The Bay Oval is home to the master batsman who has performed at the highest level on the Blake Park number one cricket ground.
 
Bharat's First-class records on the Bay Oval wicket reveal that he appeared in 12 Plunket Shield matches, where he batted in 23 innings. His Bay Oval statistics state that he scored 868 runs at an average of 39.45, which equates almost equally to his lifetime FC statistics. He also successfully held 14 catches.
 
High-quality batsman are measured on their ability to turn fifties into the magical century mark (and above). Bharat belted two FC centuries and a further five minor association hundreds to give him a remarkable seven centuries on the Bay Oval.
 
In this piece, we look at Bharat Popli seven centuries on the world-renowned international cricket ground.
 
We start with a remarkable Plunket Shield match played during March 2023, where six centuries were posted in four days of play. Northern Districts batted first and were finally bowled out for 513. Mitchell Santner (136), Jeet Raval (119) and Barat Popli (105) all went past the magical one-hundred run mark in their team's first innings.
 
Central Districts were removed for 245, with Brad Schmulian (108) becoming the fourth batter to grab a century. ND made a lightning-quick visit to the Bay Oval wicket before declaring at 194/7. Bharat top-scored with 70 runs from just 64 balls.
 
Central Districts came back hard courtesy of Tom Bruce (161) and Greg Hay (150). There was plenty of relief in the Northern Districts camp when CD were finally dismissed for 427 to give the home side a 35-run victory.
 
Nearly twelve months later, Bharat scored his second first-class ton on the Bay Oval, again against Central Districts. The ND opponents posted 427 with AR Schaw (114) in top form. ND replied with 331, with Bharat Popli crafting 111 from 203 balls.
 
Bharat was selected for the Bay of Plenty senior representative team while still a student at Tauranga Boys College in 2008. At the end of last season, he had left behind a legacy of marks that put him in the highest echelon of Bay players since the Bay of Plenty's first match in 1932.
 
First on the Bay of Plenty batters all-time list, with 4528 runs and 14 centuries, leading the Popli Bay of Plenty Cricket list of fame. One end of the two highest partnerships, with Blair McKenzie (269) and Joe Carter (208), is followed by second on appearances (106) and most runs in a season (733).
 
His highest score at the Bay Oval came against Counties Manukau in a Fergus Hickey Rosebowl match in 2019. Counties were bowled out for 143, in the two-day encounter, with Bay of Plenty taking first innings honours after they reached 401/4 at stumps on day two. Bharat was dismissed for 135 with Joe Carter stranded on 109 not out.
 
During 2010, Bharat posted two centuries, at the end of one season and the middle of the following cricket year. He struck 103 against Hamilton in a one-day affair at the Bay Oval in March, then repeated with an unbeaten 108 against Counties Manukau during December.
 
January 2013 provided his third Bay Oval three-figure score with 126 not out in his team's match-up with Waikato Valley.
 
The time-honoured NZC Hawke Cup set the scene for another Popli ton at Bay of Plenty's home ground, 22/24 February 2013. Bay of Plenty's second 2013 defence of the Hawke Cup saw the Bay side post 559, with Bharat top scoring with a neat century.
 
Northern Districts Centuries at Bay Oval

105      v Central Districts (2022/23)
111      v Central Districts (2023/24)
 
Bay of Plenty Centuries at Bay Oval

103*    v Hamilton (2009/10)
108*    v Counties Manukau (2010/11)
126*    v Waikato Valley (2012/13) - One-Day
100      v Canterbury Country   (2012/13) - Hawke Cup
135      v Counties Manukau     (2018/19)