The Indian Premier League (IPL) has captured the imagination of cricket fans for a decade now with its high-energy concoction of the best of Indian and international talents.
Along the way, the tournament has thrown up a host of records, both personal and team-wise as the world’s best batsmen and bowlers went head-to-head against each other.
Here, we look at the five of the most unique IPL records set in its 10 years of existence.
MOST HAT-TRICKS
With three hat-tricks to his name in the competition, Amit Mishra finds himself in a highly exclusive club of just one. The leg-spinner is the only player to do so in the tournament’s history, achieving his first hat-trick in the maiden edition of the IPL itself while playing for the Delhi Daredevils against the now disbanded Deccan Chargers.
His second came in 2011, this time playing for the Deccan Chargers, in a game against Kings XI Punjab. Mishra’s final hat-trick was achieved against the Pune Warrior in 2013 when he was representing Sunrisers Hyderabad. The leg-spinner is also the second most successful bowler in IPL history with 134 scalps.
Mishra is the king of hat-tricks in the IPL.
THE TWO SIDES TO ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
The Bengaluru-based franchise has been the perennial underachievers of the IPL, having made it to three finals without a single title to show for.
They are also prone to great highs and terrible lows. The outfit has registered the highest team score in the IPL, amassing 263-5 against the Pune Warriors in 2013. The highest T20 score ever recorded in international cricket is 263 by Australia.
RCB have also reached the lowest of lows in the IPL. The side was bundled out for just 49 runs in a match against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017 while chasing a paltry total of 132. That is the lowest team score recorded in IPL’s history.
RCB have shown both the good and the bad over the past 10 years.
MOST SIXES
Chris Gayle needs no introduction in T20 cricket. It’s a format he has made his own. He has unsurprisingly been a huge draw in the IPL with his destructive batting over the years.
A man who loves to deal in boundaries and sixes, the Jamaican has destroyed numerous bowling attacks in the 10 years of the IPL. In 101 matches in the competition, Gayle has slammed a whopping 265 sixes, the highest in the league by a country mile.
Suresh Raina, who lies in the second spot in the list, has only 173 maximums to his name which tells you how far ahead Gayle has been of the rest of the competition.
Gayle’s six-hitting abilities are unparalleled.
MOST TONS IN A SINGLE EDITION
The 2016 IPL avatar of Virat Kohli was undoubtedly his best so far in the tournament. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper was in unstoppable form as he amassed 973 runs in single season.
That is by far the highest scored by any batsman in a single edition of the IPL with the previous highest being 773.
Kohli’s 2016 showing was special for a lot more reasons. He registered four T20 centuries that season, a feat almost unheard of in any T20 league across the globe. The right-hander averaged a staggering 81.1 in that season as his side ultimately fell short at the final hurdle.
Kohli was unstoppable in 2016.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS’ AMAZING CONSISTENCY
As the MS Dhoni-led franchise prepares to make an emotional return following a two-year suspension from the league, they will look back on their unwavering consistency in the tournament with great pride.
In its eight years in the IPL prior to the suspension, CSK managed to reach the knock-out stages of the competition in each of those years, a feat unmatched by any other franchise.
Not only that, they have also reached the final on six of those eight occasions, winning the title twice. They are the only side to have successfully defended their IPL crown till date, lifting the trophy in 2010 and 2011.
Consistency has been Chennai’s forte over the years.
