The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been the show of a few extraordinary recreations over a long time. While this crazy T20 tournament is strongly moving towards completing its second decade, we have experienced some extraordinary batting performances as a team.
Of the vital matches, run-chases take an extraordinary say within the list, particularly those including high targets. It is no mystery that high-scoring chases inspire us with the capacity of teams to display pluck against all the chances, additionally with the immaculate willow mastery on display.
Out of more than 1000+ IPL matches that have happened until presently, only a number of games incorporate effective chases of over 200-run targets. Having said that, we are here to talk about the five such games that stand at the top of the list when it comes to the most elevated effective run chases in IPL history.
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5. Mumbai Indians (Target 215: 216/4) vs Punjab Kings - IPL 2023
There are few successful chases of the exact 215-run target in the IPL history, but it was the fastest successful chase among those. Middle-order batters Liam Livingstone (82 not out off 42) and Jitesh Sharma (49 not out off 27 balls) helped the Punjab Kings score 214/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck. However, the other opener Ishan Kishan was not in a mood to lose his wicket cheaply. While he scored 75 off 41 balls, Suryakumar Yadav smashed 66 off 31 balls. Their batting performances helped Mumbai Indians chase the 215-run target in 18.5 overs.
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4. Mumbai Indians (Target 219: 219/6) vs Chennai Super Kings - IPL 2021
With the misfiring middle-order, it was supposed to be tough for the Mumbai Indians to chase the 224-run target. But ultimately, it was this middle-order, and specifically, Kieron Pollard pulled off an unbelievable chase. Kieron Pollard, the architect behind this successful chase, came into the crease with MI needing 138 runs from 10 overs. Just like Rayudu, who scored 72 not out off 27 balls for Chennai Super Kings, Pollard was seeing the ball like a football.
While Bumrah, Boult, and Dhawal looked clueless against Rayudu; Shardul, Curran, and Lungi looked helpless against the mighty Pollard. Supposed to be his favourite opposition, Pollard smashed 87 not out off 34 balls with six fours and eight sixes. The match came down to the last ball as Pollard sealed a double to help MI clinch a thriller against their favourite opposition.
3. Rajasthan Royals (Target 224: 224/8) vs Kolkata Knight Riders - IPL 2024
Thanks to a century from the opener Sunil Narine (109 off 56 balls), the hosts Kolkata Knight Riders scored 223/6 in 20 overs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. In chasing, while other Rajasthan Royals' batters struggled to score good runs, opener Jos Buttler was in other mood. The right-handed English batter smashed 107 not out off 60 balls as his controlled batting guided RR to the target on the final ball of the match. In the final over of the match, RR needed nine runs, where Buttler hit a six on the first ball to complete his century, and despite three other dot balls, Buttler scored the required three runs in the final two deliveries to win the match.
In the RR innings, apart from the centurion Buttler, only Riyan Parag (34) and Rovman Powell (26) reached the 20-run mark in that successful chasing.
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2. Rajasthan Royals (Target 224: 226/6) vs Kings XI Punjab - IPL 2020
Rajasthan broke their own long-standing 12-year record in a marvellous match played at Sharjah IPL 2020. Batting first, KXIP put up 223 on the board with a radiant 100 from Mayank Agarwal (106 off 50 balls), a fifty from KL Rahul (69 off 54 balls), and a cameo at the conclusion by Nicholas Pooran (25 not out off eight balls).
In spite of the enormous score, there were still trusts of the target being chased down owing to the little measurements of the ground. RR began ineffectively and looked to be losing the diversion, and this can be when Sanju Samson began making his nearness felt. He made a glittering 85 of just 42 balls. But his expulsion within the 17th over appeared to have sounded the passing toll for RR. But an unsung saint, Rahul Tewatia, who had battled for the most portion of the innings, and at one point was eight off 17 balls, took the onus upon himself. He crushed Sheldon Cottrell for 30 runs, with five sixes, within the 18th over, which swung the diversion drastically in RR’s support.
Later, Jofra Archer smashed three sixes to Mohammed Shami as RR chased down the big target in 19.3 overs after losing six wickets.
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1. Punjab Kings (Target 262: 262/2) vs Kolkata Knight Riders - IPL 2024
When Kolkata Knight Riders scored 261/6 in 20 overs at Eden Gardens, most cricket fans expected a comfortable win for the hosts KKR. However, Punjab Kings batters had another dream, which changed the history of T20 cricket. Before that game, the T20 cricket experienced only two 250+ target chases, both in the year 2023, with the highest of 259 by the hosts South Africa against the West Indies.
Coming back to the historic KKR vs PBKS IPL 2024 match, opener Prabhsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow successfully secured a firing start at the historic chasing. They put up a 93-run opening partnership before Singh was dismissed on the last ball of the powerplay after scoring 54 off just 20 balls. Bairstow continued his smashing as his 108 not out off just 48 balls strongly guided PBKS to record the highest successful chase in T20 cricket history. While Rilee Rossouw scored 26 off 16 balls, Shashank Singh scored 68 not out off 28 balls as the Punjab-based franchise chased the mammoth target in 18.4 overs and won by eight wickets.
