When Sanju Samson came to the crease as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals on Monday to chase down the Himalayan target of 222 runs, he was shouldered with the challenge to display the captain's knock to register the first victory for the Royals and for him as the commander of the fleet. What he has put was an extraordinary batting show to take the team towards the target as he was the one man standing in the battle. 

Rajasthan Royals had faced Punjab Kings on Monday in Mumbai and KL Rahul's Punjab batted first and put impressive 221 runs on the board with splendid innings from Rahul and Deepak Hooda. On the chase, Sanju Samson took the charge of taking the team towards the target and he scored a remarkable century in the chase drive. Samson had scored 119 runs off 63 balls. However, the Royals had conceded the defeat as they fell short of four runs. Though Samson's century had gone vain, he was named as the Player of the Match to recognize his wonderful game. While Samson has begun the season with stellar innings by becoming the first captain to score a century in this season, let's take a look into the list of captains who had scored a century in the IPL. 

Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians): The master blaster was the 5th Indian and the first captain to score a century. Sachin had delivered one of the brilliant knocks in his career and he had scored a ton in 2011 at the Wankhede Stadium, where the Indian team won the finals of the Cricket World Cup and lifted the World Cup two weeks before Sachin's IPL Century. He was captaining Mumbai Indians and he scored 100 runs off 66 balls against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala on April 15th, 2011. 

Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils): While Sachin was the first to score IPL century as the captain, his partner in Men in Blue Virender Sehwag has become the second captain to score an IPL ton. He was captaining Delhi Daredevils and he scored 119 runs off 56 balls while playing against Deccan Chargers on May 5th, 2011. 

Adam Gilchrist (Kings XI Punjab): Veteran Aussie cricketer Adam Gilchrist had registered his first IPL century in 2008 while he was playing for Deccan Chargers. However, he was not the captain of the team at that time. It was led by VVS Laxman and after the franchise was dismantled, Gilchrist was bought by Kings XI Punjab and named as the captain of the franchise. He was the third IPL captain and first overseas captain to score a century. He attained the feat by scoring 106 runs off 55 balls while playing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 17th, 2011. 

Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore): The Indian skipper has displayed brilliant batting in the IPL, which had got him a nickname 'Run machine'. So far, he has scored five centuries in the IPL, but as a captain, he scored his first IPL century in 2016. Kohli was captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore and he scored 100 runs off 63 balls while playing against the Gujarat Lions on April 24th, 2016. Kohli has become the fourth IPL captain to score a ton. 

David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Known for being a dangerous opener, Warner has become the fifth IPL captain and second overseas captain to score a century. Warner was playing against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 30th, 2017 during which he scored 126 runs off 59 balls. Sunrisers Hyderabad had entered the IPL in 2016 and Warner has become the first batsman from the team to score a century. He was the second overseas captain to score an IPL century after Adam Gilchrist. 

KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab): India's potential cricketer KL Rahul was shouldered with the captaincy of Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE. Though he scored a ton in 2019 for the team, he wasn't the captain then and on 24th September 2020, he scored his first century as a captain and become the sixth captain in the IPL store to score a century. He has scored 132 runs off 69 balls while playing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. After Rahul, Sanju Samson has scored a century on Monday and become the seventh captain to score a century in IPL. His century has also become the first in the current edition.