3 hundreds in IPL history that came in losing cause

Virat Kohli & Venkatesh Iyer (Source: Twitter)

Venkatesh Iyer scored his maiden IPL century against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 16, but the left-hander's brilliant knock went in vain as his side lost the encounter by five wickets. When the rest of the batters failed to resist at the crease, Venky Iyer delivered one of the best T20 innings of his career, helping his team to post a decent total. However, it wasn't enough for their bowlers to defend as MI's out-of-form batter's found their rhythm.

Mumbai's stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and sent the visitors to bat first. KKR lost their first wicket in the second over when N Jagadeesan got out in five balls. Wickets continued to fall from there, but Venkatesh steadied the ship at one end by scoring at a fair strike rate. The youngster scored 104 runs in 51 balls with six fours and nine maximums at a strike rate of 203.92 and guided his team to a total of 185/5.

In reply, MI got off to a great start, with out-of-form Ishan Kishan and impact player Rohit Sharma doing the most damage in the powerplay. Kishan struck a fine half-century (58 runs off 25 balls) and gave his team a solid start. After his wicket, Suryakumar, who was going through the worst form of his career, finally regained his rhythm and scored 43 off 25 balls. Tim David (24 runs off 13 balls) also joined the party and finished the game with 2.2 overs to spare.

It was a tough night for Venkatesh Iyer, who scored KKR's maiden century after Brendon McCullum's blistering innings in the inaugural edition of the IPL. His fine knock ended up on the losing side but earned him the player of the match award. Having said that, let's look at three other instances in the IPL where a player scored a century but went on to lose.

1. Virat Kohli (RCB) vs Gujarat Lions, 2016

Batting first, Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a commendable total of 180/2 against Gujarat Lions after 20 overs on a slow Rajkot surface on the back of Virat Kohli's brilliant century. It was Kohli's first of four IPL hundreds in the 2016 season, an innings that included 11 boundaries and a six. Kohli's century, however, came in a losing cause as GL chased down the target in the final over, handing RCB a six-wicket defeat.

2. Steve Smith (Rising Pune Supergiants) vs Gujarat Lions, 2016

Australian ace batter Steve Smith hit his maiden IPL hundred against Gujarat Lions at the MCA Stadium in Pune. He struck eight fours and five sixes to take his team to a huge total of 195/3. However, Smith's fighting knock didn't help the team earn a point as GL pulled off an incredible victory off the last ball of the innings. Dwayne Smith's 63 runs off 37 balls and quick-fire cameos from Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik powered them to great win.

3. Sanju Samson (RR) vs PBKS, 2021

Batting first at the Wankhede Stadium, PBKS set a massive target of 221/6 for RR. KL Rahul (91 runs off 50 balls), Deepak Hooda (64 runs off 28 balls) and Chris Gayle (40 runs off 28 balls) put on an incredible batting performance. In response, the Royals maintained their scoring rate by hammering 70 runs in 7.3 overs, however at that point, Ben Stokes and Jos Butler were sent back to the pavilion.

When it appeared that they would be knocked for a low total, newly-appointed skipper Sanju Samson played a breathtaking innings, scoring 119 runs off 63 balls and giving his team hope. However, with 13 runs needed in the last over, Arshdeep Singh bowled brilliantly and took the equation to five runs a ball. Samson tried to hit the last ball for a six but the fielder on the boundary line ended his amazing knock.