The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season has witnessed some exquisite batting display from various cricketers and Tuesday 23, April was another example of the same.
Shane Watson scored a 53-ball 96 to help CSK come back to winning ways against Sunrisers Hyderabad after the Men in Yellow lost two back to back games. Watson was merciless against the SRH bowlers and tonked them all around the park at the Chepauk. However, the former Australian all-rounder narrowly missed out on a 100 as he fell four short of the three figure mark and was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
One who did not miss the opportunity to get to that feat was Ajinkya Rahane, who scored an unbeaten ton against Delhi Capitals at the fortress of the Royals, the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur.
Rahane’s ton was also the sixth of the season after David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.
Here is a look at how the centurions of the seasons got to the three-figure mark.
Sanju Samson (102*)
Sanju Samson scored the first ton of IPL 2019, but in a losing cause. He scored an unbeaten 102 which helped Rajasthan put 198 on the board. His knock consisted of 10 fours and two sixes.
However, David Warner’s 69 off 37 balls coupled with Jonny Bairstow’s (45 off 28 balls) helped Sunrisers chase down the total without any fuss in 19 overs. This was Samson’s second IPL ton. He scored his first for while playing for Delhi against the Rising Pune Supergiants.
David Warner (100*)
David Warner along with Jonny Bairstow put on a batting masterclass at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against a hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore. Together with Bairstow, he added an opening stand of 185 which is the highest ever in IPL history. Back in the IPL after missing out last year, Warner is seemingly hungry for runs.
He is also topping the run-scoring charts at the moment with 349 runs and is the proud owner of the Orange Cap at the moment.
With the World Cup coming up, Warner is shaping up well and getting better with every outing for Sunrisers.
Jonny Bairstow (114)
Playing his first ever IPL season, England-wicketkeeper batsmen Jonny Bairstow proved his worth for the Sunrisers scoring 114 against RCB who had no answers to the duo’s power-packed batting display.
He sits third on the Orange Cap list with 263 runs, striking at 160 and averaging nearly 44.
He scored at a quicker rate than Warner throughout his innings. He hit 12 fours and seven sixes and absolutely decimated the RCB bowling line-up.
KL Rahul (100*)
After Samson, Rahul ‘s ton against Mumbai Indians was the second one which came for a losing cause. Playing his second season with Kings XI Punjab, Rahul along with Chris Gayle forms a formidable batting pair.
Against Mumbai, on Thursday night, Rahul put together a batting spectacle as he scored exactly 100* of 64 balls as Punjab scored a mammoth 197/4 batting first.
His knock was designed by a total of 12 hits to the fence. He played the perfect foil to Gayle who was going great guns and smacking the bowlers to all parts of the ground. The duo added 116- run opening stand. He finally carried his bat through and got to the three figure mark in the final over of the Punjab innings.
However, Kieron Pollard’s 31-ball 83 overshadowed Rahul’s knock as Mumbai chased down the total in the final ball of their innings.
Virat Kohli (100*)
Virat Kohli scored his fifth IPL ton and his first this season against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Friday, 19 April 19.
Having scored two fifties in the season, Kohli scored a century against KKR in a match which the hosts went on to win.
As for RCB, this was a must-win game for them as well to keep their chances alive for the playoffs. Captain Kohli ensured that he took the responsibility on himself on a day when AB de Villiers was missing from the line-up. He scored an unbeaten ton off 58 deliveries to help RCB finish strong at 213/4.
Andre Russell’s 25-ball 65 and Nitish Rana’s 85* was not enough as KKR fell short of the target by 10 runs to register their fifth loss of the season and their fourth on the bounce.
Ajinkya Rahane (105*)
Rahane innings was all about class and it also oozed a touch of elegance as well. The home team, however, did not get the result in their favour. His unbeaten ton powered Rajasthan to 191/6 in their 20 overs.
However, Rahane’s elegant knock was overshadowed by a powerful knock from Delhi’s Rishabh Pant who scored 78 off just 36 balls which took them to the top of the points table for a brief period.
Chennai’s win over SRH meant that the Men in Yellow were back at the top of the table once again.
There have been six centuries scored so far in the tournament and every knock was very different from the other. With the season coming to its business end it will be interesting to see if anyone else add up to this tally.
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