Finn Allen’s maiden Indian Premier League hundred for Kolkata Knight Riders came with a little help from teammate Cameron Green, ​who said he deliberately eased off late in the ‌chase to give the New Zealander a shot at three figures.

Allen smashed an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls as Kolkata cruised to an eight‑wicket win ​over Delhi Capitals on Friday, though with only 143 to ​chase, the milestone was not guaranteed.

Green acknowledged he slowed his own scoring, even taking a single late on to ​ensure Allen had the strike to get his century with a ​six.

“I did the maths when I knew we had about 29 to get, I was working it out,” Green told reporters in Delhi. “I knew I ​would be the most hated man in Kolkata if I ​did anything else but that.”

Playing his first IPL season, Allen delivered a blistering ‌knock, featuring 10 sixes and five fours and marking a sharp turnaround after a difficult start to the campaign.

He managed just 81 runs in his first five games and was dropped for three ​matches before returning ​to the side. ⁠Green praised Allen’s innings, saying it was a rare privilege to witness from the non‑striker’s end.

“Yeah, ​it was really special,” Green said.

“There’s only a ​handful of times during your career when you get a chance to be at the other end to watch something like that.”

Kolkata have now won ​four matches in a row and climbed ​to seventh in the standings with nine points. They face Royal Challengers Bangalore on ​Wednesday.