The Indian Premier League (IPL) made it’s grand entry back in 2008. It is a perfect platform for the domestic Indian players to showcase their talents on the international level. It broadens their perspective as they get to interact with overseas players on a more personal level.
From the start of season one, the IPL has seen unique world records being made and broken. Right from Royal Challengers Bangalore’s highest team total of 263/5 to Sohail Tanvir’s best bowling figures of 6/14 – there have been records which are more likely to be not broken unless of course they themselves do something better than that.
But there are a few records which are likely to be broken in this year’s IPL. Here are 5 of them:
#1 Most catches in an innings by any fielder - 4
The great Indian batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar set a new record in 2008 which has nothing to do with his batting, and he has held on to this record for the past 9 years.
On May 16, 2008, in a low scoring game between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Sachin took four catches to dismiss Salman Butt, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, and Shoaib Akhtar, at the Wankhede to set a fielding record.
KKR were all out for 67 in 15.2 overs and Mumbai Indians won that match by 8 wickets, with 87 balls remaining.
The record has since then only been matched by David Warner for Delhi Daredevils, and KKR’s Jacques Kallis in 2010 and 2011 respectively, but is yet to be broken.
#2 Fastest 50 - 15 balls
Yusuf Pathan made the fastest 50 in the IPL in 2014 for the Kolkata Knight Riders off just 15 balls. In a match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fortress on 24 May, Pathan smashed 72 off just 22 balls to take KKR home and place them second on the points table, above Chennai Super Kings.
Suresh Raina came close to breaking this record on 30th May against Punjab, in the same season. He scored his fifty in 16 balls, missing out on the record by just two balls.
Also read: IPL 2016 -10 unusual facts you need to know
The fastest fifty record was previously held by Adam Gilchrist of Deccan Chargers for his 17-ball fifty in 2009. Mumbai’s Kieron Pollard and Delhi’s Chris Morris came close to breaking the record this season with their respective fifties in 17 balls each.
Going by the rate of high-scoring games this season, Pathan’s record can be broken.
#3 Most dismissals by any wicket-keeper in an innings - 5
Kumar Sangakkara holds a unique record for 5 dismissals in an innings. When Deccan Chargers played the Royal Challengers Bangalore on 14 April 2011, at Hyderabad, Bangalore could not chase down the total of 175 set by the Chargers.
They could manage just 142 runs, with nine wickets down. Out of those nine, 5 dismissals were made by the wicket-keeper batsman Sangakkara all in the form of catches.
Parthiv Patel of Mumbai Indians came close to breaking the record on 16 April 2016 against the Gujarat Lions with four dismissals. The other wicket-keepers who are in the run to break the record are Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiants and Robin Uthappa of KKR who have also taken four dismissals each in the previous seasons.
#4 Most consecutive 50+ scores in a season
The former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has scored five consecutive fifty-plus scores in 2012 for Delhi Daredevils. His scores were 57, 87*, 73, 63, and 73.
The Rising Pune Supergiants opener, Ajinkya Rahane, has scored six 50+ scores in this IPL but not more than two continuously. And another definite contender to break the record is the RCB captain Virat Kohli, who also has six 50+ scores with his highest being 108 not out.
KL Rahul has scored three consecutive fifties for RCB but got out for 38 in his last outing.
#5 Highest individual runs by a batsman in a season
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Chris Gayle was the leading run scorer in the Indian Premier League in two consecutive seasons. He was the Orange cap holder in 2011 and 2012 scoring 608 and 733 runs respectively.
Gayle’s 733 in 15 matches, is the highest number of runs scored by an individual in any season of the IPL. This record was later equalled by Michael Hussey for Chennai Super Kings in 2013, in 16 innings.
With the pace at which Virat is scoring in the current season of the league, he is most likely to surpass Gayle’s 733 with ease. The RCB captain has already scored 541 runs in 8 matches at a strike rate of 144.65, including four fifties and two centuries. Kohli’s highest IPL score is 108 not out, which he scored in the match on 7 May against Pune in Bangalore.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, David Warner, is the other batsman who can possibly break the record. He has scored 416 runs so far in 9 matches.
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