Indian Premier League: A look at the unbreakable records
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded on Sunday. Newcomers Gujarat Titans (GT) showed character as they trumped Rajasthan Royals (RR) to seal their maiden title in the tournament. India's premier T20 league witnesses new records being scripted with each passing edition. However, some performances will remain profound in the cash-rich tournament. We look at the unbreakable records in IPL history.
Chris Gayle's heroics in the IPL can never be forgotten. The Universe Boss set the record for the highest score by an individual in IPL. He scored an unbeaten 175-run knock for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013. Gayle achieved this off just 66 balls. This record is monumental, and it would require someone of his caliber to break this.
Virat Kohli amassed 973 runs in IPL 2016. He is the only player to have crossed the 900-run mark in an IPL season. Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler came close to his tally in 2022, having smashed 863 runs. He also equaled Kohli's count of four tons in a season. In 2016, then SRH skipper David Warner failed to breach Kohli's tally as well (848).
Only 18 bowlers have managed to claim a hat-trick in the IPL across 15 seasons. And, there have been 21 hat-tricks in IPL. Amit Mishra has the record for amassing three hat-tricks during this period. It is unthinkable that somebody would be able to break Mishra's amazing feat. He claimed the same in 2008, 2011, and 2013. Yuvraj Singh follows suit with two hat-tricks.
Kohli had a dry run with the willow in IPL 2022 but managed 341 runs. He is now the only player to have scored 300-plus runs in 13 consecutive seasons. Since 2010, his season-wise tallies read: 307, 557, 364, 634, 359, 505, 973, 308, 530, 464, 466, 405, and 341 runs. The Run Machine could extend this feat in the coming seasons.
MS Dhoni's death-over exploits put him in a league of his own. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has slammed 2,530 runs, the most by any batter in death overs in the history of IPL. He has hit the most sixes (152) and fours (195) in this interval. He is leaps and bounds ahead of MI's Kieron Pollard (1,708), who occupies the second position.
RCB have a distinct feat of clocking the highest and lowest scores in the cash-rich tournament. In 2013, RCB hammered Pune Warriors India for a mammoth 263/5 in 20 overs, riding on Gayle's 175*. Meanwhile, they were bundled out for 49 against KKR in 2017.
KKR's Andre Russell clocked a unique feat in a match against Gujarat Titans in 2022. The all-rounder ran down the Titans with astounding figures of 4/5. Notably, he is the first bowler to have claimed four wickets in the only over bowled in an IPL match. That record is here to stay for a long time in the cash-rich tournament.
KKR were crowned winners in IPL 2014. The season witnessed plenty of drama from the Knight Riders. They had stitched nine consecutive wins in the second half of the tournament that eventually won them the title. They claimed a win in their opening game in 2015 but lost to RCB in the second fixture. KKR's 10-match winning streak would be hard to crack.
Alzarri Joseph holds the best IPL figures by a bowler (6/12 against SRH, 2019). He bettered Sohail Tanvir's figures of 6/14 against CSK (2008). Suresh Raina's record of 714 runs in the playoffs will be hard to overcome. He is followed by Dhoni (522) and Shane Watson (389). Gayle's record of 17 sixes in an IPL match (against PWI) is unlikely to be broken.
Dhoni holds the feat of making the most appearances in an IPL final. Since the inaugural edition, the veteran cricketer has reached the finals on 10 occasions (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021).
