Every season, fans eagerly wait to witness big hits from their favourite batsmen during the Indian Premier League. The world's best T20 league has seen many great knocks over the past 13 editions.
Ahead of IPL 2021, meet the men who have enthralled the crowds over the years and climbed into the top-10 ladder of the run charts.
You might have guessed it right as to who occupies the No 1 slot in the batting list. Yes, it is none other than India's batting genius and RCB Captain Virat Kohli.
Chennai Super Kings veteran Suresh Raina, Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain David Warner and Mumbai Indians Skipper Rohit Sharma will be looking to continue their batting pyrotechnics and catch up with Kohli.
A look at the various batting records in the IPL over the years:
Top 10 run-getters in IPL
| Player | Teams | Games | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | RCB | 192 | 5,878 | 38.16 | 130.73 | 5 |
| Suresh Raina | CSK, GL | 193 | 5,368 | 33.34 | 137.14 | 1 |
| David Warner | DD, SRH | 142 | 5,254 | 42.71 | 141.54 | 4 |
| Rohit Sharma | DCh, MI | 200 | 5,230 | 31.31 | 130.61 | 1 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | DCh, DD, MI, SRH | 176 | 5,197 | 34.41 | 126.87 | 2 |
| A B de Villiers | DD, RCB | 169 | 4,849 | 40.40 | 151.91 | 3 |
| Chris Gayle | KXIP, KKR, RCB | 132 | 4,772 | 41.13 | 150.11 | 6 |
| M S Dhoni | CSK, RPS | 204 | 4,632 | 40.99 | 136.75 | 0 |
| Robin Uthappa | KKR, MI, PWI, RCB, RR | 189 | 4,607 | 27.92 | 129.99 | 0 |
| Gautam Gambhir | DD, KKR | 154 | 4,217 | 31.00 | 123.88 | 0 |
Well, no prizes for guessing the batsmen with the highest strike rate in the IPL so far.
It is West Indian master blaster Andre Russell, who has taken the IPL by storm in recent years with an amazing strike rate of 182 in 74 games.
Actually, West Indians rule when it comes to strike rate in the IPL, Nicholas Pooran (165) and Sunil Narine (164) rounding off the top three.
Among the Indians, Mumbai Indians' Hardik Pandya boasts of the highest strike rate with 159.
Top 10 Batsmen (Strike-Rate) (Minimum 500 runs):
| Strike Rate | Player | Teams | Games | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 182.33 | Andre Russell | DD, KKR | 74 | 1517 | 29.74 | 0 |
| 165.39 | Nicholas Pooran | KXIP | 21 | 521 | 32.56 | 0 |
| 164.27 | Sunil Narine | KKR | 120 | 892 | 16.83 | 0 |
| 159.26 | Hardik Pandya | MI | 80 | 1349 | 29.97 | 0 |
| 157.87 | Chris Morris | CSK, RR, DD, RCB | 70 | 551 | 23.95 | 0 |
| 155.44 | Virender Sehwag | DD,KXIP | 104 | 2728 | 27.55 | 2 |
| 154.67 | Glenn Maxwell | DD, MI, KXIP | 82 | 1505 | 22.13 | 0 |
| 151.97 | Rishabh Pant | DD, DC | 68 | 2079 | 35.23 | 1 |
| 151.91 | A B de Villiers | DD, RCB | 169 | 4849 | 40.40 | 3 |
| 150.11 | Chris Gayle | KXIP, KKR, RCB | 132 | 4772 | 41.13 | 6 |
Chris Gayle is a legend when it comes to T20 cricket.
It will take some effort to get to Gayle's mark of 349 sixes in the IPL, with A B de Villiers a distant second with 235 sixes and Mahendra Singh Dhoni third with 216 maximums.
Rohit Sharma (213) and Virat Kohli (201) are the other two batsmen to get past the milestone of 200 sixes in the IPL.
