Being the shortest format, strike rates play a pivotal role in the fast-paced world of T20 cricket. Unlike other formats where batsmen have time on their hands and thus can build an innings at their own pace, the T20 circuit requires batsmen to get going from the word go and bat freely without worrying about the consequences. The approach, though, risky from the outside, had paid rich dividends for some players and naturally augured well for the team. The history of IPL has seen several such batters, who scored at a breathtaking strike rate and took the game away from the opposition. We will be talking about a few of them in the present article. In the below piece, we look at 6 batsmen with most IPL innings at a strike rate above 200:
1. Kieron Pollard – 28
The hard-hitting West Indian tops the list with 28 out of his 147 innings scored at a strike rate of above 200. His highest score batting at this strike rate came against the Punjab Kings during the 24th game at Mumbai in IPL 2019.
Chasing 198 for victory, Pollard came out all guns blazing, stroking 83(31) at a strike rate of 267.74, with 3 boundaries and 10 sixes and assisted MI in pulling off a victory by 3 wickets. Pacer Shami was mighty impressive with the ball for the Kings, picking up 3-21.
2. AB de Villiers – 24
A modern-day genius, de Villiers comes second on the list with 24 out of his 156 innings stroked at a strike rate above 200. His best knock among them came against MI during the 46th game at Mumbai in IPL 2015.
Batting first, RCB posted a gargantuan total of 235-1 courtesy mind-boggling knocks of 133(59) by de Villiers and 82(50) by Kohli. The former smashed his knock at a strike rate of 225.42 and included 19 boundaries and 4 sixes.
In reply, MI too put up a fight, scoring 196-7, owing to innings of 68(53) by Simmons and 49(24) by Pollard, losing the contest by 39 runs.
3. Hardik Pandya – 23
India’s current no. 1 finisher in the limited-overs formats, Hardik sits third on this list with 23 out of his 74 innings scored at a strike rate above 200. His best innings at the said strike rate came against KKR during the 47th game at Kolkata in IPL 2019.
Chasing a mammoth 233 for victory, MI, owing to Hardik’s blitzkrieg knock of 91(34), smashed at a strike rate of 267.65 with 6 boundaries and 9 sixes, reached 198-7 at the end of 20 overs and lost the contest by 34 runs. Russell was the pick of the bowler for KKR with 2-25.
4. MS Dhoni – 22
The greatest white-ball captain for India, who won all the three ICC tournaments under his captaincy, Dhoni comes fourth on the list with 22 out of his 182 innings hammered at a strike rate above 200. One of his memorable knocks at this strike rate came against RCB during the 24th game at Bengaluru in IPL 2018.
Chasing a commanding total of 206, 2 Indian internationals, Rayudu and Dhoni joined hands to pull off an unbelievable victory for CSK by 5 wickets and 2 balls to spare. The former scored 82(53) while Dhoni pummelled 70(34) at a strike rate of 205.88, including a boundary and 7 sixes.
5. Ravindra Jadeja – 21
India’s mainstay across the three formats, Jadeja occupies the fifth position in the list with 21 out of his 139 innings scored at a strike rate above 200. One of his match-winning innings at the strike rate came against KKR during the 49th game at Dubai in IPL 2020.
Having already set a requisite platform by Gaikwad while chasing 173, Jadeja coming in at no. 6, scored a quickfire knock of 31(11) at a strike rate of 281.82, including 2 boundaries and 3 sixes and assisted CSK in winning the contest by 6 wickets. Chakravarthy on the other hand, bowled a golden spell for KKR, scalping 2-20.
6. Yusuf Pathan – 21
A swashbuckler in the middle order, who won many matches for India and his IPL franchise from seemingly improbable situations, Yusuf is sixth on this list with 21 out of his 154 innings struck at a strike rate above 200. His best knock at the strike rate came against MI during the 2nd game at Mumbai in IPL 2010.
Chasing a hefty total of 213, Yusuf put his best foot forward and plundered a blistering innings of 100(37). It came at a strike rate of 270.27 and included 9 boundaries and 8 sixes, assisting RR in reaching 208-7. The Royals lost the game by just 4 runs and the major reason for the same has to be the brilliant spell of 2-22 by Malinga.
