Most Centuries by IPL Teams: Century Machines

Scoring a century in T20 cricket is one of the toughest individual batting achievements. An IPL batter usually receives no more than 120 balls in an entire innings, so reaching three figures requires a combination of time at the crease, aggressive scoring, strike rotation and the ability to dominate high-quality bowling.

Since the IPL began in 2008, hundreds have become increasingly common as batting methods have evolved. Chris Gayle redefined what was possible with his 175* in 2013, Virat Kohli produced four centuries in a single season in 2016, Jos Buttler matched that four-hundred season in 2022, and a new generation of batters has continued pushing scoring rates higher.

Through the completed 2026 season, Rajasthan Royals lead all IPL teams with 19 individual centuries, followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru with 18 and Punjab Kings with 16. Chennai Super Kings sit fourth with 12, while Delhi Capitals have 11.

The team leaderboard also shows that centuries are not simply a product of playing more matches. Rajasthan have played fewer IPL games than several original franchises but still lead the century count because they have repeatedly fielded top-order batters capable of converting starts into huge scores.

Teams with Most Centuries in IPL History

The official IPL team record lists Rajasthan on 19 hundreds, RCB on 18 and Punjab on 16, followed by CSK with 12 and Delhi with 11. Mumbai and SRH are level on 10, while newer franchises Gujarat and Lucknow have already accumulated eight and seven respectively.

1. Rajasthan Royals – 19 Centuries

Rajasthan Royals sit surprisingly high at the top of the all-time century leaderboard.

The franchise has produced 19 IPL hundreds, more than any other team through 2026.

Jos Buttler is the main reason.

The England batter scored seven IPL centuries for Rajasthan between 2018 and 2024, making him by far the franchise’s leading century-maker. His 2022 campaign was particularly remarkable because he scored four hundreds in a single season while carrying Rajasthan to the final.

But Rajasthan’s century history extends well beyond Buttler.

Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal have all scored multiple hundreds for the franchise. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi joined that group after producing another century in 2026. Rajasthan’s official record notes that Buttler leads with seven, while Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal, Rahane, Watson and Samson have each recorded multiple hundreds for RR.

Sooryavanshi has brought a completely different style to the franchise.

His 103 from only 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2026 included 12 sixes and made him the first player to register two sub-40-ball IPL hundreds.

Rajasthan’s total of 19 centuries reflects a long-term strategy of giving aggressive top-order batters freedom to play long innings.

2. Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 18 Centuries

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are only one century behind Rajasthan with 18 IPL hundreds.

Unlike Rajasthan, a huge proportion of RCB’s total comes from one player.

Virat Kohli has scored nine IPL centuries, the most by any batter in league history through 2026.

Kohli’s century record includes one of the greatest individual seasons the IPL has seen.

In 2016, he scored four hundreds while accumulating 973 runs, still one of the benchmark batting seasons in franchise cricket.

Chris Gayle also contributed heavily to RCB’s century count. Five of his six career IPL hundreds came for Bengaluru, including the extraordinary unbeaten 175 against Pune Warriors India in 2013.

AB de Villiers added two RCB hundreds of his own, while Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal have also reached three figures for the franchise.

Kohli added another hundred in 2026, scoring an unbeaten 105 and taking his career IPL century count to nine.

RCB’s position near the top of the table reflects the franchise’s historical reliance on elite top-order stars. When those players stayed at the crease deep into an innings, hundreds often followed.

3. Punjab Kings – 16 Centuries

Punjab Kings are third with 16 IPL centuries.

Their total has been built across several different eras rather than one dominant century-maker.

Shaun Marsh scored one of Punjab’s earliest hundreds and established himself as the dominant batter of the inaugural season.

Paul Valthaty followed with his unforgettable unbeaten 120 against CSK in 2011, while David Miller’s 101* against RCB in 2013 became one of the most famous chases in IPL history.

KL Rahul is the only Punjab batter to score multiple centuries for the franchise. His 100* against Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 132* against RCB in 2020 remain two of his finest IPL performances.

Mayank Agarwal, Prabhsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow later joined Punjab’s century list.

The newer generation continued the trend in 2025 and 2026.

Priyansh Arya registered a century in 2025, while Shreyas Iyer and Cooper Connolly both made hundreds for Punjab during the 2026 season. The 2026 batting leaderboard records Iyer’s unbeaten 101 and Connolly’s unbeaten 107.

Punjab may not have one player with six or seven hundreds, but their century record shows how many different match-winners have passed through the franchise.

4. Chennai Super Kings – 12 Centuries

Chennai Super Kings have registered 12 individual IPL centuries.

CSK’s number is lower than Rajasthan, RCB and Punjab partly because their batting philosophy has traditionally placed more emphasis on partnerships and defined roles than on one batter dominating an entire innings.

Still, several Chennai players have produced memorable hundreds.

Murali Vijay scored two, including a franchise-record 127 against Rajasthan Royals in 2010.

Shane Watson also scored two hundreds for CSK, with his unbeaten 117 in the 2018 final standing out as one of the greatest title-winning innings in IPL history.

