5 youngest centurions in the IPL
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided a lot of cricketers with a platform to rub shoulders with the very best in the world, and prove their mettle. We have seen players like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja all make their mark in the IPL before going on to achieve great things with the national team.
Some of these youngsters make a mark through some fantastic batting, helping their teams to big scores. These are five of the youngest centurions in the IPL.
5. David Warner (23 years and 153 days)
David Warner has the most IPL centuries of anyone on this list but it is his first century in the competition that is of interest to us. At 23 years and 153 days, David Warner was the youngest foreign centurion in the IPL at the time when he scored 107 off 69 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2010.
With Gautam Gambhir winning the toss and choosing to bat, Warner made sure early wickets did not rock the Delhi Daredevils. His century took the team to a pretty strong 177/4 in their 20 overs.
Warner’s innings coupled with good work from his teammates in the field saw them beat KKR comfortably by 40 runs. David Warner’s record of being the youngest foreign centurion in the IPL would be broken by the next man on this list.
4. Quinton de Kock (23 years and 122 days)
At 23 years and 122 days old, Quinton de Kock is the youngest foreigner on this list. Playing the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru in the 106 edition of the IPL, Zaheer Khan won the toss and opted to field first. The Bengaluru-based franchise would respond by putting up a competitive 191/5 in 20 overs.
The Delhi Daredevils didn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts, as De Kock lost his opening partner Shreyas Iyer for an early duck. The South African wicketkeeper played a fantastic knock as he stuck around till the 19th over, mostly in the company of Karun Nair.
His 108 off 51 balls was good enough to take Delhi home as they won the game by 7 wickets, and Quinton de Kock was named man of the match.
3. Sanju Samson (22 years and 151 days)
Sanju Samson became the third youngest centurion (second youngest at the time) in the IPL when he scored 102 for the Delhi Daredevils against the Rising Pune Supergiant, taking his team to 205/4 in their allotted 20 overs. He was just 22 years and 151 days old at the time.
Having been asked to bat after losing the toss, the Daredevils found themselves in trouble after Deepak Chahar dismissed Aditya Tare in the first over. However, Sanju Samson would come in and take control instead. His 63-ball 102 helped his team put up more than just a competitive total.
The century, combined with some good work in the field from his team, would help Delhi win the match easily by 97 runs.
2. Rishabh Pant (20 years and 218 days)
Having won the toss and elected to bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Delhi in IPL 2018, Delhi Daredevils found themselves reeling a little early at 21/2. Enter Rishabh Pant. The wickets of his captain Shreyas Iyer and Harshal Patel didn’t seem to phase him as he set out on a path of destruction.
Pant obliterated the bowling attack in front of him as he scored an unbeaten 128 off just 63 balls, guiding his team to 187/5 in their 20 overs. At 20 years and 218 days, that made him the second youngest IPL centurion, going ahead of Sanju Samson in the list.
Pant’s destructive hundred wouldn’t be enough for Delhi however, as the Sunrisers pulled off a pretty comfortable run chase and won by 9 wickets in the end.
1. Manish Pandey (19 years and 253 days)
On May 21, 2009, Manish Pandey, then playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, became the first Indian centurion in the IPL. At 19 years and 253 days old, he was also the youngest centurion in the IPL, a record he holds to this day, 11 years later.
RCB were taking on the Deccan Chargers in their last league game of the season, and captain Anil Kumble chose to bat after he won the toss. Opening with Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey played an innings for the ages as he stuck around till the end, helping his team to 170/4 in their 20 overs.
The current Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman went on to score 114 off just 73 balls, earning the man-of-the-match award in the process as RCB went on to win the match by 12 runs. Unfortunately for Pandey, however, he was not able to repeat the heroics just days later as Deccan Chargers beat them in the final of IPL 2009.