IPL: 5 largest victory margins by runs in tournament history
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most keenly followed T20 franchise league in the world.
IPL encounters, just like all other T20 matches, are known to be tightly contested affairs with the result often decided in the last over. But there have been instances where a team has outplayed the opposition and registered a one-sided victory.
On that note, let us have a look at the 5 IPL matches that were won by the largest run margins.
The 5 largest victory margins in IPL history
#5: 130 runs (RCB vs PW - IPL 2013)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) registered a 130-run victory against the Pune Warriors (PW) in IPL 2013. This is the 5th largest margin of victory in the history of the IPL.
The Warriors' skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field first at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He was made to regret this decision as Chris Gayle launched a brutal attack on the Pune bowlers.
Although Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded just 8 runs in his first spell of 3 overs, the other bowlers faced the brunt of Gayle's willow. RCB reached 62 for no loss after the 6 overs of power play, with the Jamaican reaching his fifty off just 17 deliveries.
There was no respite for the Pune bowlers even after the end of the power play with the ball flying to all corners of the field. Gayle brought up his century off just 30 deliveries, with a mighty six off the bowling of Ashok Dinda.
While Tillakaratne Dilshan (33 runs off 36 balls) and Virat Kohli (11 runs off 9 deliveries) were more content in giving the strike to the Caribbean, AB de Villiers joined the party with Gayle. The South African smashed 31 runs off just 8 deliveries to provide the momentum from the other end.
The Bangalore franchise finished with a score of 263/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Chris Gayle smashed an unbeaten 175 runs off just 66 deliveries in a knock that included 13 fours and 17 mighty sixes.
In reply, Pune Warriors crawled to 133/9 in their 20 overs, with Steve Smith (41 runs off 31 balls) being the top-scorer. Gayle, who bowled the last over, also chipped in with a couple of wickets.
RCB thus won the match by a massive margin of 130 runs, which was the 2nd largest margin of victory in the IPL at the time.
#4: 138 runs (RCB vs KXIP - IPL 2015)
The record for the 4th largest margin of victory in the IPL is also held by RCB. This happened when the Bangalore franchise defeated Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 138 runs in IPL 2015.
Much like Finch, the KXIP captain George Bailey won the toss and opted to field at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He also had to repent this decision as Chris Gayle pulverised the Punjab bowling attack.
The burly Jamaican brought up his fifty off just 22 deliveries as RCB reached 68 for no loss at the end of the power play. AB de Villiers too joined in the fun after the fall of Virat Kohli's (32 runs off 30 balls) wicket.
Gayle and De Villiers smashed 71 runs in less than 6 overs before Gayle eventually fell after scoring 117 runs. The knock had come off just 57 deliveries, and was studded with 7 fours and 12 maximums.
De Villiers scored an unbeaten 47 off only 24 deliveries as RCB finished with a score of 226/3 in their quota of 20 overs.
Mitchell Starc and Sreenath Aravind ran through the KXIP batting line-up, claiming 4 wickets each. The Punjab outfit was bowled out for just 88 runs.
RCB thus emerged victors by the huge margin of 138 runs, their biggest win in the IPL at the time.
#3: 140 runs (KKR vs RCB - IPL 2008)
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a 140-run victory against RCB in the first-ever match of the IPL. This win still holds the 3rd spot in the largest margins of victories in the IPL.
The RCB captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and asked KKR to bat at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He was made to rue this decision as Brendon McCullum set the tournament alight in the very first match.
Although they lost the wicket of Sourav Ganguly (10 runs off 12 balls), KKR scored 61 runs in the power play with McCullum leading the charge. While Ricky Ponting (20 runs) and David Hussey (12 runs) only scored at run-a-ball, McCullum went on a rampage.
The Kiwi brought up his hundred, the first in the history of the IPL, off just 53 deliveries. He went to score an unbeaten 158 runs off just 73 balls, including 10 fours and 13 sixes.
None of the RCB bowlers were spared with Cameron White's only over going for 24 runs. KKR finished with a mammoth score of 222/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
The RCB batting line-up was blown away as they were bowled out for just 82 runs. Praveen Kumar (18*) was the only batsman to reach double figures as extras top-scored with 19 runs.
KKR thus won the match by a massive 140 runs, which was the highest margin of victory in the IPL till RCB surpassed it in 2016.
#2: 144 runs (RCB vs GL - IPL 2016)
RCB hold the 2nd spot in the list of highest victory margins in the IPL. They defeated the Gujarat Lions (GL) by 144 runs in IPL 2016.
The Lions' captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and committed the same mistake of inserting RCB in to bat at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They would have been happy to get rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle for just 6 runs, but that brought Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers together at the crease.
While Kohli was cautious at the start, the South African took the attack to the Gujarat bowlers right from the outset. At the end of the first 10 overs, RCB had only reached 76/1 and the GL bowlers seemed to have put a check on the scoring rate.
But all hell broke loose in the last 10 overs. There was a flurry of fours and sixes as both the RCB star batsmen went after the bowling.
Virat Kohli was finally dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings for an individual score of 109 runs. His knock had come off 55 deliveries, and included 5 fours and 8 hits over the fence.
De Villiers, who was even more attacking, finished with an unbeaten 129 off 52 balls. This knock was studded with 10 fours and 12 mighty sixes.
The pair stitched together a 229-run partnership to help RCB reach a score of 248/3 in their quota of 20 overs.
The Gujarat Lions were never in the hunt during their chase and were bowled out for 104 runs. Chris Jordan and Yuzvendra Chahal were the star performers with the ball for RCB, bagging four and three wickets respectively.
RCB thus registered a 144-run win, which was the highest margin of victory at the time.
#1: 146 runs (MI vs DC - IPL 2017)
Mumbai Indians (MI) enjoy the top spot in the list of highest victory margins in the IPL. They annihilated the Delhi Capitals (DC), called Delhi Daredevils at the time, by 146 runs in IPL 2017.
The Capitals' captain Zaheer Khan won the toss and opted to field first at the Kotla. The Mumbai franchise was off to a sedate start with only 18 runs coming in the first 3 overs.
It was then that Lendl Simmons cut loose and took the attack to the DC bowlers. At the end of the power play, MI had reached a score of 60 for no loss.
Although Parthiv Patel was dismissed in the 9th over, the Trinidadian opener continued the onslaught in the company of Kieron Pollard. Simmons was dismissed in the 13th over after scoring 66 runs off 43 deliveries, including 5 fours and 4 sixes.
Even though MI lost Rohit Sharma cheaply, it did not impact the momentum as Pollard and Hardik Pandya closed out the innings in breathtaking fashion. The last over bowled by Pat Cummins went for 23 runs, with the Australian quick conceding 59 runs off his 4 overs.
Pollard finished with an unbeaten 63 off 35 deliveries, which included 5 fours and 4 sixes. Pandya thrashed 29 runs off 14 balls, studded with 1 four and 3 towering sixes.
Their 59-run partnership off just 27 deliveries helped MI reach a score of 212/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
The DC innings never took off and they were bowled out for a meagre 66 runs. Karn Sharma and Harbhajan Singh were the principal wicket-takers for the Mumbai franchise with 3 wickets each.
MI thus registered a massive 146-run victory, which is to date the largest winning margin in the history of the IPL.