Cricket history was made quietly, then all at once. When Sanju Samson walked out to open for Chennai Super Kings on a warm April evening at Chepauk, nobody knew it was the beginning of the most extraordinary batting season IPL 2026 would serve up. By the time the dust settled, fourteen centuries had been scored — equalling the all-time single-season record — and for the first time in nineteen years of IPL cricket, every single franchise had at least one centurion on its books.

This is the full story of each of those magical hundreds: who scored them, how they unfolded, and why they matter.

Where It All Began: Samson Sets the Tone

April 11. Chepauk. A sun-drenched evening, a new team, and a batter with something to prove. Sanju Samson, fresh in CSK colours after his move from Rajasthan Royals, was carrying the weight of expectation — and he answered it with the kind of innings that makes crowds fall silent before erupting.

Samson was brutal from the first ball. He raced to fifty off just 26 deliveries and brought up his century in the 18th over — punishing T Natarajan for 33 runs in a single torrid stretch. His 113-run partnership with Ayush Mhatre laid the foundation, and CSK’s 212/2 was far more than Delhi Capitals could handle. A 23-run win. A first century in CSK yellow. A season-opener that set the bar impossibly high.

And then, remarkably, he did it again twelve days later.

This time at the Wankhede, against an attack that had dismissed teammates all around him, Samson stood alone. His unbeaten 101 off 54 balls powered CSK to 207/6 — and the bowlers then wrapped up Mumbai Indians for a crushing 103-run defeat, the worst in MI’s IPL history. Samson became the first player to score two centuries in IPL 2026, and only the second CSK batter ever to do so in a single season.

Sanju Samson’s two tons in a single IPL season for the same franchise is the kind of consistency that wins titles. — Season Stat

The Wankhede Fireshow: De Kock Rescues Mumbai

When Rohit Sharma got injured, Mumbai Indians called up Quinton de Kock — and on his very first match of the season, the South African left-hander delivered a masterclass. Walking in with MI already rocking at 15/2, de Kock started watchfully before exploding against Yuzvendra Chahal for 19 runs in the sixth over. He finished with an unbeaten 112 off 60 balls. The chase fell short — Punjab Kings got there with 21 balls to spare — but de Kock’s brilliance was impossible to ignore.

Tilak Varma’s Miracle: 82 Runs Off 23 Balls

This was perhaps the most jaw-dropping innings of the entire IPL 2026 season. Mumbai Indians were in tatters at 46/3, Kagiso Rabada having torn through the top order. Tilak Varma walked in and — in a move that seemed almost cautious — scored just 17 runs off his first 20 balls. Then something shifted.

He finished on 101* off 45 balls, MI reached 199, and then bundled Gujarat Titans out for just 100. A 99-run win. A maiden IPL century. And a performance that will be talked about for years.

Sudharsan’s Masterclass: When Elegance Beats the Champions

Where others relied on brute force, Sai Sudharsan offered something different: artistry. At the Chinnaswamy — the most punishing ground in the IPL — he built his hundred off 58 balls with surgical precision, combining 11 fours and 5 sixes in a knock that oozed class. Gujarat Titans finished 205/3. RCB chased it down in a thriller, denying GT the win — but nothing could take away from Sudharsan’s gem.

KL Rahul’s 152*: The Innings That Rewrote the Record Books

The highest individual score of IPL 2026. Not just a century — a statement. KL Rahul, captaining Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, dismantled Punjab Kings from the very first over and never stopped. He hit 16 fours and 9 sixes at a strike rate of 226.87, remained unbeaten on 152, and helped DC reach a mammoth 264/2. He reached his hundred off 48 balls and then accelerated. Of his team’s total, he personally scored 152 — an extraordinary 58% of the team’s runs.

The 15-Year-Old Sensation: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Stuns the World

On the same night KL Rahul was obliterating Punjab Kings in Delhi, something equally extraordinary was happening in Jaipur. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 15 years old, fearless, and blessed with timing no teenager should possess — was making the Sunrisers Hyderabad attack look completely ordinary.

He hit 12 sixes in his 103 off just 37 balls. Twelve. His strike rate was 278.38. He reached his century off 36 balls — the fastest of IPL 2026 — and did so by targeting both pace and spin with an aggression that left commentators struggling for words. SRH ultimately chased down the 228-target — but Sooryavanshi’s name was etched in cricket folklore.

