From record-breaking totals to most sixes in innings: How batters are ruling the roost at IPL 2024
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The T20 format can be ruthless on the bowlers. It is a format designed essentially for the batters to showcase their might and muscle. Despite the ‘two bouncers an over rule’ introduced to reduce the disparity between the ball and the bat, the 17th edition of the IPL has witnessed soaring run-rates, record totals, 500-plus aggregates and sixes galore.
We look at 10 numbers which have re-defined 2024 as the batter’s IPL.
The highest batting strike rate
148.39 – The combined batting strike rate in IPL 2024 is 148.39 – we are almost mid-way in the edition but if the run-rates continue to soar and the numbers hold, then this will be the highest scoring rate in an IPL season. The previous highest was 141.71 in 2023.
The highest run-rate in the powerplay
9.11 – Teams like the Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad have revolutionized their batting approach at the top of the order and have gone all-guns blazing, maximizing the fielding restrictions in the first six overs. The combined run-rate in the powerplay of 9.11 so far this season is the highest for any edition of the IPL. It is a significant jump from the second-highest powerplay scoring season which was last year in 2023 which recorded a run-rate of 8.71.
The highest batting strike rate at the death
182.06 – The combined batting strike rate in the death overs (17-20) is also the highest this season. Batters have struck, on an average, 182.06 runs/hundred deliveries in the final 4 overs – which is a significant jump from the strike rate of 168.61 in 2022 – the previous highest in a single season of the IPL!
The highest average score batting first
188 - The average score batting first this season is as high as 188 – by far, the highest for any edition – overall and after the first 30 matches! The average score batting first in the entire season in IPL 2023 (the previous best) was 182.
Most sixes after 30 matches
525 – A total of 525 sixes have been hit in the season thus far which is substantially higher than the 440 sixes hit in the first 30 matches last season. It is also the most sixes hit after the first 30 matches in any season.
A total of 1124 sixes were hit in 2023. If the current frequency is maintained, we could witness a staggering 1295 sixes this season.
Record team totals
277/3, 272/7, 287/3, 262/7 – Four of the five highest team totals in IPL history have been witnessed this season! The Sunrisers were the first to break the 11-year old record of the Royal Challengers Bangalore when they piled on 277/3 against the Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad. The Knight Riders came close to overhauling the feat a week later only to end with 272/7 against the Capitals in Visakhapatnam. The Sunrisers rewrote the history books for the second time in the edition hammering 287/3 against the Challengers in Bengaluru. RCB made a fight of it in the chase but still ended well short at 262/7.
Sunrisers’ 287/3 is also the second-highest team total in any T20 encounter after Nepal’s 314/3 against Mongolia in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Highest match aggregates
549 & 523 – The two highest match aggregates in the history of the IPL have both been witnessed in 2024. In fact, these are the two highest match aggregates ever in any T20 encounter! The SRH-MI encounter in Hyderabad on the 27th of March saw an aggregate of 523 but was overhauled three weeks later when the SRH-RCB clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium saw an aggregate of 549 runs. The previous highest match aggregate in the IPL was 469 in a CSK-RR encounter at Chepauk in 2010. The previous highest match aggregate in any T20 match was 517 in a South Africa-West Indies T20I at Centurion in 2023.
Most runs in the first 10 overs
148, 141, 135 – SRH smashed a staggering 148 runs in the first 10 overs against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad breaking the record for the most runs in the first 10 overs in an IPL innings. Interestingly, the previous record was held by Mumbai Indians who had smashed 131 runs against the Sunrisers in Abu Dhabi in 2021. Returning back to this season, MI came close to overhauling SRH’s record but fell seven short and ended with 141 in the first 10 overs in the chase in the same encounter. The Knight Riders blasted 135 in the first 10 overs against the Capitals at Visakhapatnam. This means that the three highest team totals at the end of 10 overs in IPL history were all witnessed this season!
Most sixes in an innings
22 – The Sunrisers smashed a stunning 22 sixes against the Challengers in Bengaluru breaking the record for the most sixes in an innings in the IPL. Incidentally, the previous record was held by the Challengers when they had blasted 21 sixes against Pune Warriors, also in Bengaluru, in 2013. In fact, the Chinnaswamy also played host when RCB hammered 20 maximums against the Gujarat Lions in 2016 – which are the third-most sixes by a team in an IPL innings.
Most runs from boundaries in a match
400 - A record 81 boundaries were hit in the SRH-RCB clash in Bengaluru which are the joint-highest number of fours and sixes (combined) ever hit in any T20 match. The South Africa-West Indies encounter at Centurion in 2023 also saw a total of 81 boundaries. However, the SRH-RCB clash had an aggregate of 400 runs through boundaries (43 fours and 38 sixes) which is higher than the corresponding aggregate of 394 in the SA-WI encounter (46 fours and 35 sixes).
