IPL: 3 foreign wicket-keeper batsmen who have scored a century in tournament history
The 13th edition of the IPL is set to take place in 2020 as the fans gear up to witness yet another season of the grand T20 competition. The role of a wicket-keeper in cricket has evolved over the years. Earlier, the teams preferred to have a player who could just keep wickets and bat a little for the team.
However, in the era of T20 cricket, the dynamics of every player has changed. The wicket-keepers now have to contribute majorly in the batting department as well. The earlier trend has reversed because the franchises seek to have a batsman who knows how to keep wickets rather than the other way round.
Also see – MI 2020 team
Because of the 4 overseas players rule, the team management expects the foreign players in the playing XI to bring their ‘A’ game to the table. And, when the team’s wicket-keeper is a foreigner, he is expected to be one of the major run scorers of the side. In the 12 years of IPL, three foreign wicket-keeper batsmen have registered a hundred for their team.
Here’s a list of the three foreign batsmen who recorded a century in the same match where they had the responsibility of keeping the team’s wickets.
#3 Quinton de Kock - 108 (51) vs RCB, 2016
South African wicket-keeper batsman, Quinton de Kock, destroyed the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack in Bengaluru with a blistering century in IPL 2016. The home team batted first in that match and a special partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers powered Bangalore to a score of 191/5 in their 20 overs.
Chasing 192, Delhi Daredevils lost the wicket of Shreyas Iyer early however, his opening partner, De Kock launched a memorable counter-attack from the other end. Sanju Samson joined him in the middle but he departed soon after a 14-ball 9. Karun Nair later stabilized the innings with de Kock before the Proteas player dismantled the opposition bowling attack. He hit 15 fours and 3 sixes in his innings before Shane Watson sent him back to the pavilion.
His maiden IPL century had almost sealed the deal for the visiting side and his compatriot JP Duminy completed the remaining formalities.
#2 Adam Gilchrist - 109*(47) vs MI, 2008 and 106 (55) vs RCB, 2011
Australian opener, Adam Gilchrist, was the cornerstone of Deccan Chargers in the first three seasons of IPL. He played several memorable knocks for the Hyderabad-based franchise, and one of them came against Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of IPL. Playing at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to field first.
RP Singh’s fine spell reduced Mumbai Indians to 154/7 in the first innings. Chasing 155 in 20 overs, Gilchrist launched an all-out assault on the home side. He whacked 9 fours and 10 sixes in his 47-ball 109 to guide Deccan Chargers home with 8 overs to spare. VVS Laxman supported him to perfection with a knock of 37 runs as the visitors won the match by 10 wickets.
In 2011, the left-handed wicket-keeper batsman became a part of Kings XI Punjab and he registered his second IPL ton playing at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. He stitched together a record partnership of 206 runs with his compatriot Shaun Marsh for the second wicket as the Australian duo decimated Royal Challengers Bangalore. While Marsh could not touch triple figures, Gilchrist scored 106 runs off 55 deliveries before Charl Langeveldt dismissed him.
#1 Jonny Bairstow - 114 (56) vs RCB, 2019
It seems like the foreign wicket-keeper batsmen enjoy playing against Royal Challengers Bangalore because all the three players on this elite list have registered at least century against them. Let us break down Jonny Bairstow’s first IPL hundred in detail.
The right-handed English batsman opened the innings with David Warner in Hyderabad in that match. The duo of Warner and Bairstow attacked the opposition bowlers from both ends as they scored 185 runs for the first wicket. Both batsmen managed to touch triple figures. While Warner remained unbeaten on 100, Bairstow aggregated 114 runs off 56 balls before Yuzvendra Chahal got the better of him.
Bairstow hit 12 fours and 7 sixes for the Orange Army. His fine batting performance ensured that the home team won the match by a huge margin of 118 runs.