The Indian Premier League (IPL) has changed the landscape of cricket ever since its launch in 2008. With high-voltage entertainment, international stars, and nail-biting finishes, it has emerged as the world’s most-viewed T20 league.
Though team performances are lauded, individual brilliance is what tends to take center stage. One such element of individual performance that grabs attention more than anything else is a record-breaking, match-altering score.
In this piece, we delve into the highest individual score in IPL history, as well as an in-depth look at other iconic innings and records.
The individual highest score in IPL history is the record of Chris Gayle, who made a scorching 175 off 66 balls* for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Pune Warriors India on April 23, 2013, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
His innings were not just about sheer brute force but also dominance. In his knock of 175, Gayle hit 13 fours and 17 sixes. Hitting 17 sixes is a record for the most sixes in a single IPL innings.
His innings powered the RCB team to a record-breaking 263/5. It is one of the highest totals of RCB in the history of the IPL. Gayle’s 175 not-out is also the highest individual score in T20 cricket.
Let’s now unfurl the top 10 highest individual scores in IPL history. Here is the complete list of 10 individuals whose sheer dominance is talked about till today.
| Player | Runs | Balls | Team | Opposition | Ground | Year |
| CH Gayle | 175* | 66 | RCB | PWI | Bengaluru | 2013 |
| BB McCullum | 158* | 73 | KKR | RCB | Bengaluru | 2008 |
| Q de Kock | 140* | 70 | LSG | KKR | DY Patil | 2022 |
| AB de Villiers | 133* | 59 | RCB | MI | Wankhede | 2015 |
| KL Rahul | 132* | 69 | Kings XI | RCB | Dubai (DICS) | 2020 |
| AB de Villiers | 129* | 52 | RCB | Guj Lions | Bengaluru | 2016 |
| Shubman Gill | 129 | 60 | GT | MI | Ahmedabad | 2023 |
| CH Gayle | 128* | 62 | RCB | Daredevils | Delhi | 2012 |
| RR Pant | 128* | 63 | Daredevils | SRH | Delhi | 2018 |
| M Vijay | 127 | 56 | CSK | RR | Chennai | 2010 |
We’ve already talked about the Gayle Storm that hit the Bengaluru stadium in 2013 above. Let’s have a look at what Gayle had to say about his innings.
“I was in that flow, that rhythm,” Chris Gayle recalled. “Sometimes as a batsman, you know that you cannot do anything wrong, and that was one of the days.
He also added. “It was remarkable and so funny that I ended up with 17,5 and I was saying it should be the team total. I could have got 200 if ABD (AB de Villiers) didn’t come in and steal the show as well.”
His teammate, AB de Villiers, came in late in the inning and hit 31 runs off just 8 balls to seal the deal for RCB in the death overs.
In the first match of the IPL 2008, Brendon McCullum treated all of us with a glorious knock of 158 not out off just 73 balls. It was like a trailer of what is in store in this prestigious tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL).
His team ended up with 222/3 and eventually won the match by a huge margin of 140 runs. McCullum hit 10 fours and 13 sixes to reach the 158.
In a match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Quinton de Kock registered the third-highest individual score in IPL. He and KL Rahul came to open for Lucknow, and both of them played for 20 overs and stayed not out till the end of their innings. Rahul scored 68 runs, while Quinton de Kock made 140 runs. The team scored 210 runs at the end of 20 overs.
KKR fought well but could only reach 208 in the end. KKR lost the match by two runs.
The fourth-highest IPL individual score is in the name of AB de Villiers, the man with 360-degree shot selection. In 2015, AB de Villiers played one of the best innings you could see in T20 cricket. After the departure of Chris Gayle in a match against Mumbai Indians, Virat and AB batted well, as they often do. But in this match, AB was like a superhuman, he played a knock where he hit 19 fours and four sixes. He ended up scoring 133 runs in just 59 balls.
Now, it’s time to share KL Rahul’s exploits in a match against RCB in 2020. KL Rahul registered the fifth-highest individual IPL score when he scored 132 not out off just 69 balls.