Top 10 Six-Hitters:
| 6s | Player | Teams | Mts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 349 | Chris Gayle | KKR, RCB, KXIP | 131 |
| 235 | A B de Villiers | DD, RCB | 168 |
| 216 | M S Dhoni | CSK, RPS | 204 |
| 213 | Rohit Sharma | DCh, MI | 200 |
| 201 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 191 |
| 198 | Kieron Pollard | MI | 164 |
| 195 | David Warner | DD, SRH | 142 |
| 194 | Suresh Raina | CSK, GL | 192 |
| 190 | Shane Watson | RR, RCB, CSK | 145 |
| 163 | Robin Uthappa | KKR, MI, PWI, RCB, RR | 189 |
Gayle also tops the list for the most boundary hits in the IPL with a massive haulf of 732 boundaries -- including 349 sixes and 383 fours.
David Warner is second with 705 boundaries, which includes 510 fours and 195 sixes with Kohli third on 704 boundaries -- 503 fours and 201 sixes.
Top 10 boundary-hitters in IPL:
| Boundaries | 4s | 6s | Player | Teams | Mts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 732 | 383 | 349 | Chris Gayle | KKR, RCB, KXIP | 131 |
| 705 | 510 | 195 | David Warner | DD, SRH | 142 |
| 704 | 503 | 201 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 191 |
| 699 | 591 | 108 | Shikhar Dhawan | DCh, DD, MI, SRH | 176 |
| 687 | 493 | 194 | Suresh Raina | CSK, GL | 192 |
| 671 | 458 | 213 | Rohit Sharma | DCh, MI | 200 |
| 625 | 390 | 235 | A B de Villiers | DD, RCB | 168 |
| 617 | 454 | 163 | Robin Uthappa | KKR, MI, PWI, RCB, RR | 189 |
| 565 | 375 | 190 | Shane Watson | RR, RCB, CSK | 145 |
| 551 | 492 | 59 | Gautam Gambhir | DD, KKR | 154 |
Gayle also holds the record for the highest individual knock in the IPL when he blasted 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Brendon McCullum is second with his 158 not out for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB in the first-ever IPL match in 2008.
Top 10 highest individual knocks:
| Runs | Player | For | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175* | Chris Gayle | RCB | PWI | Bengaluru | 2013 |
| 158* | Brendon McCullum | KKR | RCB | Bengaluru | 2008 |
| 133* | A B de Villiers | RCB | MI | Mumbai WS | 2015 |
| 132* | K L Rahul | KXIP | RCB | Dubai | 2020 |
| 129* | A B de Villiers | RCB | GL | Bengaluru | 2016 |
| 128* | Chris Gayle | RCB | DD | Delhi | 2012 |
| 128* | Rishabh Pant | DD | SRH | Delhi | 2018 |
| 127 | Murali Vijay | CSK | RR | Chennai | 2010 |
| 126 | David Warner | SRH | KKR | Hyderabad | 2017 |
| 122 | Virender Sehwag | KXIP | CSK | Mumbai WS | 2014 |
Top 10 Fastest Knocks (Minimum 30 runs)
| Strike Rate | Runs | Balls | Player | For | Vs | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 422.22 | 38* | 9 | Chris Morris | DD | RPS | Pune | 2017 |
| 387.50 | 31 | 8 | A B de Villiers | RCB | PWI | Bengaluru | 2013 |
| 372.72 | 41 | 11 | AB de Villiers | RCB | MI | Bengaluru | 2015 |
| 369.23 | 48* | 13 | Andre Russell | KKR | RCB | Bengaluru | 2019 |
| 350.00 | 35 | 10 | Chris Gayle | RCB | SRH | Hyderabad | 2015 |
| 350.00 | 35* | 10 | Sarfaraz Khan | RCB | SRH | Bengaluru | 2016 |
| 348.00 | 87 | 25 | Suresh Raina | CSK | KXIP | Mumbai WS | 2014 |
| 346.15 | 45* | 13 | Kieron Pollard | MI | DD | Mumbai BS | 2010 |
| 341.66 | 41 | 12 | Andre Russell | KKR | DD | Kolkata | 2018 |
| 340.00 | 34 | 10 | Luke Wright | PWI | KXIP | Mohali | 2013 |
| 340.00 | 34* | 10 | Rashid Khan | SRH | KKR | Kolkata | 2018 |
