Finn Allen finally came to the party after six attempts for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the New Zealander smashed his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) hundred to seal his team's eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Friday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Bought for a steal price of ₹2 crore during the auction, Allen showed his true potential with a 33-ball hundred against South Africa in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026.
But unlike his T20 World Cup 2026 form, Allen couldn't make a mark for KKR. In the six games he played before the cclash against Delhi, the hard-hitting right-hander's top score was 37 against Mumbai Indians at Wanlhede. But on Friday, Allen showed his class and waited for the loose balls to be dispatched in the stands.
Chasing a below par total of 143, KKR lost Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi inside the powerplay, but Allen, along with Cameron Green ensured no more hiccups. The Kiwi was most brutal among the two and completed his fifty with a six off Australian Mitchell Starc in the 11th over in 32 deliveries. But what he did next was unthinkable.
The right-hander raced to his next fifty in just 15 balls, including a hattrick of sixes off Viprag Nigam. With three runs to win in the last six overs and Allen stranded at 94, Green took a single off Mukesh Kumar in the 15th over. Allen, then smashed a six to finish the game and bring up his maiden IPL hundred in style. He remained not out at 100 in 47 balls.
Finn Allen joined elite KKR company
With this hundred, Allen joined an elite company, as he became the fourth KKR batter to score a hundred in IPL. New Zealand's Brendon McCullum was the first KKR batter to score an IPL hundred (very first match of IPL in 2008), before Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine scored one each in 2023 and 2024 editions respectively.
With this win, KKR registered their fourth consecutive victory and also rose a spot in the IPL 2026 points table to be placed seventh with nine points from 10 games. In his innings, Allen smashed five fours and 10 sixes.
KKR batters with IPL hundreds
More records for Finn Allen
With this hundred, Allen became the first New Zealander to score three T20 hundreds in a calendar year (2026). He started with a 101 (53) for Perth Scorchers in Australian Big Bash League, followed by his ton in the T20 World Cup 2026, followed by his maiden IPL hundred
Surprisingly, Allen also became the second New Zealand cricketer to score an IPL hundred, after McCullum (one for KKR and Chennai Super Kings). Allen's 10 sixes against Delhi Capitals also puts him in third spot in the list for most sixes by a KKR batter in an IPL innings.
McCullum tops the list with 13 sixes against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (in 2008), followed by Andre Russell (11 against CSK in 2018).
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