Playing for Kings XI Punjab, KL Rahul opened the batting in the 2020 RCB game and created this record. In the inning, he has hit 14 fours and 7 sixes. The Punjab team scored 206 runs, with Rahul contributing more than half the score. In response, RCB could only muster the strength to make 109 runs and lost the match by 97 runs.
Again, AB de Villiers turned in this list for scoring 129 runs in just 52 balls. It was one of the greatest T20 matches ever, where two superstars, AB and Virat, scored scintillating centuries. AB de Villiers’s knock came at a 248 strike rate to take the team total to 248 runs.
In that game, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli created the highest partnership in IPL history. They added 229 runs for the second wicket.
One of the most recent IPL highest individual scores was contributed by Shubman Gill. In the 2023 season, Shubman Gill came to open the innings along with Wriddhiman Saha against the Mumbai Indians. Gill scored at a brisk pace and ended up with 129 runs off just 60 balls with the help of 7 fours and 10 sixes.
He helped his team reach a formidable total of 233 runs after the loss of three wickets. Chasing such a mammoth total, Mumbai could only reach 171 runs in 18.2 overs and lost the game by 62 runs.
Here is another Chris Gayle special, when he obliterated Delhi Daredevils bowlers by smashing them for 7 fours and 13 sixes. Playing just 62 balls, Gayle scored 128 not out, and the team ended up with 215 runs.
The Gayle special was well supported by the captain, Kohli, who scored 73 runs in just 53 balls. RCB won that match by 21 runs.
In a not-high-scoring match, the flamboyant Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant showed his class in 2018 when he scored the bulk of his team’s runs. With the help of 15 fours and 7 sixes, Pant scored 128 runs off just 63 deliveries, while his team could only reach 187 for the loss of five wickets in the process.
Despite playing such a brilliant inning, Delhi Daredevils lost that match by 9 wickets as Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson took apart the Delhi bowling and smashed them all around the park.
The tenth position in the list of highest individual scores in IPL was captured by Murali Vijay, who scored one of the greatest centuries for Chennai Super Kings in 2010.
Vijay scored 127 runs off just 56 deliveries and hit 8 fours and eleven sixes. Albie Morkel also played a great hand in that inning, and CSK eventually ended up with a mammoth total of 246 runs.
Rajasthan Royals played hard with Naman Ojha and Shane Watson contributing significantly, but they could not save the match. CSK won that match by 23 runs.
Every IP Season has witnessed at least one standout performance from a youngster or a veteran in T20 cricket. Here is a look at the highest Individual score in IPL history for every season.
| Season | Player and Score |
| 2008 | Brendon McCullum – 158 |
| 2009 | Ab de Villiers – 105 |
| 2010 | Murali Vijay – 127 |
| 2011 | Virender Sehwag – 119 |
| 2012 | Chris Gayle – 128 |
| 2013 | Chris Gayle – 175 |
| 2014 | Virender Sehwag – 122 |
| 2015 | AB de Villiers – 133 |
| 2016 | Ab de Villiers – 129 |
| 2017 | David Warner – 126 |
| 2018 | Rishabh Pant – 128 |
| 2019 | Jonny Bairstow – 114 |
| 2020 | KL Rahul – 132 |
| 2021 | Jos Buttler – 124 |
| 2022 | Quinton de Kock – 140 |
| 2023 | Shubman Gill – 129 |
| 2024 | Marcus Stoinis – 124 |
Scoring a century in an IPL is no mean feat. Some of the players in this league have smashed multiple centuries. Here is the list of players with three or more centuries to their name.
These players not only score big, often under pressure, but turn games around with their performances.
The IPL has provided a stage for some of the finest individual batting performances in T20 cricket. Chris Gayle’s 175* is still the benchmark, but each season sees new challengers and memorable innings. From experienced legends such as AB de Villiers and David Warner to emerging stars such as Shubman Gill, the legacy of big knocks keeps building.
As fans, we anxiously await the next to break the record books. One thing is for sure – fireworks are never far away in the IPL. So, keep looking at the young talents and keep supporting them.
