In any tournament or league, a first century is very special. Each batter who scores the first century forever has his name on the record list. Hence, first century scorer in any league like IPL, PSL, or tournament like World Cup earns a special honor in the league. Fans of the league will never forget this landmark of scoring the first hundred.
Similar scenarios apply to the Indian Premier League, which achieved widespread appeal. When the league first began, the IPL was not very well-known worldwide. So, at that time, very few fans noticed the first ever 100 in the inaugural season of IPL. However, as time passed, IPL became a popular brand, and now every fan wants to know even the most statistically accurate information about the brand. One example is Who scored the 1st century in the IPL?
First Century in IPL
Brendon McCullum was the first batter who scored the first century in IPL. On April 18, 2008, he scored this century for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 100 runs on 53 balls and became the fastest to score an IPL century. This was the first ever fastest hundred in the IPL on 54 balls, including 08 fours and 07 sixes.
Kolkata posted the highest total of 222 runs for the loss of three wickets thanks to Brendon McCullum’s 158-run innings. This inning made him the first most dangerous batsman in IPL.
In reply, Royal Challengers Bangalore was bowled out for just 82 runs. Only Praveen Kumar from RCB could cross double figures and score 18 runs. Hence, Kolkata won the match by a huge margin of 140 runs.
Now, you will be interested to know who was the man of the match in this IPL match. The answer is quite simple. It was none other than Brendon McCullum who was announced as the player of the match for his superb knock in the match.
First Indian Player to Score a Century in IPL
Manish Pandey was the first Indian batsman to score a century in IPL. He hit 114* runs unbeaten on 73 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009.
He was announced as the player of the match for this century. Due to his super knock, RCB won this match against Deccan Chargers. He scored 100 runs on 67 balls with ten fours and 03 sixes in this innings.
How Many Centuries Were Scored in the First Season of IPL?
Total six centuries were scored in the first season of IPL. Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, Shaun Marsh, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mike Hussey, and Andrew Symonds were the players who scored a century in the 2007/08 season of IPL.
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | S/R | Team | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendon McCullum | 158* | 73 | 10 | 13 | 216.43 | KKR | RCB | 18 Apr 2008 |
| Mike Hussey | 116* | 54 | 8 | 9 | 214.81 | CSK | PBKS | 19 Apr 2008 |
| Andrew Symonds | 117* | 53 | 11 | 7 | 220.75 | Chargers | RR | 24 Apr 2008 |
| Adam Gilchrist | 109* | 47 | 9 | 10 | 231.91 | Chargers | MI | 27 Apr 2008 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 114* | 48 | 9 | 11 | 237.5 | MI | CSK | 14 May 2008 |
| Shaun Marsh | 115 | 69 | 11 | 7 | 166.66 | PBKS | RR | 28 May 2008 |
Conclusion
Brendon McCullum’s first century left a lasting, favorable impression on the other batters in the league. All of the players who had doubts about the IPL’s t20 format were urged to score. After this century, several other batters also tried to score the century, and they became successful. All of them were foreign players in IPL, such as Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh, and Andrew Symonds. All foreign players scored hundreds in the first season, but the first Indian scored a century in the second season in 2009.