Ruturaj Gaikwad later joined the two-century group. His first came during his Orange Cap-winning 2021 campaign, while his 108* against Lucknow Super Giants in 2024 made him the first CSK captain to score an IPL century.

The 2026 season produced another double-centurion for the franchise. Sanju Samson scored two hundreds in his first season with Chennai, leading the entire 2026 tournament for centuries.

Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum and Ambati Rayudu have also scored hundreds in yellow.

5. Delhi Capitals – 11 Centuries

Delhi Capitals have produced 11 IPL centuries, placing them fifth on the all-time franchise list.

The Delhi century record is spread across several generations.

AB de Villiers scored an early century for the Delhi Daredevils before becoming an RCB legend. Virender Sehwag produced his own hundred during his aggressive period at the top, while David Warner registered two centuries across his spells with the franchise.

Kevin Pietersen, Quinton de Kock and Rishabh Pant have also reached three figures for Delhi.

More recently, KL Rahul became one of the franchise’s leading century-makers.

He scored an unbeaten 112 against Gujarat Titans in 2025 before smashing 152 against Punjab Kings in 2026, the highest score of his IPL career.

Delhi’s franchise records list Rahul and Warner among their multiple century-makers.

The 152 was particularly significant because it pushed Rahul’s career IPL century tally to six and demonstrated the increasingly aggressive approach he adopted after joining Delhi.

Players with Most IPL Centuries

The individual century leaderboard helps explain why certain teams dominate the franchise rankings.

Kohli leads with nine centuries, followed by Buttler with seven and Rahul with six.

Kohli’s record is unique because all nine of his hundreds have come for the same franchise.

Buttler built most of his total with Rajasthan, while Rahul’s hundreds are spread across Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals.

That difference highlights two routes to the record: long-term dominance for one team or repeated success after changing franchises.

Famous Centuries in IPL History

Chris Gayle – 175* vs Pune Warriors

No discussion of IPL hundreds can start anywhere else.

Gayle smashed an unbeaten 175 from 66 balls for RCB in 2013.

It remains the highest individual score in IPL history. The innings included 13 fours and 17 sixes, while RCB reached 263/5.

Gayle reached his hundred in only 30 balls, still the fastest IPL century.

Brendon McCullum – 158* in the First IPL Match

McCullum gave the IPL the perfect opening night in 2008.

Playing for KKR against RCB, he scored an unbeaten 158 and immediately demonstrated what franchise T20 cricket could become.

The innings remained the IPL’s highest individual score until Gayle’s 175* five years later.

Virat Kohli – Four Hundreds in One Season

Kohli’s 2016 season remains one of the strongest examples of repeated century-making.

He scored four hundreds in a single campaign and finished with 973 runs.

No batter had previously produced that volume of big innings in one IPL season.

Shane Watson – 117* in the IPL Final

Watson’s unbeaten 117 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 final carried CSK to the title.

He initially struggled, failing to score from his first 10 balls, before transforming the chase completely.

Few IPL centuries have carried more championship significance.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – 103 in 37 Balls

Sooryavanshi’s 2026 hundred against SRH continued his extraordinary early IPL career.

He reached three figures from 36 balls and became the first player with two IPL hundreds completed in fewer than 40 deliveries.

Impact of Centuries on IPL Matches

A T20 century changes the structure of an innings.

If one batter reaches 100, that player has usually faced a significant percentage of the team’s deliveries. The rest of the batting order can therefore play around a set batter rather than repeatedly rebuilding partnerships.

Centuries also allow teams to preserve wickets.

An opener batting deep into the 18th or 19th over gives middle-order hitters freedom to attack immediately when they arrive.

The biggest hundreds combine volume with speed.

Gayle’s 175* did not merely occupy deliveries; it pushed RCB beyond 260. Watson’s 117* controlled a final chase. Valthaty and Miller produced hundreds while hunting difficult targets.

Not every century guarantees victory.

Rahul’s 152 against Punjab in 2026 came in a match Delhi still lost after Punjab successfully chased 265. Modern IPL scoring has reached a level where even an enormous individual innings can be overtaken.

That makes context important.

A hundred on a slow pitch may be more valuable than a bigger score on a flat surface. A century in a chase can carry different pressure from one made while batting first.

Still, franchise century totals remain a useful measure of elite batting quality. They show how often a team has produced players capable of controlling an innings from start to finish.

FAQs

Which IPL team has scored the most centuries?

Rajasthan Royals lead the all-time IPL franchise list with 19 individual centuries through the completed 2026 season.

How many IPL centuries have RCB batters scored?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have recorded 18 IPL hundreds, the second-highest total among all franchises.

Which player has scored the most IPL centuries?

Virat Kohli holds the individual record with nine IPL centuries, all scored for RCB.

How many IPL centuries does Jos Buttler have?

Jos Buttler has seven IPL centuries. Most of them came during his highly successful period with Rajasthan Royals.

Which team has the most centuries among the newer IPL franchises?

Gujarat Titans lead the newer franchises with eight IPL centuries through 2026, while Lucknow Super Giants have seven.

What is the highest individual score in IPL history?

Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 175 for RCB against Pune Warriors India in 2013 remains the highest individual IPL score.