List of Centuries by Virat Kohli in the IPL

It is not easy to score a century in the shortest format of the game, where you have only 20 overs per innings. And yet, Virat Kohli has scored eight centuries in the Indian Premier League (IPL), four of which came in a single season (2016). No other batter has more centuries than Kohli in the tournament. Jos Buttler with seven centuries is second on the list.

Virat Kohli total centuries in IPL

The 35-year-old has been with RCB since IPL’s inaugural season in 2008 and is the only franchise he has played for. In the IPL he has scored a chart-topping 8004 runs from 244 innings, which includes 55 half-centuries apart from the eight tons. These numbers make him the highest run-scorer in the IPL. Although Kohli has not been able to lead RCB to an IPL title in 13 years, he has been one of the most prolific batsmen in the cash-rich tournament.

Here we take a quick recap of all the centuries hit by Virat Kohli in the IPL.

100* vs Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016

This century will always be a memorable one for Kohli, as it was his first of the tournament. It took him eight years to score his first century in the IPL and there was no turning back. Gujarat Lions were hosting RCB in the 19th match of the 2016 season. Having won the toss and opting to bat, Kohli took it upon himself to give his side a good start. Kohli continued batting from one end even as Shane Watson and AB de Villiers failed to provide support as second fiddles. It was not until KL Rahul walked in that Kohli finally found a stable partnership. With his wide variety of strokes on display, Kohli scored an unbeaten 100 of 63 balls at a strike rate of a little over 158. At one point, RCB were 59-2 in eight overs. But a run-fest in the last five overs, off which 65 runs were scored by Kohli, helped the visitors post 180 on the board. KL Rahul, who was playing only his third IPL match, pitched in with a 35-ball 51.

The target of 180 runs was not enough as Brendon McCullum (24-ball 42) and Dinesh Karthik (39-ball 50) took the Lions over the line with three balls to spare. Although Kohli’s century came in a losing cause, he deservedly won the Player of the Match award.

108* vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016

It was the 35th match of IPL 2016 and was held in Bangalore. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, the Supergiants put up 191 runs on the board, with Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with a 48-ball 74. Shane Watson was RCB’s only disciplined bowler that day, bowling at an economy of 6.00 and picking up three wickets in his four-over spell.

Chasing 192 runs to win, Kohli opened the batting with KL Rahul and the partnership was not broken until the 11th over when the two had scored 94 runs together. While Kohli remained unbeaten on 108, hitting 8 fours and 7 sixes, KL Rahul scored a slow 35-ball 38. Later, Shane Watson chipped in with 36 runs from 13 balls to help RCB gun down the target in 19.3 overs. This was the second of Kohli’s four centuries that season, and it also won him the Player of the Match award.

109 vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016

Since joining RCB in 2011, AB de Villiers along with Kohli has stitched many memorable partnerships, and one of the finest came in 2016. RCB were hosting the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in match no. 44 of the season. Put into bat first, the hosts lost Chris Gayle for just 6 runs off 13 balls. But what unfolded after this was a record partnership between Kohli and de Villiers. The South African batsman reached his half-century in 26 balls, and converted that to a 52-ball 129 that was laced with 10 fours and 12 sixes.

Kohli, on the other hand, hit a 55-ball 109, smashing 5 fours and 8 sixes. The duo stitched a 229-run stand, with as many as 112 runs coming in the last five overs. RCB put up a total of 248 on the board, in reply to which the Gujarat team was bundled out for 104 runs. While Chris Jordan picked up four wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal chipped in with another three.

This was the first ever instance in the IPL when two batsmen made a century in the same innings. The partnership between Kohli and AB still remains the highest partnership in the tournament.

113 vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2016

This was the fourth of the four centuries that Kohli scored in the 2016 edition of the IPL, and is also his highest IPL score so far. The knock – 50-ball 113 – powered RCB to an 82-run win over KXIP via Duckworth Lewis method and also helped them stay afloat in the race for the playoffs. What was special about the century was that it came when Kohli was injured. The batsman was hit on his hand against the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 16, following which he sustained nine stitches. But only two days later, while the injury was still fresh, Kohli scored one of the finest knocks in the IPL. With that knock, Kohli became the only batsman to score more than 800 runs in a single edition.

During the 113-run knock, Kohli smashed 8 sixes and 12 fours, batting at a strike-rate of 226.00. With the help of this knock, RCB, playing at their home ground piled up a total of 211/3 in 90 balls. In reply, the Punjab outfit finished at 120/9. That season, RCB made it to the finals for the first time, but lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

100 vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2019

Kohli’s fifth century in the IPL came in 2019 against KKR at the iconic Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata.

Batting first, Kohli opened the batting with Parthiv Patel, but the latter failed to get going as RCB found themselves at 18-1 in the fourth over. Batting at no. 2, Akshdeep Nath too failed to do anything substantial, scoring a 15-ball 13. Then walked in Moeen Ali in the ninth over, and he along with Kohli fired on all cylinders. While the RCB skipper scored a 58-ball 100 that was laced with 9 fours and 4 sixes, the England batsman’s 28-ball 66 came at a whopping strike rate of 235.71. Ali hit six 6s and five 4s.

Chasing 214 runs to win, KKR fell 10 runs short of a target. Nitish Rana’s 46-ball 85 and Andre Russell’s 25-ball 65 was not enough for the hosts to go over the line. Meanwhile, Kohli once again won the Player of the Match award.

100 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2023

Kohli took four more years to score his next century and it came at a crucial juncture. Batting first, SRH had amassed 186-5 riding on Heinrich Klaasen’s century. But Kohli came out all guns blazing. Opening the batting alongside Faf du Plessis, he stitched a mammoth 172-run stand.

Kohli reached his sixth IPL century off 63 deliveries which included 12 fours and four sixes. His innings came at a strike rate of 158.73. His contribution was immense in RCB chasing down the target in 19.2 overs. He was dismissed with RCB just 15 runs shy of the target, and the visitors cruised home with plenty to spare.

101* vs Gujarat Titans, IPL 2023

Having broken his century drought of four years, he went back-to-back this time in a very crucial match against Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru. Batting first, Kohli stood tall in an otherwise insipid batting display where the second best score was du Plessis’ 28.

Kohli smashed 101 off just 63 balls with his knock including 13 fours and one six. He made sure to bat the entire 20 overs as RCB reached 197/5 in their 20 overs. Unfortunately, Kohli’s innings was not enough as Shubman Gill scored a century of his own to take Titans over the line and RCB were knocked out of the playoffs race.

113* vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2024

Kohli’s eighth and the most recent century came against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024. Batting first, again Kohli was the glue that held the innings together. He stitched a 125-run partnership with Faf du Plessis, scoring 113* off 72 balls.

Kohli remained unbeaten and hit 12 fours and four sixes during his knock. But again, the century did not come in a winning cause as Jos Buttler hit 100* off just 58 balls to take Royals over the line in 19.1 overs.