The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most competitive T20 league globally. And the competitiveness reaches its peak as the league enters the knockouts.
The Playoffs, or the knockouts stage, is one of the exciting phases of the IPL. Scoring runs in the IPL Playoffs requires a player to be mentally strong.
He should know the art of handling pressure well. A wrong move from a player can cost his team the tournament and spoil all the hard work of the entire season. It’s never easy for a batsman to score runs in knockouts and maintain his composure.
But a few have amazed everyone with the calculated approach as they brought up their centuries when the team needed it the most.
Here in this article, we will look at centuries scored in IPL playoffs. (You can find the top three teams that have entered the IPL Playoffs the most times here.)
1) Murali Vijay (CSK) – 113 vs DC (Qualifier 2 of IPL 2012)
Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay was the first batsman to score a century in the knockouts of the Indian Premier League. He played a brilliant knock of 113 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against Delhi Capitals in the second Qualifier of IPL 2012. This innings included 15 fours and 4 gigantic sixes.
This helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) post a total of 222 runs while batting first. CSK later won this match by a comfortable margin of 86 runs.
Vijay was in poor form in IPL 2012 until this innings. But cometh the hour, cometh the man. Murali played a clutch knock in the Qualifier to take CSK into the final. However, CSK lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2012 Final.
2) Virender Sehwag (KXIP) – 122 vs CSK (Qualifier 2 of IPL 2014)
Virender Sehwag was the second batsman to score a century in the IPL playoffs. He played a mind-blowing knock of 122 runs off 58 balls against CSK in the second Qualifier of IPL 2014. Sehwag hit 12 fours and 8 sixes to guide Kings XI Punjab to 226 runs while batting first.
Watching Sehwag in full flow at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was a treat. Eventually, Kings XI Punjab won the match and progressed to the finals of IPL 2014. But they faced a loss against KKR in the IPL 2014 Final.
3) Wriddhiman Saha (KXIP) – 115 vs KKR (Final of IPL 2014)
Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha scored a century while playing for Kings XI Punjab against KKR in the finals of IPL 2014. Saha played an amazing knock of 115 runs in 55 balls.
Saha came into bat at a tricky score of 30 for 2. He formed a great partnership with Manan Vohra and took Punjab to a massive score of 199 runs. This innings of Saha consisted of 10 fours and 8 sixes.
The Indian wicketkeeper was the first batsman to score a century in IPL knockouts while batting in the middle-order. However, this knock ended in a losing cause as KKR successfully chased down the target of 200 runs.
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4) Shane Watson (CSK) – 117 vs SRH (Final of IPL 2018 )
The next name on this list is Australian all-rounder Shane Watson. Shane became the first batsman to score a century in IPL knockouts while chasing the target.
Watson achieved this feat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final of IPL 2018 at Wankhede Stadium. He scored 117* runs in 57 balls, including 11 fours and 8 sixes.
While chasing the target of 179 runs, Watson started his innings cautiously. But soon, he put his foot on the accelerator. He smashed the SRH bowlers all around the ground.
CSK successfully chased this target with nine balls remaining. CSK won the IPL 2018 in their comeback season after a two-year ban.
5) Jos Buttler (RR) – 106* vs RCB (Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022)
Jos Buttler’s century in the IPL 2022 Qualifier 2 was a match-winning performance that powered Rajasthan Royals (RR) into the final.
The match was played on May 27, 2022, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with a spot in the IPL 2022 final on the line against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Chasing a target of 158 set by RCB, Jos Buttler was in sublime form. He anchored the innings and played a magnificent knock of 106 runs off just 60 balls, remaining not out. His innings was characterized by powerful hitting and smart accumulation of runs, including 6 fours and 6 sixes.
Buttler’s century was crucial as it single-handedly took the pressure off the other batsmen and ensured that RR chased down the target comfortably. He batted through the innings, guiding his team to victory with 11 balls to spare.
His dominant performance in this crucial playoff match highlighted his class and ability to perform on the big stage, securing Rajasthan Royals’ place in the IPL 2022 final.
6) Rajat Patidar (RCB) – 112 vs LSG (Eliminator of IPL 2022)
The latest batsman on this prestigious list is Rajat Patidar. Rajat played a fantastic knock of 112 runs in 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Eliminator match at Eden Gardens in IPL 2022. Patidar came into bat at No. 3 in this match after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lost the early wicket of Faf du Plessis in the first over.
Patidar attacked Krunal Pandya in the last over of the powerplay. Later in the middle overs, he played with good intent despite wickets falling from the other end.
Rajat Patidar hit 12 fours and 7 sixes in this outstanding innings. RCB reached a total of 207 runs with the help of his innings.
The best part about it was that Patidar was an uncapped player. RCB won the match by 14 runs and progressed to the second Qualifier in IPL 2022.
7) Shubman Gill (GT) – 129 vs MI (Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023)
Shubman Gill came to this must-win game with two hundreds in his last three matches. One must agree that Gill made batting look so easy, as it looked like he was batting on a different pitch altogether, where the other batters struggled.
He took charge against every Mumbai Indians (MI) bowler; two of the five MI bowlers conceded 50+ runs, and two others had an economy well ahead of 10.
Gill had multiple answers to every question (balls) thrown at him, and it looked like only he could find the wrong answer. This is also the highest individual score in a knockout game in the tournament’s history. Shubman also made it to the list of players with three+ tons to their name with this knock.
