T20 cricket has turned the game on its head, hasn’t it? With T20 leagues popping up all over, the game’s changed for good. Now, from the get-go, batsmen are all about calling the shots, putting bowlers under pressure right from the first ball. With powerplay overs in play, they’re hitting boundaries left, right, and center. For bowlers, there’s hardly any room for slip-ups because even a slight misstep can send the ball racing to the ropes.
And the IPL? Well, it’s been like a batting bonanza. This season alone, the 2024 edition has served up some seriously fast team hundreds – we’re talking about breathtaking batting that’s had the crowds on their feet and the scoreboard ticking over like crazy.
So, let’s dive in and check out the five times teams in the IPL went from zero to a hundred real quick, lighting up the stands and rewriting the record books along the way. And trust me, some of these knocks are the kind that’ll have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief, especially when the odds change in a jiffy in your Lotus365 ID.
5 overs – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024
Hold on to your hats because Sunrisers Hyderabad just set the IPL ablaze, notching up the fastest team hundred ever. We’re talking about a lightning round of runs against the Delhi Capitals on a hot April evening at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, wasted no time. They went to town on the bowling from the word go. The scoreboard was on fire with the pair dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground. Khaleel Ahmed? Hammered for 19 in the opening over. Then DC tried their luck with spin, but Lalit Yadav got taken for 21. Not even bringing on Anrich Nortje, DC’s speed demon, could stem the flow as Head smacked him for 22.
By the time the fourth over was done, with Yadav again at the receiving end of three sixes, and a couple of massive hits off Kuldeep Yadav, SRH had rocketed past a hundred without even losing a wicket. In that whirlwind, Head smashed a fiery 62 off 20 balls and Sharma played a blinder, 40 off 10.
They kept the pedal to the metal, racking up a colossal 125 in the powerplay. Delhi’s bowlers? They had no answer to the SRH charge. And by the time the innings wrapped up, SRH had piled on a mammoth 266. What a night for the record books!
6 overs – Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2014
At number two, we take a trip down memory lane to the 2014 IPL, where Chennai Super Kings took on Kings XI Punjab at the electrifying Wankhede Stadium. Kings XI had put on a show, thanks to a Sehwag special, setting a mammoth target of 227.
Chasing a mountain of runs, CSK stumbled early, losing Faf du Plessis. But then Suresh Raina stepped in and boy, did he put on a masterclass. Batting at three, he ripped into the bowling, cracking 87 off just 25 deliveries. The man was a human highlight reel that day, smashing boundaries and sixes at will.
CSK’s scoreboard raced to 100 in just six overs, but Raina’s dismissal right after the powerplay slowed things down. Despite his fireworks, CSK fell short and Kings XI clinched the win by 24 runs. But Raina’s innings? That was one for the ages.
6 overs – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2017
Back on May 17, 2017, in Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders’ openers, Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine, tore into the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling. They didn’t just chase down the target; they bulldozed it with a rapid-fire partnership that left everyone stunned.
Together, they racked up 105 in the powerplay, clocking a joint record for the second-fastest team 100 in IPL history. Narine was in a league of his own, blitzing a 50 from just 16 balls. His strike rate was off the charts at over 300, and he peppered the field with boundaries and sixes, scoring a total of 54. Lynn played the perfect partner in crime with a cool 50 from 22 balls.
By the time the powerplay was done, the scoreboard was lit with 11 boundaries and eight maximums. KKR crossed the hundred mark in just 36 balls, leaving RCB in the dust. When the match ended, KKR had not only won but did so with six wickets and a whole 29 balls to spare. That’s how you chase a target in style!
6.5 overs – Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015
On a memorable night at Wankhede Stadium on April 17, 2015, Chennai Super Kings sailed past the 100-run mark in a record 41 balls. This feat set the stands alight as the openers, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, went full throttle against Mumbai Indians’ attack right from the start, sparing no mercy for even the likes of seasoned pros Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh.
Smith was a powerhouse, striking at over 200 and notching up a quick 62, while McCullum was right there with him, hammering a 46 at an even more astonishing strike rate. The duo sent the ball across the boundary a whopping 14 times and cleared the ropes for six, six times. That night, CSK made the 184-run chase look easy, crossing the line with 20 balls left in the pocket.
7 overs – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024
Then there’s the Sunrisers Hyderabad, making a statement in IPL 2024 with not one but two explosive starts against MI and RCB, securing the 100 in seven and 7.1 overs respectively.
On March 27, 2024, against MI in Hyderabad, Travis Head was in beast mode, tearing into the bowlers from the third over and bagging a half-century in just 18 balls. Kwena Maphaka, on debut, and Gerald Coetzee were handed a tough welcome to the IPL, each conceding over 20 in an over. Abhishek Sharma’s three sixes off Piyush Chawla’s spin in the seventh over helped SRH cruise to 100 runs. The night ended with SRH posting a massive 277, the highest team total in IPL till that date, losing only three wickets along the way.