IPL 2019: 4 All-time Batting records that will not break this season

In just a few days from now (23rd March), the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick start with defending champions MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challenge Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

With high-quality players from across the globe playing the league – Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Steve Smith, Lasith Malinga, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan and many more – the event, without a doubt, once again, promises to be an extravagant tournament for cricket fans from around the globe.

Over the years, explosive players with their aggressive batting style have demolished the opponents and have gone on to enter the record books. Like every year, the IPL fans will witness some unimaginable mind-boggling innings that will be engraved in their memories for many years to come.

Not only that, such blistering innings will keep the statisticians and the record-keepers on their toes, they will have few records shattering down without a doubt. Having said that, there are few All-Time IPL batting records in the books that dare I say are quite impossible to break this season without a magical intervention from the heaven itself.

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#1 Most Sixes in IPL

Anyone following the game of cricket will not be surprised by the fact that the fondly pronounced Universal Boss, Chris Gayle owns the record of most sixes in the IPL (292) followed by AB De Villiers and MS Dhoni (186), Suresh Raina (185) and Rohit Sharma (184) – a massive margin of over 100 sixes!

Unsurprisingly, because of the very fact that he plays in almost every T20 league around the world, he also holds the records for smashing the most sixes (907) in T20 games across all world.

Keeping in mind that the West Indian batsman had a poor show in the last IPL outing (2018), the hard-hitter will look to cover up for the lost opportunity this season and considering his recent form, the difference is only expected to increase even further, making it almost next to impossible for the new generation to achieve it for many more coming years.

#2 Most Sixes in an inning

Brendon McCullum

A short-lived franchise Pune Warriors India (2011 – 2013) experienced a nightmare at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in their last IPL edition (2013). They were up against RCB possessing the world’s most unforgiving batsmen – Tilakratne Dilshan, AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli but that day, one man that took them apart was Chris Gayle. With his destructive innings, he smashed one six after another and ended up with slamming as many as 17 humongous sixes.

On his way, he crushed the longtime record owned by another flamboyant player, Brendon McCullum created at the historic inaugural IPL game way back in 2008. Since then, the closest anyone could reach was AB De Villiers (12 sixes) with his superlative innings (129 runs) against another short-lived franchise Gujrat Lions back in 2016. It has been 5 years since and it looks like the record is here to stay for many more years to come until and unless the Universal Boss gets bored and decides to break it himself.

#3 Highest Individual Score in an inning

Gayle on his way to a record 175 not out

In the very same forgetful game for Pune Warriors India (2013), Chris Gayle not only broke the most sixes (innings) record but also went on to own the highest inning score (175*). And yet again, he went on to break another of Brendon McCullum’s record of 158 runs scored in the very first game of the IPL way back in 2008. Interestingly, it is also the highest individual score in T20 format across every domestic league, including T20Is.

Just like the other record, it has been 5 years and despite the IPL being played on batsman-friendly flat pitches in relatively smaller grounds, no player had even crossed the 150 run-mark since then. Though very recently (July’18) Aaron Finch had scored 172 runs in a T20I against weak Zimbabwe, it looks like a very rare possibility that noone would break this record.

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#4 Fastest Century

Yusuf Pathan

You cannot own a record of smashing 17 sixes in an inning and not own the record of scoring the fastest century. In the very same game again, the ever destructive Chris Gayle went on to establish another record of scoring the fastest century in the IPL history. It took the Jamaican player only 30 deliveries to score another T20 century – another record in the entire T20 circuit.

On his way to a century, he expectedly broke the record, once established by Rajasthan Royal’s Yusuf Pathan (37) while playing against Mumbai Indians back in 2010’s IPL edition. Since then, only David Miller, then playing for RCB (2013 IPL edition) threatened to break the record with his extravagant century (38 deliveries) but eventually, could not break it. Though every record will break someday, this record, for now, appears safe under Chris Gayle.