3 batters who have scored consecutive hundreds in T20 cricket
Modern-day Australian legend Steve Smith entered the history books on Saturday (January 21) after smashing two consecutive T20 centuries for the Sydney Sixers in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL).
He became the first player in BBL history to cross the three-figure mark twice in two outings.
Smith, who opened the batting for the Sixers on Saturday, smashed a superlative 66-ball 125* in Match 50 against the Sydney Thunders.
#GoldenMoment Second-straight century brought up with a SIX!
STEVEN SMITH 🔥 #GoldenMoment
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In the rain-curtailed 19 overs per side game, Smith remained unbeaten after smashing a handsome century that included five fours and nine maximums. He shared an unbeaten 155-run partnership for the third wicket, which helped the Sixers post 187/2.
The Sydney Thunder failed to put up a fight as they got all out for 62 and lost the match by a massive margin of 125 runs.
In his side's previous match, which was against the Adelaide Strikers, Smith guided his team to a 59-run victory courtesy of his immaculate 56-ball 101.
Steve Smith is cooking in the BBL 🫡
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With two centuries in consecutive innings, Smith entered the elite list of batters who have hit two T20 tons on the trot.
In this article, we will look at three such players who have previously scored consecutive hundreds in T20s.
#1 David Warner for New South Wales in 2011
David Warner has reached a half-century with NSW 2-114 chasing 206 for victory.
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Much before Steve Smith hit two consecutive centuries, his countryman David Warner achieved the feat and became the first-ever player to notch up back-to-back T20 hundreds.
Warner etched the record to his name while playing for New South Wales at the now-defunct Champions League T20 (CLT20) in 2011.
The CLT20 was a tournament where Twenty-20 franchises from top countries used to compete for an ultimate silverware.
Interestingly, both of Warner's consecutive hundreds came against IPL franchises. In his side's last league game of the tournament, Warner smashed an outstanding 135* from just 69 balls and was the Man of the Match in NSW's 46-run victory.
In the next game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which was also the semi-final of the competition, he struck a 68-ball 123* in the first innings.
Unfortunately for the Australian southpaw, he ended up on the losing side as RCB chased down the 204-run target on the back of two brilliant knocks from Chris Gayle (92) and Virat Kohli (84*).
#2 Ishan Kishan for Jharkhand in 2019
3 Hundreds in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Unmukt Chand & Ishan Kishan
Ishan's Hundred 👇👇👇
100* (55) vs Jammu and Kashmir 2019
113* (62) vs Manipur 2019
102* (64) vs Odisha 2022*
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One of India's hottest prodigies going around at the moment, Ishan Kishan also holds the record for smashing two T20 hundreds in successive games.
In his earlier days, when Kishan captained Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 season, he achieved the feat.
After a duck in his side's first game against Delhi, Kishan came up with a match-winning knock against Jammu and Kashmir. Against the likes of Irfan Pathan, Umar Nazir Mir, and Parvez Rasool, the left-hander became the first Indian wicketkeeper-captain to score a hundred in a T20 match.
He scored an unbeaten 100* off 55 during that game. Kishan followed his 100* with another fabulous century in the very next game against Manipur.
The now 24-year-old stitched an unbeaten 165-run stand with Virat Singh (73) and smashed a superlative 113* from 62 balls. A clinical performance by Jharkhand won the match by a mammoth margin of 121 runs.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan for Delhi Capitals in 2020
Back to back 100s for @SDhawan25 👏👏
He is the first player to have consecutive centuries in IPL.
Take a bow, Gabbar
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A player who has now fallen out of favor with his national team, Shikhar Dhawan, was the last Indian to register two consecutive tons in T20.
In fact, he remained the only player to hit two back-to-back hundreds in the IPL before Jos Buttler himself achieved the feat in the IPL 2022 with the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
After a wait of 167 innings, Dhawan finally got his maiden IPL ton when he scored a 58-ball 101* during a run chase against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Courtesy of his knock, Dhawan's former franchise, Delhi Capitals (DC), won the match with five wickets in hand.
Dhawan continued his rich vein of form and clobbered another century. Playing against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), the Delhi-born scored 106 runs off 61 deliveries, smacking 12 fours and three sixes.
However, the Capitals lost that particular game as they failed to defend their first inning total of 164/5.