Mayank Agarwal notched up his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 century on Sunday off just 45 balls, scoring it for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sharjah. Opening the batting with his Karnataka teammate and KXIP captain KL Rahul, Agarwal tore into the RR bowlers right from the word go, hitting Jaydev Unadkat and Ankit Rajpoot for a flurry of boundaries inside the Powerplay on a flat Sharjah deck. After the field restrictions eased, Agarwal decided to use his feet and hit the leg spinners Rahul Tewatia and Shreyas Gopal for two sixes each in their first overs.

Agarwal brought up his half-century in the ninth over off just 26 balls and KXIP’s 100 came up two balls later when Agarwal hit Gopal for the second six in the over.

Gopal, also a teammate of Agarwal and Rahul at Karnataka, was taken to the cleaners as Agarwal heaved the leg spinner for a six over cover in the 13^th over when Gopal was brought back into the attack.

Jofra Archer was taken for two boundaries in the next over as Agarwal moved into the 90s.

Eventually, Agarwal drove Gopal through the covers for four to bring up his maiden IPL century  in the 15th over. The knock was studded with 9 fours and 7 sixes.

Promoted

KL Rahul’s form from the last match had rubbed on his teammate Agarwal and spelled doom for RR bowlers.