What’s its popularity in the world of Cricket, if not the records you create. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one such tournament where a good performance will attain huge success and fame to a player. However, a lot of work and dedication goes into competing against the best at the highest level.
IPL provides an ideal platform for the players trying to make a comeback in the national squad as well as for the youngsters to prove their worth against the best. It’s not an easy job, especially for the young players to create a storm in this grand league. However, several players have made an impact at an early age.
Here, we take a look at the five youngest centurions in the history of IPL.
1. Manish Pandey (19 years and 253 days)
Manish Pandey is the youngest centurion and also the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. On 21st May 2009 at the SuperSport Park, 19-year-old Manish Pandey opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore alongside Jacques Kallis against Deccan Chargers. Pandey was not a known name in the household.
Returning to the innings, he struggled in the initial stages of the match and survived a few chances which may have settled his nerves. Once he got his eyes set in, he started taking the aerial route, and in the 19th over, Pandey reached his century to guide RCB to a respectable total of 170.
RCB won the match by 12 runs and Pandey earned a lot of praise for his outstanding innings of 114 runs off just 73 deliveries.
2. Rishabh Pant (20 years and 218 days)
Rishabh Pant is currently one of the most valuable members of the Indian team across all formats. He had worked hard in the IPL and domestic circuit to cement his place in the national team. However, this all started on 10th May 2018 when Rishabh Pant was in adrenaline mode against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium (now Arun Jaitley Stadium), Delhi.
He started attacking the bowlers as soon as he got to the crease. With 15 fours and 7 sixes, Pant reached his century off just 56 delivers and eventually ended up scoring 128 runs. Thus, at the age of 20 years and 218 days, he became the second-youngest player to score a century in IPL. His knock of 128 runs was also the highest score by an Indian in IPL at that time which was broken by KL Rahul in 2020.
3. Devdutt Padikkal (20 years and 289 days)
Devdutt Padikkal is the most recent youngster to prove his mettle at the big stage. In the recently suspended IPL 2021, Devdutt Padikkal came out blazing all guns against Rajasthan Royals on 22nd April at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Chasing a target of 181, Padikkal didn’t take much time to settle. With Virat Kohli anchoring the innings from the other end, Padikkal played freely and dispatched the ball over the boundary ropes consistently. He showed his class and soon reached a brilliant century off just 51 deliveries to help RCB win the match by 10 wickets.
With his knock of 101* from 52 balls, he became the third-youngest centurion in IPL history.
4. Sanju Samson (22 years and 151 days)
Sanju Samson is fourth on the list of the youngest centurions. On 11th April 2017, Samson scored his maiden ton in T20 cricket for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) against the Rising Pune Supergiants at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
He came out to bat after losing the opener early in the innings. Samson played a sensible inning in the initial stages to set the tone for a big score. As soon as he got his eyes set in, he hammered the bowlers all around the park and scored a brilliant 102 off 63 deliveries to help Delhi reach a total of 205 runs. His knock included 8 fours and 5 maximums.
5. Quinton De Kock (23 years and 122 days)
Quinton De Kock is the youngest overseas and fifth-youngest player overall to notch a ton in IPL. On 17th April 2017, a special effort by De Kock helped Delhi Daredevils clinch a win against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Chasing a mammoth target of 192 runs, De Kock took no time to settle in as he started smashing the bowlers early in the innings. He scored a magnificent 108 runs off just 51 balls to guide Delhi towards a comfortable win.
