Before anything else, this guide is written for free-to-play fantasy cricket, not for real money contests. Here is why that matters.
The Big Change: India’s Real Money Gaming Ban
In August 2025, India’s Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which banned real money online gaming nationwide, including paid fantasy sports contests.
Major platforms including Dream11, My11Circle and Mobile Premier League, also known as MPL, shut down their cash prize formats and shifted to free to play, non cash reward models from around August 2025 onward.
That means if you are playing Fantasy Hundred from India in 2026, you are playing for the competitive fun of it, leaderboard bragging rights and non cash prizes such as vouchers, merchandise or gadgets, not cash winnings.
Some smaller or offshore linked sites may still advertise paid contests. Treat any such claims with caution, since they sit outside the current legal framework, and verify a platform’s actual status before entering anything that asks for money.
This guide focuses on the legitimate free to play route.
How Fantasy Hundred Scoring Differs From IPL and T20 Fantasy
The Hundred’s 100 ball format has its own unique features, and Dream11’s official rules for the competition build those features directly into the scoring system.
If you are used to IPL or regular T20 fantasy, these differences matter.
No points for strike rate. In standard T20 fantasy, batters get bonus or penalty points tied to how quickly they score. In The Hundred, that category simply does not exist.
No points for economy rate. Bowlers are not rewarded or punished based on how many runs they concede per over or set.
No points for maidens. A bowler completing a wicket free and run free set earns nothing extra for it here.
A team is all out after 6 wickets, not 10. The Hundred’s format ends an innings once six wickets fall, changing how deep the batting order realistically goes.
The batting powerplay can end early. If the batting side hits two sixes in the first two overs, which equals 10 balls, the bonus powerplay period ends ahead of schedule. This format feature rewards aggressive opening hitters and can quickly shift a bowling side’s fortunes.
One bowler delivers the first five over stretch from the same end, tied to how The Hundred structures its 5 and 10 ball bowling sets rather than traditional overs.
Because match officials and broadcasters can adjust exact bowling set mechanics between seasons, it is worth double checking this detail against Dream11’s live rules page on matchday if you want the precise wording.
Century scoring is capped. A batter who reaches a century only earns the century bonus. There is no stacking of 30 run and 50 run bonuses underneath it, unlike some other formats.
What This Means for Your Fantasy Hundred Strategy
Because strike rate and economy rate do not score points in The Hundred, your player selection priorities should shift from what works in IPL fantasy.
Prioritise boundary hitters and wicket takers over efficient players.
In IPL fantasy, a bowler who goes for under a run a ball earns solid economy points even without wickets, and a batter who scores quickly but briefly still earns strike rate bonuses.
Neither of those safety nets exists in The Hundred.
A player only scores here through runs, boundaries, sixes, wickets and fielding. Therefore, pick players who directly produce those outcomes rather than players who simply look tidy in the scorebook.
Weight your squad toward the top order.
With teams all out at six wickets instead of ten, lower order batters get far fewer opportunities to contribute meaningful fantasy points.
Your top five or six batters in any lineup are responsible for almost all of the batting scoring. Do not spend squad value on a number 8 batter hoping for a cameo that statistically will not come often.
Value explosive powerplay hitters more than usual.
Since two early sixes can end the bonus batting powerplay ahead of schedule, players who attack from ball one rather than building an innings slowly tend to score faster in the game and collect boundary and six bonuses in your fantasy team before the contest even settles into its middle stages.
Do not overpay for containment bowlers.
A death overs specialist who is excellent at IPL fantasy purely because of economy rate points will not receive the same reward in The Hundred.
Pick bowlers based on their wicket taking threat and fielding involvement instead.
Where to Play Fantasy Hundred for Free
Dream11 now operates as a free to play platform in India following the 2025 gaming law, allowing users to build squads and compete on leaderboards without any entry fee or cash prize.
MyTeam11 has similarly moved to a fully free entry model, with non cash rewards such as vouchers and merchandise replacing cash contests.
The Hundred’s own official fantasy game on thehundred.com allows you to pick a 14 player squad consisting of 7 men and 7 women across both competitions, with its own credit based team building system separate from any Indian real money framework.
Whichever platform you choose, double check its current India status before playing. This is a fast moving regulatory space, and platform offerings have changed multiple times since August 2025.
Fantasy Hundred 2026 Quick Recap
| What’s Different in The Hundred Fantasy | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| No strike rate points | Do not chase efficient batters. Chase run scorers. |
| No economy rate points | Do not overpay for containment bowlers. |
| All out at 6 wickets | Top order batters carry almost all the batting scoring. |
| Early powerplay ends on 2 sixes | Aggressive top order hitters gain extra value. |
| Capped century bonus | No stacked 30 run and 50 run bonuses on top of a century. |
FINAL WORD
Fantasy Hundred in 2026 looks different from IPL fantasy in ways that go beyond just the teams.
The scoring system itself rewards a different type of player.
For Indian fans, it also comes with a bigger picture change. This is now a free to play hobby, not a cash game, following the 2025 gaming law.
Build your squad around boundary hitters, top order batters and genuine wicket takers, and you will be playing according to The Hundred’s actual scoring logic rather than relying on habits carried over from T20 fantasy.
