Ranking all three 100s scored on the final day of IPL 2023 league stage
With three teams looking to secure the last playoff spot on the last day of the IPL 2023 league stage, fans witnessed some high-quality cricket in both high-scoring matches.
After the Royal Challengers Bangalore lost at the hands of Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians booked their place in the IPL 2023 playoffs, setting up a clash with Lucknow Super Giants on May 24.
The last day of the league matches of the IPL 2023 proved to be a historic day in the history of the IPL when not one, not two, but three centuries were scored in just two games. On that note, let's rank those centuries and see which was the best among them.
#3 Cameron Green
In a must-win game for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023, it was the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green who rose to the occasion to win it for the five-time IPL champion.
SRH, who were at least 20 to 25 runs short of the score they would have wanted at the end of 15 overs, still managed to put up a challenging total of 200 against the Mumbai Indians.
With Ishan Kishan dismissed cheaply and a struggling Rohit Sharma unable to maintain the tempo of the chase, Green took on the onus of launching the attack on the opponent bowlers. Since SRH was already out of playoff contention, they decided to experiment with new bowlers.
Green took the fast bowlers to the cleaners and smoked them on all parts of the ground. He made sure that the asking rate was always ahead of the required run rate, which eased the pressure on the rest of the batters.
With the team needing one run off 13 balls, he worked a good length delivery to mid-on to complete a 47-ball ton, justifying his price tag.
#2 Shubhman Gill
Chasing a stiff target of 198 on a wet outfield, GT needed someone to play out of their skin and guide them to victory. And who better than their informed batter, Shubhman Gill, to take on this onus?
Despite GT getting off to a slow start, Gill kept hitting boundaries at regular intervals to maintain the tempo of the chase.
With Vijay Shankar struggling big time and not anywhere close to his fluent best, Gujarat found themselves in a situation where they had to chase 11 runs per over. Some strange tactics from RCB and some wayward lengths from bowlers, coupled with belligerent batting from Gill, ensured that they had their nose ahead in the backend of the innings.
RCB tried to pull things back with the wickets of Dasun Shanaka and David Miller, but Gill kept belting towering sixes to ensure that he not only completed his second century in consecutive matches but also that RCB got knocked out of the IPL 2023. He completed his century in just 52 balls.
#1 Virat Kohli
Nothing can match the sight of watching a fluent Virat Kohli bat in full flow with authority. And when it's a do-or-die situation, then he becomes inevitable. In a must-win encounter against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023, with rain looming around, RCB needed to set up a big total to ensure that they ended on the right side.
Virat and Faf Du Plessis started the side's innings well and plundered 62 off the powerplay. But then RCB's soft middle order started crumbling and they soon found themselves reeling at 133/5 inside the 15th over, with a subpar total of 160 on the cards.
Virat, who was batting at 61 off 42 deliveries, didn't slow down and kept the scoreboard ticking with occasional boundaries. He waited for the last three overs to open up and then upped the ante and made sure that RCB ended up with a stiff target of 198, completing his 7th IPL century in the process. Kohli became the joint-highest century-maker in IPL history with Chris Gayle.
His 60-ball ton was in vain as GT, with the help of Gill's century, chased down the target with five balls to spare, knocking RCB out of IPL 2023.