Best IPL Innings of All Time: The Ones That Changed the Game
Innings That Rewrote the Rules
The IPL has produced more exceptional individual batting performances than any other T20 competition in history. Across 18 seasons and thousands of matches, certain innings stand apart — not just because of the numbers, but because of what they represented for T20 cricket as an art form. These are the performances that coaches, analysts, and opposing captains still study.
Chris Gayle — 175 not out vs Pune Warriors, 2013
The benchmark against which every IPL batting performance has been measured since. Gayle walked in at the start of the innings and was unbeaten when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru innings ended on 263. He faced 66 deliveries, struck 17 sixes and 13 fours, and finished at a strike rate above 265. The Pune Warriors' entire bowling attack was rendered irrelevant. No player has come close to matching this score in the 13 seasons that have followed.
AB de Villiers — 133 not out vs Mumbai Indians, 2015
If Gayle's innings was power in its rawest form, de Villiers against Mumbai in 2015 was something more technically complete. He entered with RCB in difficulty and single-handedly rebuilt and then accelerated the innings. His 59-ball 133 included 12 sixes and was notable not just for the distance balls were hit, but for the variety of shots — ramp shots, switch hits, reverse sweeps, and conventional drives all deployed with equal precision.
Brendon McCullum — 158 not out vs RCB, 2008
IPL cricket cricbet99 began with McCullum setting the tone. In the tournament's very first match, the New Zealand opener played an innings that announced what this competition would be. His 73-ball 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB was played before any template for IPL batting had been established — making it arguably the most influential innings in the tournament's history.
Suresh Raina — 87 not out vs Kings XI Punjab, 2014
Not the largest score on this list, but one of the most technically accomplished. Raina's innings in the 2014 IPL Final, when everything was on the line, demonstrated how IPL batting at the highest level combines aggression with decision-making. His ability to rotate the strike and accelerate when required, under final-match pressure, placed this innings in a different category from practice-ground pyrotechnics.
KL Rahul — 132 not out vs RCB, 2020
KL Rahul's 132 not out for Kings XI Punjab against RCB in the 2020 season was the highest individual score since Gayle's record. His innings spanned 69 balls and included 14 fours and 7 sixes. What distinguished it was the control — Rahul played within his structure throughout, never appearing to swing wildly, yet the acceleration was relentless.
What These Innings Have in Common
Every innings on this list combined volume and efficiency — high scores achieved without the loose slog-sweeps and mistimed big hits that characterise less controlled T20 aggression. Each of these batters was, on their given day, making batting in the IPL look simultaneously effortless and unrepeatable. That combination is what places an innings in the conversation about the best in the tournament's history.