CPL: Most centuries in tournament history
The Caribbean Premier League(CPL) is all set to take place in Trinidad and Tobago from August 18, and there is a lot to look forward to as it becomes the first major T20 league to commence since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Over the years, the CPL has produced some thrilling encounters as well as some batting performances which have enriched the match-watching experience, adding more flavour to the biggest T20 party in the world.
With the likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, and Kieron Pollard to name a few, gracing their national T20 league, its no exaggeration to say that the CPL has witnessed a few scintillating centuries in its 7-year history.
In this article, we take a low at the three players who have scored the most centuries in the illustrious history of the Caribbean Premier League.
3. Andre Russell
At No. 3 on the list is Jamaica Tallawahs all-rounder Andre Russell with two hundreds so far in the CPL. The fans of the Indian Premier League(IPL) are familiar with the Jamaican's death overs exploits for the Kolkata Knight Riders over the years. In the CPL, the 2-time World T20 champion has played a similar role when he has got an opportunity to bat for a longer period, Russell has grabbed it with both hands.
Russell's first century came in the 2016 edition against the Trinbago Knight Riders as he struck a century in 44 balls while batting at No. 6. The big hitter walked in with his side reduced to 67-4 inside ten overs and Russell single-handedly took them to 195-7.
The 2nd hundred was an unbeaten knock of 121 in 2018 against the same side in a high scoring game. TKR posted 223/6 while batting first, and the big West Indian picked a hat-trick towards the fag end of the innings.
While chasing, Russell walked in to bat right after the powerplay with the Tallawahs struggling at 41-5, but he scored a century at a staggering strike rate of 246, hitting 13 sixes along the way. The innings powered Jamaica Tallawahs to an unlikely win. He also became the first, and to-date the only, player to take a hat-trick and score a century in a T20 game.
The two centuries of Andre Russell are both the fastest in CPL history.
2. Dwayne Smith
Former IPL champion Dwayne Smith has been unbeaten in three of his centuries, and he has been on the winning side in two games. Smith represented the Barbados Tridents in the CPL, and he was a vital cog of the Tridents set-up. Just like the previous edition, Smith, unfortunately, won't be a part of the CPL in 2020 as well.
In the 2014 edition of the Caribbean Premier League, he scored two centuries in two matches. The results, however, varied in these games as the Tridents couldn't cross the line against Guyana Amazon Warriors when Smith scored his 2nd century.
The 3rd hundred was scored at a relatively slow pace, with Smith taking 70 balls to get to his hundred. This was also the slowest in the CPL, and as a result, the Tridents went on to lose this game, incidentally also against Guyana.
The last century came in 2017 against the St Lucia Stars, as the opener's 103 off 65 balls powered the Tridents to a total of 195, helping them win the match by 30 runs.
1. Chris Gayle
It comes as no surprise that like almost every other T20 record it's Chris Gayle who owns this one as well with four centuries in the competition. Three of the Universe Boss' hundreds came in winning causes, while the one which ended in tragedy was for the Jamaica Tallawahs in CPL 2019, as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots chased down a mammoth target of 242.
The first century came back in 2014 while chasing a target of 162 against the St Lucia Zouks, and Gayle single-handedly powered them to victory with an unbeaten 111, where the next highest score was 23.
His second century in the CPL came while batting first against Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel when he scored 105 runs off 57 balls but no other batsman managed to cross 40. Gayle then made light work of a chase of 192 in his 3rd CPL century against the Trinbago Knight Riders.
Characteristically, in all 4 of Gayle's centuries in the CPL so far, he has hit a minimum of 9 sixes, and the number of sixes have exceeded the number of fours.
Earlier this year, Gayle decided to switch sides from the Jamaica Tallawahs to the St Lucia Zouks, but later pulled out of the CPL 2020 due to personal reasons.