Indian Premier League over the years has produced several high-scoring matches. The pitches in India have the ability to assist batsmen and sometimes favour them a lot more than the bowlers. It adds to the fact that the best power hitters in cricket are more often than not found in the IPL, playing for different franchises. 

The IPL 2021 is set to begin on April 9 and the fans are already looking forward to the big-hitters coming to the party. Considering the kinds of scores we have seen in the previous season, we can expect a few more 200+ scores with batsmen getting hundreds or even 150. As the upcoming season is not far, it is a great time to look back at the highest team totals of all-time in the cash-rich league. Here we look at-

5 Highest Team Scores in IPL History

5. Chennai Super Kings (240 for 5) vs KXIP (now PBKS), 2008

For this one, we have to go way back to the first edition of the IPL. After the opening night in Bangalore, where Brendon McCullum smashed 158 not out, the action shifted to Mohali where Chennai Super Kings took on Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). Chennai won the toss and elected to bat first and got a considerably good start. 

But, it was Michael Hussey, batting at no.3, who turned the match completely on its head. He smashed the second hundred of the IPL only in its second match ever. His knock of 116 runs off just 54 balls which consisted of eight fours and nine sixes. The quick cameos by Suresh Raina (32 runs off 13 balls) and S Badrinath (31 runs off 14 balls) further solidified CSK’s position in the match. 

In all true sense, there weren’t too many bad deliveries but it was batting of the highest class which took CSK’s total to 240 for 5. This score also held the record for the highest score for two years, before CSK themselves broke it. Fiery fifties from Kumar Sangakkara (54 runs off 33 balls) and James Hopes (71 runs off 33 balls) weren’t enough as Punjab fell short by 33 runs. 

4. Kolkata Knight Riders (245 for 6) vs KXIP, 2018

Coming into the 2018 IPL, Kolkata’s batting unit looked quite dangerous for inflicting terror on other teams. But it came all together in one of the afternoon matches in Indore, which they had to win at any cost to stay alive in the competition. Sunil Narine, KKR’s makeshift pinch-hitting opener, scored 75 runs off just 36 balls, to give them a brilliant start. 

However, it was the crucial partnership between Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik which took the score way out of the reach of the Punjab team. The big West Indian got 31 runs off just 14 balls, while the then KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik played a knock of 50 off just 23 balls. Some late cameos were also important in taking their score to those heights. 

Javon Searles, interestingly hit the last ball for a massive six to take KKR’s final score to 245 for 6. The target was always going to be too much for Punjab, but they didn’t make their case easy by losing heaps of wickets at important stages of their run chase. KL Rahul scored 66 runs off 29 balls while skipper Ravichandran Ashwin made 45 runs off 22 balls. For KKR, Russell was in action once again, picking up three wickets for 41 runs. 

3. Chennai Super Kings (246 for 5) vs Rajasthan Royals, 2010

During the 2010 season of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings had some hiccups during the league stages. They were sneaking in wins from here and there but the consistency was something the team was lacking. However, in an afternoon game in Chennai, Murali Vijay played an innings, which is still remembered as one of the finest ever in the IPL. 

Chennai started well and was looking set for a score around 200, but at 83 for 2, Albie Morkel joined Vijay at the crease. The partnership between the two didn’t only take the match away from Rajasthan’s reach but also produced a spectacle of big-hitting. Morkel scored 62 runs from 34 balls, while Vijay made 127 off just 56 balls. 

The partnership yielded 152 runs from 66 balls where Morkel hit five sixes while Vijay, on the other end, smashed 11. Chennai made 246 for 5 while Rajasthan fell short, only managing 223 for 5. Naman Ojha made a career-best of 94 not out from 55 balls, while Shane Watson hit 60 runs off 25 balls. 

2. Royal Challengers Bangalore (248 for 3) vs Gujarat Lions, 2016

While talking about high-scoring matches, there is no way that we can go about it without discussing any matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. In the 2016 match against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers got together for one of the best T20 partnerships of all-time. 

RCB didn’t get to a good start by any degree, having lost Chris Gayle at 19 for 1 in the fourth over. However, for the next hour or so, the Chinnaswamy crowd saw a carnage. ABD kept taking on the bowlers while Kohli spent time on the crease trying to adjust to the wicket. Meanwhile, the South African was on song. 

However, Kohli’s patience paid off eventually. His first 50 runs had come off 40 balls, while his next 59 runs came off just 15 balls, ending with 109 off 55. ABD, on the other hand, finished with an unbeaten 129 runs off 52 balls. The partnership between the two lasted for 229 runs, which to date is the second-highest ever in the T20s. RCB won the match by 144 runs, as Gujarat were folded out for 104. 

1. Royal Challengers Bangalore (263 for 5) vs Pune Warriors India, 2013 

Chris Gayle had come into the 2013 IPL having played some magical and dominated innings in the previous two seasons. However, there is no doubt that the universe boss was eyeing to change some records. The left-handed opener walked in one afternoon in Chinnaswamy Stadium and smashed the fastest T20 hundred of all-time. 

His first 50 runs came off 17 balls. As people thought that was a quick fifty, he produced the next 50 runs off just 13 balls. By the time he had reached his 30-ball hundred, eight of those balls had gone for fours while 11 had sailed over for sixes. He didn’t end there, he marched along for what was likely to be the first double century in the format. 

Unfortunately, towards the end of his innings, he slowed down a little ending with an unbeaten 175 runs off just 66 balls. AB de Villiers also got an 8 ball-31, which helped RCB finish with the highest ever total in an IPL match. The now-defunct Pune Warriors India ended with 133 for 9 in their 20 overs, falling short by 130 runs.