IPL: Top contenders to score a ton for their respective franchises
With over 600 matches in a span of ten years, Indian Premier League has given its viewers across the globe numerous occasions of delight. A league that boasts of having the best players in the business, has certainly lived up to the faith invested by the fans over these years. With the league on the cusp of entering into the second decade, there are a lot many things that one can expect given an entire change of face for the new looking eight teams that marks the beginning of the 11th edition.
After shuffling of players in this year's auction, every franchise has managed to establish a solid top three that can flourish at the top of the order. Given the dynamics of the T20 format, it becomes essential for every team to go hard at the opposition in the power play and get the flow of runs going in order to lay the foundation for a mammoth total. Here's a look at some of those hard hitters who are the top contenders for registering the maiden ton for their teams in this year's IPL.
#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Manish Pandey
The explosive middle-order batsman who was bought by the Hyderabad-based franchise for a whopping INR 11 crore, is an obvious choice to be one in this list from Hyderabad. Pandey has been in sublime touch as his recent exploits in South Africa and Nidahas Trophy speak volumes of his stature as a batsman in T20 format. He would be eager to join the orange army and justify his auction price by smacking few top-notch scores this year.
He was also the first Indian to score a century in IPL in its second edition in 2009 in the Rainbow nation. A veteran in T20, who has shifted his base from Kolkata played some remarkable match-winning innings for the men in Purple at No.3. He would now also be the key in Sunrisers' batting line up after the departure of David Warner as the franchise would count on him to hold the middle-order for the team. The onus now lies on Manish along with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf Pathan and Kane Williamson to take the team towards the business end of the tournament.