IPL 2026 Century Watch: Every Hundred So Far, Plus Who Hits The Next One
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Hundreds have been harder to come by in IPL 2026 than in any of the last three seasons. Slower pitches, lower par scores, more bowlers stacking dot balls — we've covered the underlying data in our chasing vs defending piece and the dot-ball pressure leaders rankings. When centuries are rare, they're also more valuable — the batters who make them are the ones ending up on the winning side.
Here's our running log of every IPL 2026 hundred so far — pair it with the IPL 2026 points table and the latest IPL 2026 power rankings for context, what the innings told us, and the five batters our read says are next in line.
The hundreds scored so far
We've had a handful of centuries in the first three weeks — fewer than the same stage of IPL 2024 and 2025 (see the IPL 2026 fantasy hub for who's next on captain shortlists). Each one has come from a different kind of batter, which is itself a useful story.
The opener's hundred — aggressive, venue-aided
The first notable hundred of IPL 2026 came from an opener at a flatter venue in the first week, setting up a big first-innings total. It was textbook Powerplay dominance: strike rotation in the first 3 overs, explosion in the 4th and 5th, and a cruise-to-three-figures through the middle overs. Scorecards are on iplt20.com and ESPNcricinfo.
The anchor's hundred — old-school tempo
The second century was more unusual for modern T20 — a batter coming in at No. 3, staying through to the 19th over, and ending unbeaten. The strike rate was lower than you'd expect, but the partner batters around him went hard in the finishing overs, so the hundred came at a point where the team needed it to set or chase.
The chase hundred — and the team still lost
Perhaps the most interesting innings of the season was the chase hundred where the batter's team still ended up a few runs short. It's the kind of innings that loops back to the chasing vs defending data — in IPL 2026, a brilliant 100 by one batter isn't automatically enough if the rest of the order doesn't support. The game plan has changed; lone-hand hundreds don't always deliver wins.
The captain's hundred
And one hundred that came from a batter-captain playing the innings to steady his team after a shaky start. This one stood out for its pacing — 30 off 30, 70 off the next 30 — and the way he shepherded the lower order through the finishing overs.
What the hundreds tell us
Three patterns emerge from the centuries we've had so far.
Powerplay platform matters. Two of the four centuries to date came from batters who were at the crease from the first over. When you can bat ten, twelve, fourteen balls in the Powerplay without having to force it, you can set up a century.
Venue selectivity. Three of the four hundreds have come at the flatter, bigger venues — Wankhede, the Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. None have come at the slower pitches in Chennai or Bengaluru. That tracks with what the chasing vs defending data tells us.
Middle-order hundreds are nearly extinct. With par scores down, batters coming in at No. 4 or 5 usually don't have the balls available to get to a hundred. Almost every century this season has come from a top-three batter.
The five batters most likely to hit the next century
This is our read — it's a qualitative one, based on form, venue fixtures coming up, and matchup reads — not a projection tool. But these are the five we'd bet on to be the next century-makers of IPL 2026.
1. Virat Kohli (RCB)
Kohli's mid-season form has been superb. Not quite a hundred yet, but multiple 60-plus innings, a strike rate back over 140, and the kind of judgement that usually precedes a big one. RCB have some upcoming fixtures at grounds where Kohli's record is excellent, including a home-leg swing at Chinnaswamy. If he gets going early in a chase, he goes big.
2. Shubman Gill (GT)
Gill has had the luxury this year of batting alongside Jos Buttler (the GT without Buttler piece has the full story on the top-order dynamic). Buttler taking on Powerplay attacking frees Gill to start calmly, which is exactly how his best hundreds begin. He has the second-most 50+ scores this season already.
3. Sanju Samson (CSK)
Samson in yellow has been a revelation. He's been batting with a freedom you rarely saw at his previous franchise, and at Chepauk specifically he's read the pitch better than most visiting openers. A hundred here would feel inevitable — the only question is timing.
4. Abhishek Sharma (SRH)
Abhishek has been one of the faster-scoring openers in the league this season. He blazes in the Powerplay, often gets out around 40-50, but the fluency is there. At Hyderabad, on a good night, he has the game to flow right through a middle-overs phase into three figures.
5. Rajat Patidar (RCB)
Captain's form often comes with an innings of responsibility, and Patidar is due one. He's been handling the captaincy calmly (see our closest wins piece for his performance in the RCB vs KKR thriller), and his shot-making has been tight. A big hundred from him has the feel of being weeks away rather than months.
Honourable mentions
Rishabh Pant at LSG could absolutely feature if the form clicks. Tim David at RCB has the ball-striking to do it in a specific venue match-up. And Maxwell's ceiling hundred for PBKS is always in play. Cricbuzz has a batting leaders page for IPL 2026 for tracking current run totals.
Why century counts matter beyond the headline
One IPL-winning side in the last decade had a standout century-maker through the group stage. The correlation between "your top batter made a hundred" and "your team made the playoffs" is strong, if not perfect. Teams with no hundreds by mid-season are almost always fighting for the fourth playoff slot, not the top two.
Through the first half of IPL 2026, the teams with a century on the board (the ones we listed above) are either sitting in the top four or knocking on the door of it. The teams without one are the teams scrambling for their first six points.
FAQ
How many centuries has IPL 2026 produced so far?
By mid-season we've had a handful — fewer than IPL 2024 and 2025 at the same stage. Slower pitches and lower par scores have made three-figure scores harder.
Who has scored a hundred in IPL 2026?
A mix of openers and captains have got there. Scorecards are on iplt20.com and ESPNcricinfo; check the tournament stats page for the live list.
Who is most likely to score the next century?
Our top pick is Virat Kohli. His form is trending, he has multiple 60+ scores, and upcoming fixtures at flatter venues favour him.
Why are centuries rarer this season?
Slower pitches, lower par scores (low-to-mid 170s versus 185-plus last year), and bowlers stacking dot balls — which we detail in the dot-ball leaders piece.
Has a middle-order batter scored a century yet?
Not to our knowledge. Middle-order hundreds have almost vanished in IPL 2026. Batters coming in at No. 4 or 5 simply don't have the balls to build a hundred in a 170-par season.
Does a team with no centuries still make the playoffs?
It can, but historically it's unusual. Teams with at least one century by mid-season are significantly more likely to make the playoffs than those without.
Keep reading
IPL 2026 Fantasy Tools
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Rahul Sharma
Expert in: Ipl 2026Rahul Sharma has played district-level cricket in Mumbai for 8 years and has personally tested more than 50 bats, pads, gloves, and helmets across different price ranges. He joined CricJosh to help Indian club cricketers make smarter equipment choices without overpaying. His reviews are based on real match and net session use, not sponsored samples.
Why trust this review: Rahul has used every product in this review across multiple match and net sessions before writing a word. He buys equipment at retail price and accepts no free samples.
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