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The 16th season of the IPL has been extremely entertaining. From high-scoring games to nail-biting thrillers, we have had it all in the first 10 days of the competition.
Jos Buttler became the third quickest batter to reach 3000 runs in the tournament in the ongoing match between the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.
This metric (fastest by innings) is naturally in favor of top-order batters. The sample space is also big enough, showing us the quality of these players. Here's a look at the 3 fastest batters to the 3000-run milestone in the IPL.
#1 Chris Gayle - 75 innings
Chris Gayle is arguably one of the greatest batters in IPL history. The left-handed West Indies batter brought up the milestone against Punjab in 2015, scoring 117 runs off 57 deliveries at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
His record after the innings was 3065 runs at an average of 47.89 and a strike rate of 155.19. This meant that not only was he an extremely fast scorer, he was also very consistent in such a volatile format. This speaks volumes about his T20 legacy.
Gayle finished his IPL career with 4965 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 149. While his numbers took a hit in the last legs of his career, he remains one of the T20 'GOATs'.
#2 KL Rahul - 80 innings
KL Rahul has arguably been the most consistent run accumulator in the last five seasons of the Indian Premier League. Rahul brought up the milestone against the Rajasthan Royals in 2021, scoring 49 runs off just 33 balls.
KL has scored 3970 runs in 104 innings at an average of 46.71 and a strike rate of 135.22. While he has an impressive career record, fans and critics have often criticized him for his slow starts in the T20 format. He can certainly attack from the word go - the 2018 season was a testimony to the same.
#3 Jos Buttler - 85 innings
Jos Buttler took 85 innings to reach the 3000-run milestone. It is an incredible record considering he has batted in the middle order for 28 out of the 85 innings. He is one of the best T20 batters in the world at the moment, if not the best. He had a brilliant season last year in the IPL and the T20 World Cup.
As of the 12th over of the RR innings, Buttler's record reads the following - 3023 runs at an average of 40.85 and a strike rate of 151.22. If he can maintain the same over the next few seasons, he will also be in the debate for the greatest IPL batters of all time.
