3 highest scores in IPL history

We are halfway through the Tata IPL 2023 season and have already seen 20 200-plus scores in the tournament. In a season which has witnessed plenty of record-breaking efforts by the batters, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) created yet another. On Friday, April 28, they posted the second-highest score in the history of the competition, against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

With the advent of smaller grounds, bigger bats, and an overall increase in the quality of big-hitting, 200-plus scores have become a regular feature in T20 cricket. Most teams have adopted a strategy of going hard from ball 1 and not stopping till the end of the innings, especially while batting first, as no total is safe anymore.

The new frontier seems to be 250+ scores. Before Friday's game, it had been reached only once in the league. However, that changed as PBKS found no respite from merciless LSG batters. With them entering the top 3 of the list of highest team totals in IPL's history, it's worth looking at these top 3 performances.

So, here is a look at the 3 highest team scores in IPL history.

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#1 263/5 - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Pune Warriors India (PWI), IPL 2013

It was a game of records as the spectators did not just witness the highest team score but also the highest individual score and the fastest hundred in the history of the competition.

Chris Gayle (175* off 66 balls) inflicted sheer carnage on the hapless Pune Warriors India (PWI) attack, completing his century in just 30 balls. AB de Villiers (31 runs off 8 balls) too smashed the PWI bowlers as RCB reached a total of 263/5 at the end of their 20 overs.

Mind you, RCB reached this total despite a rather slow innings from Tillakaratne Dilshan (33 runs off 36 balls), who opened the innings with Gayle. RCB won the match by 130 runs in the end.

#2 257/5 - Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS), IPL 2023

Marcus Stoinis scored 73 off 40 deliveries in LSG's innings [Image: IPL]

On Friday, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and chose to put LSG into bat. Batting first, LSG posted a mammoth 257/5 at the end of their 20 overs.

LSG did not witness a massive effort from a single player, but rather received several quick-fire contributions from most of their batsmen.

Marcus Stonis (72 runs off 40 balls) and Kyle Mayers (54 runs off 24 balls) scored swashbuckling half-centuries. Ayush Badoni (43 runs off 24 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (45 runs off 19 balls), too, played impressive knocks. In spite of a valiant effort by PBKS with the bat, LSG won the match by a substantial margin of 56 runs.

#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Gujarat Lions (GL), IPL 2016

The RCB posted an astonishing 248/3 at the end of their 20 overs. RCB's score was primarily a result of a 229-run second-wicket partnership between AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.

Both Kohli (109 runs off 55 balls) and De Villiers (129* runs off 52 balls) scored stunning hundreds. RCB won the match by a whopping 144 runs in the end. It was a scintillating display of batting from two modern-day greats of the game.