Bengaluru (Karnataka): Sunrisers Hyderabad's swashbuckling opener Travis Head smashed the fastest century for his franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. He achieved the incredible feat during the clash between SRH and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) of the 17th season of the IPL at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.
Head completed his ton with a boundary and reached the three-figure mark in just 39 balls with the help of nine fours and eight sixes. It was also his maiden IPL century. However, he departed after scoring 102 off 41 deliveries, getting out off Lockie Ferguson's delivery. With this century, he now leads the fastest century for the SRH list followed by David Warner's 43-ball against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2017, Heinrich Klassen (49), Jonny Bairstow (52), David Warner (54), and Harry Brook (55). Interestingly, Klassen, Bairstow and Warner's 54-ball centuries have come against RCB only.
This is also the fourth fastest century in IPL history. Former RCB player Chris Gayle holds the record for smashing the fastest hundred in IPL history. In 2013, Gayle smashed a century in 30 balls against Pune Warriors at the same venue, followed by Yusuf Pathan (37 balls), David Miller (38 balls), Adam Gilchrist (42 balls), AB de Villiers (43 balls) and David Warner (43 balls) on top five among the list.
The 30-year-old returned to the cash-rich league after six years, having last featured in the competition in the 2017 edition. It has proved to be his breakthrough season as he has smashed a fifty and a ton at an impressive strike rate of 165.41. He has raced to 235 runs in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 199.15.
