record to be created. It’s safe to say that batters have dominated the tournament and are evolving with each season, developing an unorthodox style of batting. This has consequently made life difficult for bowlers.

One of the biggest achievements in the T20 format for any batter is to hit a ton. It requires a lot of effort to achieve it. However, in the IPL some batters had made it a norm, slamming multiple tons. In this article, we will take a look at the players with the Most Number of Centuries in the IPL.

1.    Virat Kohli’s 7 Centuries in IPL 

“King of Cricket” Virat Kohli rules the tons charts in the IPL. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricketer has slammed the most number of centuries in the IPL with 7 hundreds under his belt so far in his career.  He notched up his first ton in the league against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions (100* off 63 balls) during the IPL 2016. He didn’t look back after that as in the same season he hit three more hundreds against the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants (108* off 58 balls), Gujarat Lions (109 off 55 balls), and Punjab Kings (113 off 50 balls) respectively. Kohli’s fifth century in the IPL came against Kolkata Knight Riders (100 off 58 balls) in the IPL 2019 at the iconic Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata.

After having a lean patch for a few seasons, the modern great was back at his best in 2023. He hit two more tons in the 16th edition of the league, with one coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad (100 off 63 balls) and the other against Gujarat Titans (101* off 61 balls). So far, no batter has hit more centuries than him in the league.  He also has most number of half-centuries in IPL by Indian batter as he has hit 57 fifties. 

2.    Chris Gayle’s 6 Centuries in IPL 

Universe Boss Chris Gayle’s name in the list of the most number of centuries in the IPL won’t be a surprise. There’s hardly any batting record that doesn’t have his name in it. The brutal left-hander has slammed 6 centuries in the league, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings. He couldn’t set the stage on fire in KKR colors but his career skyrocketed after joining RCB.

In his first game for the team in 2011, he hit a blistering ton and ended with a knock of 102* off 55 balls. In the same season, he blasted another century as he made 107 against Punjab Kings. The West Indies great racked up his third IPL ton against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2012 as he registered a score of 128. Gayle’s best came in the IPL 2013 game against now-defunct Pune Warriors India. He hit a whirlwind 175*, which is still the highest individual score in IPL.

The left-hander brought up his fourth century in the league when he scored 117 against Punjab in IPL 2015. The Universe Boss then moved to Punjab Kings in IPL 2018 and notched up the last and sixth hundred in the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He scored it 104* off 63 balls with 11 sixes and 1 four. 

3.   Jos Buttler’s 5 Centuries in IPL 

England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler is the batter with the third most number of centuries in the IPL. The Rajasthan Royals’ keeper-batter so far has hit five hundred in the league. His first ton came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. He etched up 124 runs off 64 balls. The opening batter brought up his best in the IPL 2022, where he hit 4 centuries. He hit tons against Mumbai Indians (100 off 68 balls), Kolkata Knight Riders (103 off 61 balls), Delhi Capitals (116 of 65 balls) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (106* off 60 balls) respectively. 

4.    David Warner’s 4 IPL Centuries 

David Warner also finds himself in the list of the most number of centuries in the IPL. The Australian legend has hit four hundred in the lucrative league and is the leading run-getter amongst the overseas players in the tournament.

Warner, who started his career with Delhi Capitals in the league, slammed two centuries for the franchise. In IPL 2010, he piled up his first century in the tournament as he hit an unbeaten 107 runs off 69 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Before playing a knock of 109* runs off 54 balls against now-defunct Deccan Chargers in IPL 2012. The opening batter moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2014 and played there for 8 years. During his stint with the team, he also hit two centuries. The southpaw brought up his third IPL hundred in 2017 when he scored 126 runs off 59 balls against KKR. Lastly, his fourth century came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2019 when he hit 100* off 55 balls. 

5.    KL Rahul’s 4 Centuries in IPL 

KL Rahul has been one of the most consistent batters in the IPL over the last 5 to 6 years. He has piled up truckloads of runs for his franchises, which has also seen him hitting 4 centuries in IPL. Two of his tons came while playing for Punjab Kings while the last two came in Lucknow Super Giants’ colors. The Karnataka batter hit his first century against Mumbai Indians when he hit an unbeaten 100 runs off 69 balls in IPL 2019.

In IPL 2020, he racked up 132* off 69 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2020, which took place in Dubai. Then, in 2022, Rahul joined Lucknow Super Giants and made sure he made an impact in the first season for the team. He blasted two centuries, both against Mumbai Indians. Coincidentally, he remained unbeaten at 103 runs in both the games.