IPL 2022: KL Rahul hits 103* vs Mumbai Indians, joins elite club of record holders

Lucknow Super Giants opener and captain KL
Rahul on Sunday hit his second hundred of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in
Mumbai. His first hundred of the season – also an unbeaten 103 – also came
against Mumbai Indians. Rahul is the only batsman to have scored a century
against the same team in both home and away games in a single season.

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In the first delivery of the 20th over bowled by Riley Meredith,
Rahul launched it over midwicket for six and completed his second hundred of
IPL 2022. Rahul scored an unbeaten 103 off 62 balls in the match. To score the hundred, he sent
12 boundaries past the fence and four sixes. Rahul became only the fifth
cricketer to notch up two centuries in a single season of IPL. Last week,
Rajasthan Royal’s Jos Buttler scored a 61-ball hundred against Kolkata Knight
Riders to achieve the record but after scoring his third ton of the season, he
is now triumphing for another milestone that is held by Virat Kohli, the most
centuries in a single in IPL.

Among the cricketers who scored two
centuries in a single season of IPL are Chris Gayle (2011), Hashim Amla (2017),
Shane Watson (2018) and Shikhar Dhawan (2020). Rahul is the fifth member of
this elite list.

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Overall, in the IPL history, the record for
the most centuries in a single season is held by former Royal Challengers
Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli. Kohli slammed four centuries in the IPL
2016 to score record-breaking 973 runs in 16 innings at an average of 81.08.

Here are the cricketers who scored two
centuries in a single season:

Chris Gayle (RCB) 2011

Legendary Chris Gayle slammed 102 not out
against KKR at Eden Gardens in the 2011 IPL and followed it up with 107 against
Kings XI Punjab at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gayle is the first cricketer to score
two centuries in a single season of the IPL.

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Hashim Amla (Kings XI Punjab) 2017

Prolific South African batter Hashim Amla
is known for his exploits in Test and ODI cricket. But his orthodox batting was
also effective in T20 cricket. In the 2017 IPL, playing for KXIP, now Punjab
Kings, Amla scored an unbeaten 104 off 60 balls against Mumbai Indians at the
Holkar Stadium in Indore.

His second one, another 104, came against
the now-defunct Gujarat Lions at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in
Mohali.

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Shane Watson (Chennai Super Kings) 2018

Renowned Australia cricketer Shane Watson
had enjoyed a stellar season in the 2018 IPL when he scored two centuries and
became the third cricketer to achieve the record.

His first hundred, 106, came against
Rajasthan Royals at the MCA Stadium in Pune. He hit his second ton, 117,
against SunRisers Hyderabad in the final at the Wankhede Stadium. CSK won the
summit clash by 8 wickets.

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Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals) 2020

In the 2020 IPL, Shikhar Dhawan of the
Delhi Capitals hit two back to back centuries. His first hundred,101 not out vs
CSK at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, helped DC win. But his second ton,106 not out
vs Kings XI Punjab at Dubai International Cricket Stadium went in vain as DC
lost the match.