The IPL, since its start, has got viewers from all around the globe. Among all the franchise-based T20 tournaments, the IPL is no doubt the most followed and watched tournament in the world.
T20 cricket is basically about entertainment, with batsmen scoring quick runs and constantly trying to find boundaries, and bowlers attempting to knock down the stumps more often than in longer formats. Today, we are going to look at 5 players who have made the most IPL runs.
At the time of writing this article, Steve Smith has crossed 1000 runs in his IPL career. For the sake of accurate information, we are considering matches played before 17th April 2016.
Being among the top run-scorers in any form of cricket requires not only scoring very often but also playing often. If a player scores a lot but does not play too many matches, he cannot be among the leading run-getters in any tournament. This is one of the reasons that most of the top run-scorers in the IPL are from India.
Let us start the list with the fifth highest run-scorer in IPL cricket.
Chris Gayle – 3,200 runs
Chris Gayle, the Carribean beauty, with all his height, power and aggression, is on number 5 in this list. Gayle is the only player on this list who is not leading a side this season and is not an Indian. The southpaw has taken only 82 innings to score 3200 runs at an amazing average of just under 46. In fact, he is the only batsman in IPL history to feature in top 5 of both lists- most runs and highest averages.
Chris Gayle also holds the record for the highest score in an IPL game with 175 not out against Pune Warriors in the 2013 season. He has an impressive strike rate of 153 and has struck 230 sixes in IPL- by far the most for any player.
Gayle is the only player to score 3000 or more IPL runs at a strike rate of 150 or more. With many more games to come, the big Jamaican is a potential threat to top 4 players in this list especially Virat Kohli who is on number 4.
Virat Kohli – 3,291 Runs
Indian Test Skipper and Mr. Consistent across all formats, Virat Kohli, is 91 runs ahead of his RCB team-mate Chris Gayle in this list. However, the RCB Captain, Kohli, has played 117 innings to score 3291 runs. He is among the two players in this list without a century, his highest being 99. Virat Kohli averages 33.11 in IPL with a decent strike rate of 125.
Virat Kohli is the only player among the top 5 run-getters who has represented one team in his entire IPL career while the other four batsmen have played for at least two teams. The ace batsman, with a long career ahead, will be a tough competitor to beat in IPL as far as most runs are concerned. Kohli is just 34 runs short of next person on this list, prior to today.
Gautam Gambhir – 3,325 Runs
Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir is the 3rd highest run-scorer in the history of IPL cricket. Gambhir has 3325 IPL runs to his names in 119 Innings (3 more than Kohli). Alongside Kohli, he is the only other batsman on this list without a century to his name. The left-handed batsman's highest score is 83 and he has struck the most fours (390) in an IPL career.
Among batsmen who have scored over 3000 runs in the IPL, he is the only player who has hit less than 50 sixes. Gautam has struck only 47 sixes while the next person with least sixes has 97. With an average of slightly over 31, Gambhir makes runs at a strike rate of 124. A lot of KKR success depends on upon their skipper and good news for them is that he is performing.
Rohit Sharma – 3,483 Runs
Mumbai Indians’ skipper and arguably the heir to Sachin’s legacy, Rohit Sharma is on number 2 in this list with 3483 runs. Having played 127 innings, Rohit has made 3483 runs at an average of just under 33 and a strike rate touching 132 with a top score of 109 not out.
The prolific Indian batsman has scored 1 century and 25 half centuries with 7 ducks to his name in IPL cricket.
Sharma had previously played for Deccan Chargers and is now playing for MI, that too as skipper. A lot of cricket is surely left for Rohit Sharma and he is definitely a serious candidate for the top spot over the next year or so.
Suresh Raina – 3,770 Runs
Being the only player in IPL cricket to score 400 runs in each season (barring 2015 in which he made 374), the top spot in this list of leading run scorers has been firmly occupied by the Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina, who is a fair distance ahead of second-placed Rohit Sharma. Raina has scored 3770 runs in 131 Innings at an average of just below 34 and a strike rate of 140.
Interestingly, the southpaw has a hundred, 25 fifties and 7 ducks to his name, just like his closest competitor in this list, Rohit Sharma. It would be intriguing to see whether Raina goes on to make another 400 plus runs in this season or not.
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