The Indian Premiere League (IPL) is unarguably the greatest T20 league in the world. It also happens to be the toughest league in the world. Only the best of the best come good in IPL. Over the years, IPL has seen a lot of world class knocks by world class players which are cherished even today. It is very hard to pick a few good knocks but still…..Which are the greatest knock in IPL history? Who has played the greatest innings in the toughest T20 league in the world? Today we shall be taking a look at Top-5 Greatest Knocks of IPL History.
1) Brendon McCullum – 158* (73 Balls)
While Gayle might have scored the highest score in the history of the league, it would be a crime say that McCullum’s 158 isn’t the greatest IPL knock of all time. It was the inaugural match of IPl-2008 when Baz came all guns blazing and hit the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowlers to all parts of the ground. The setting for this classic was the M.Chinnaswany stadium in Bangalore. Mccullum took the attack to the opposition, and no bowler was spared. He smashed 10 fours and a staggering 13 sixes in that knock and set the Chinnaswamy Stadium alight with his ethereal stroke play. This knock is one of the major reasons why IPL became famous and IPl still owes Baz a huge debt for this knock!
2) Chris Gayle – 175* (66 Balls):
This knock is the definition of “Carnage”. As we speak, Gayle’s 175 of 66 balls against the now defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI) remains the highest score by an individual batsman in the history of T20 cricket. Gayle was hitting sixes for fun that day and him being at his best would he an understatement. In the entire history of the IPL, there have been just 2 individual scores of 150 or more, but Gayle scored 154 runs through fours and sixes alone on that day. In all probability, such a superhuman performance might never be repeated again the history of the IPL. This knock one of the 100 reasons as to why is Chris Gayle known as the “Universe Boss”.
3) Shane Watson 117 (57 balls):
Photo by: Vipin Pawar /SPORTZPICS for BCCI
Now this might shock a few, why would this knock be over here when you have individuals who have scored more than 117? The answer is simple, Watson scored this in a final, when the pitch was good and the opposition bowlers were absolutely sensational. It takes immense skills to score a 100 in an IPL final. Let alone while chasing against the best bowling side of the tournament. After failing to score a run of his first deliveries, he took the responsibility on himself to ensure that CSK chase a total close to 180 and win the title for the fourth time.
4) AB de Villiers 133* (59 balls):
Any list without AB De Villiers seems incomplete. De Villiers has made three hundreds in his 170-match IPL career, one of which absolutely destroyed the IPL-2015 champions Mumbai Indians (MI) attack back in IPL 2015 at the Wankhede Stadium. De Villiers made an unbeaten 133 runs off just 59 balls, including 19 fours and 4 sixes, in an amazing exhibition of T20 batting. He made someone like Virat Kohli play the second fiddle in this knock, thus proving how great he truly is.
5) David Miller 101 (38 balls)
For David Miller, if it’s in the arc it’s in the park, if it’s in the V it’s in the tree. This knock is what made David Miller the “Killer Miller”. Punjab Kings (then KXIP) were reduced to 68/4. It was looking very difficult for the Punjab team to make a comeback in the match.David Miller was batting beautifully but still, the target was a huge one. After getting a life at 41, he scored 60 runs in the next 16 balls and thus Punjab cruised to victory in just the 18th over of the match. This innings will be remembered for his clean hitting of the ball.
Special Mentions:
It was very difficult to chose just 5 knocks and this we thought of having a few special mentions. Raina’s 87 of just 25 balls, Kohli’s 100 against Punjab and Vijay’s 127 are a few. Another sensational knock would be Bisla’s 89 against CSK in the IPL-2012 final.