3 batsmen who have scored 4000-plus runs in IPL without hitting a century
While the Indian Premier League has viewers some of the most compelling batting performances on the big stage. Centuries and big scores from the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, David Warner and AB de Villiers have often delighted fans.
It might, however, come as a surprise to some that four of the top ten scorers in the IPL have never made it to the magic figure themselves. For them, the journey to the top ten and the exclusive 4000-plus runs club has been more of a grind. Here, we take a look at three highest run scorers with no centuries to their name.
#3. Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa's most successful stint in the Indian Premier League was as the opening batsman of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He won the Orange cap in the tournament's seventh edition in a career-best performance, scoring 660 runs in total. The Karnataka-based veteran has since maintained steady form ever since, having fallen under the 300 runs/season only once.
It is then highly surprising that Uthappa has never ever managed a hundred. In fact, his highest score has been 87, which he scored against Pune Supergiants in 2017. It could have a little to do with his more conservative approach towards the game in recent years. His strike rate, which was once as high as 171, has fallen to around the 120 mark in recent times.
Nonetheless, he remains one of the eight highest run-scorers in the league with 4412 runs from 170 matches. Thus, you can never rule out Uthappa he might as well find the extra push with a new franchise this season and finally reach that elusive three-figure mark.
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#2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Now, M. S. Dhoni's position in this list is far more understandable. A finisher of unparalleled quality, the long-time Chennai Super Kings skipper usually comes out on to the pitch when there are a few overs left in the innings. Throughout the 13 years of IPL, Chennai's stupendous top-order has meant that the middle and lower middle-order do not always have to do a lot in terms of scoring runs for the team.
That's not to understate the contribution of these players in the team's success. It is simply an acknowledgement of the fact that the run scoring opportunity, as far as the Chennai team is concerned, is usually hogged by the top three.
Dhoni's total of 4432 runs from 170 innings then is a feat in itself. He is one of those batsmen who has stepped out on the pitch for the sort of cameos that usually see his side through the difficult times.
The highest score for Dhoni has been 84 and it will safe to say that scoring a ton is not the first thing that would be on the star player's mind. He has always put the need of the team ahead of personal gains and more often than not, his team has needed him to score quick, not score big.
#1. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is another one of those anomalies. He belong to that rare breed of successful opening batsmen in IPL who have never scored a hundred. To be fair though, he has been in touching distance quite a few number of times. A 97 not out against Kolkata Knight Riders just last season was the latest big score in a series of near misses.
The southpaw has had success prior to the 2019 season, most notably with Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team that he helped to the title in 2016. The 2016-2018 seasons with Hyderabad were great for his personal growth as well, with him totalling nearly 500 runs in all the three.
But even through all of that, he was never the most explosive of batsmen on the pitch and that might be one of the reasons why he never quite managed to get the elusive hundred, despite multiple 90 plus unbeaten scores.