What to make of high-scoring games in the world of IPL

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (PC:IPL/BCCI)

‘‘One more 200-plus total bites the dust in the 2026 IPL.’ This could very well turn out to be a catchy headline in the backdrop of Rajasthan Royals chasing down a target of 223 against Punjab Kings. Just a few days ago, PBKS themselves overhauled a record-breaking target of 265, while RR were at the receiving end of Sunrisers Hyderabad hunting down a substantial total.

Just sift through more numbers and you can paint the big picture. Over 15 long IPL seasons, there were 133 instances of 200-plus scores. Between 2023 and 2026, however, there have been 163 examples of teams surpassing the 200-run mark. Interestingly, in the ongoing IPL, teams have broken the 200-run mark a whopping 33 times.

The numbers continue to set a narrative. We are living in times where a team can end up with 18–20 sixes in a game. We also live in times where the total number of sixes hit could be more than the number of boundaries. To illustrate the point, in a PBKS–LSG encounter, the ruthless Punjab franchise batting unit struck 16 fours but also collected 21 sixes. There is another way to gauge the current trend. In the just-concluded PBKS–RR match, Jofra Archer bowled with enough venom and skill, yet he went for 40 runs in his quota of four overs. The curious part being that an economy rate of 10 turned out to be the best among the fast bowlers in that game.

At a macro level, where does it leave the bowlers? It is true that we still get a few low-scoring thrillers. A Lucknow Super Giants–Kolkata Knight Riders encounter was one of them. The other day, Royal Challengers Bengaluru took advantage of movement in the air to burst through DC’s batting line-up at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. But those low-scoring games seem more like an oasis in the desert.’

Josh Hazlewood, one of the top bowlers in the league, has a slightly different take. “I think from a bowler’s point of view, it almost takes the pressure off a little bit because the batsmen are expected to get off to good starts, they’re expected to score big runs at the end, they’re expected to get 230 runs now in probably every T20 innings they play,” he said in an IPL presser. “So if you can get a batter two off six balls, the pressure that they’re under in that situation is huge.

“You can just see a player almost melt out there in the middle; they’re two off six and they just cannot find the gap, cannot find the boundary. I feel like that’s the biggest pressure in the game now, as opposed to maybe when a bowler should have won the game when it’s 40 off four overs at the end or something like that. The game’s always changing. It’s a nice challenge to have, I think. But I feel like there’s probably less pressure on the bowler these days with such big scores, if that sounds right,” he added.

Unfortunately, not every pacer would develop a mindset like that of the experienced Hazlewood. Here, just imagine an uncapped or promising bowler being smashed for 60 runs on his IPL debut. It could leave a few mental scars on that young bowler.

Logically, when T20 cricket came into existence, it was crystal clear that such a format would favour the batters. However, in the last few IPL seasons, the balance seems to have shifted heavily towards the batter. You just wonder whether budding cricketers would wish to be bowlers in the future.

(Over 15 long IPL seasons, there were 133 instances of 200-plus scores — stat credit: Wisden)

 

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