Abhishek Sharma’s Thunder: A Second Career Ton at Hyderabad

Equal parts savage and controlled, Abhishek Sharma’s 135* off 68 balls for SRH against Delhi Capitals was a reminder of just how dangerous the Punjab-born left-hander can be. He struck 10 fours and 10 sixes — a perfect balance of elegant drives and brutal muscle — and powered Sunrisers to 242/2. Delhi fell 47 runs short. Sharma’s second career IPL hundred was, in many ways, his best.

Ryan Rickelton: The Debutant Centurion

South African opener Ryan Rickelton announced himself to the IPL world with one of the most emphatic maiden hundreds the tournament has seen. At the Wankhede, he blazed to 123* off 55 balls — 10 fours, 8 sixes, a strike rate of 223.64. Mumbai Indians posted 243/5. It wasn’t enough — SRH overhauled the total — but Rickelton’s debut century was a mark of things to come.

Finn Allen Finishes It With a Six

There is no more cinematic way to bring up a century than hitting a six to win the match — and that is exactly what New Zealand’s Finn Allen did for KKR against Delhi Capitals. His unbeaten 100 off 47 balls was an anchor-and-accelerate masterclass that KKR desperately needed, and the six that completed his hundred also sealed a comprehensive victory. Storybook stuff.

The King Returns: Virat Kohli’s Royal Ton in Raipur

Every great IPL season needs a Virat Kohli century — and IPL 2026 delivered. At the SVNC International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, the king of RCB turned up at exactly the right moment, steering his team to the top of the points table with an unbeaten 105 off 59 balls against KKR. 9 fours, 4 sixes — controlled, ruthless, and ultimately match-winning. Nine career IPL centuries for Kohli now. The most by any batter in IPL history.

The Overseas Brilliance: Marsh & Connolly Power Their Teams

Mitchell Marsh — 107* for Lucknow Super Giants

Australia’s Mitchell Marsh brought the big-hitting power of an all-format dynamo to the Ekana Cricket Stadium. His 107* off 55 balls against Rajasthan Royals — featuring 9 fours and 8 sixes — gave Lucknow Super Giants exactly what they needed: a commanding total and a reason to believe. LSG’s first centurion of 2026, and a statement of intent from their big overseas recruit.

Cooper Connolly — 105* for Punjab Kings

Young Australian Cooper Connolly had already come agonisingly close to a century earlier in the season (87 off 46 balls). When he finally crossed three figures for Punjab Kings against Chennai Super Kings at Mullanpur, it was a release of pent-up brilliance. 105* off 52 balls, including 10 fours and 7 sixes, at a strike rate of over 200. The talent was never in doubt — the only question was when.

Shreyas Iyer Completes the Collection at Mullanpur

On May 23, with the season in its final stretch, Shreyas Iyer strode out at Mullanpur and settled the debate about Punjab Kings’ batting depth once and for all. His unbeaten 101 off 48 balls against Lucknow Super Giants was technically precise and brutally effective — 8 fours, 6 sixes, a strike rate of 210.4. It also matched the record for the most centuries in a single IPL season (14), tying the 2024 record. History, made quietly.

The Complete IPL 2026 Century List

A Season Like No Other

When cricket historians look back at IPL 2026, the batting numbers will be the first thing they reach for. Fourteen centuries. Nine different batters. All ten franchises with at least one centurion — a first in the tournament’s nineteen-year history. Venues from Raipur to Ahmedabad, Hyderabad to Jaipur, all witnessing moments that will be replayed for decades.

But beyond the numbers, what made this season special was the variety. There was Tilak Varma’s unprecedented acceleration, Sooryavanshi’s teenage fearlessness, KL Rahul’s dominance, Samson’s double-ton heroics, Finn Allen’s storybook six, and Kohli doing what Kohli always does — arriving precisely when his team needed him most.

This was not just a season of big scores. It was a season of big moments. And every single one of those centuries — from the first ball Samson faced at Chepauk to the shot Shreyas Iyer played at Mullanpur — had a story worth telling.

IPL 2026 proved that in Twenty20 cricket, a century is not just a statistic. It is an event. A moment that stops the crowd, freezes the scoreboard, and writes itself permanently into the game’s memory. — IPL Season Review