Throughout the 13 years of the Indian Premier League, the art of batting has evolved and we have witnessed some extraordinary hitting from the best in the world. Be it the brute force of Gayle or Russell, the class of Kohli and KL or the inventiveness of De Villiers, there have been some truly jaw-dropping innings played by batters over the years. Narrowing it down to the top five was no easy task given the quantum of fantastic innings played over the years, but here are our top five knocks in the history of the IPL.
As always, let us know your favourites in the comments below.
5. Virat Kohli 113 (50) vs KXIP 2016
Starting off at number five we have Virat Kohli and one of the best knocks from his record-breaking 973 run season in 2016. In a must-win league match in the race for the playoffs, the game was curtailed to 15 overs a side and Kohli played one of the most outstanding innings in IPL history. He hit 20 boundaries in his knock of 113 from 50 balls to bring up his 4th century of IPL 2016. It was complete carnage for the KXIP bowlers as Kohli and RCB ended up with a score of 211/3 in only 15 overs.
4. Chris Gayle 175* (66) vs PWI 2013
@henrygayle 175*, 66 balls, 13 fours, 17 Sixes, 265.15 Strike Rate..World Record! #IPL #RCB # RCBvsPWI #Gaylestorm pic.twitter.com/9mMRiTwSWE
— Ankit Lokhande (@AnkitL2) April 23, 2013
At number four we have another Chinnaswamy special played by the Universe Boss, Christopher Henry Gayle. It was raining sixes in Bangalore in 2013 as Gayle scored the fastest century in the history of the IPL which took only 30 deliveries. The West Indian hit 17 sixes on his way to 175*, the highest score in the history of the IPL. This was Chris Gayle was at the peak of his powers where it felt like he could hit every ball out of the ground at will. Gayle’s onslaught also helped RCB score the highest total in the history of the competition (263) and the only reason his innings is not higher than number four is because the bowling he attack he faced was not of the highest quality (Ishwar Pandey, Ali Murtaza, Aaron Finch, Ashok Dinda and Mitchell Marsh).
3. Shane Watson 117* (57) vs SRH 2018
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At number three comes Shane Watson’s scintillating century in the 2018 IPL final against the SunRisers Hyderabad. Watson scored 117* off 57 balls, the highest score in an IPL final as he helped CSK seal their 3rd title in Style, on their much-awaited return to the IPL. What is so fascinating about this innings is that Watson scored 0 runs of his first 10 deliveries before going almost radioactive for the rest of the innings. He also didn’t just tear apart any bowling line-up, this was the best bowling team in the tournament that included Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, peak Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma.
2. Suresh Raina 87 (25) vs KXIP 2014 (Qualifier 2)
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At number two is Suresh Raina’s audacious knock of 87 (25) against KXIP in the Qualifier 2 in IPL 2014. Never before have I seen someone hit the ball so cleanly and purely when their team needed it the most. Needing 227 to reach the final, Raina came out all guns blazing and dismantled the KXIP bowling attack to all parts of the ground. He helped CSK score a massive 100 runs in the powerplay and was on course to score the fastest IPL century. Unfortunately for the men in yellow, it took a magnificent piece of fielding from George Bailey to stop Suresh Raina which eventually derailed the CSK chase.
1. Brendon McCullum 158* (73) vs RCB 2008
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And finally, at Number one we have to go all the way back to the first ever IPL game in 2008. With the entire world watching, Brendon McCullum took the IPL by storm in the IPL curtain-raiser. He changed the game and set the tone in the IPL as he scored an incredible 158* off 73 balls. The Kiwi smashed 10 fours and 13 sixes in an innings which kicked off the Indian Premier League in dramatic fashion and set up 13 years of nonstop excitement.
[Image Credit: IPL – Indian Premier League]
Shivaan Shah