IPL 2022: 5 highest targets chased down in IPL history

IPL 2022 is about to reach the halfway mark and the tournament has thrown up plenty of surprises and shocks. While the new IPL teams, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Gujarat Titans (GT), have made an instant impact, the fancied Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) find themselves in the lower trenches.

With surfaces across Mumbai and Pune offering runs aplenty, batters have taken full toll of the same and made the most of it thus far. So much so that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) nearly chased down 218 and 223 respectively against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) last week.

5 most successful run chases in IPL history

The IPL is in the midst of an enthralling 15th edition, and ever since the tournament's inception, we've seen many a thrilling contest unfold. Some of those have constituted mammoth totals being chased down, true to the slam-bang frenzy nature of the T20 format.

On that note, let's take a look at the five most successful run chases in the history of the IPL.

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#5 LSG versus CSK, 2022 - 211/4

At Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium, the Lucknow Super Giants and the Chennai Super Kings faced off with in search of their first win of IPL 2022. Electing to bowl on a batting paradise, LSG were subjected to some belligerent hitting on the part of CSK, who powered their way to 210/7.

However, the Super Giants were off the blocks in a brisk manner with skipper KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock looking in fine touch. Dew played a massive role and the CSK bowlers found the going tough.

Despite Dwaine Pretorius removing both Rahul and De Kock and the equation boiling down to 34 needed off two overs, a 25-run over off Shivam Dube saw LSG shut the door on the defending champions.

Ayush Badoni's unbeaten 9-ball 19 and an unbeaten 23-ball 55 by West Indian Evin Lewis paved the way for Lucknow's first-ever win in the IPL. This also happens to be the fifth-highest successful run chase in the tournament's history.

(Note: Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) also scored 211/4 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014, but their target was 206).

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#4 Delhi Daredevils versus Gujarat Lions, 2017 - 214/3

This dates back to IPL 2017, when the Gujarat Lions were around and the Delhi franchise was then called the Daredevils. Electing to bowl at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi got off to a terrific start with the dynamic duo of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum prised out early.

However, Lions' skipper Suresh Raina led the recovery act in the company of Dinesh Karthik. A 133-run stand for the second wicket paved the way for the Lions to rack up a mammoth 208/7 in their 20 overs.

Little did they know what was going to hit them, though. In a display of sheer elegance at one end and power of the highest order at the other, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant obliterated the Lions attack. Just about every bowler who came on was taken to the cleaners, and by the time Samson fell for a 31-ball 61, the score read 167/2 inside the 14th over.

Pant narrowly missed out on a century by just three runs and the target was chased down with 15 deliveries to spare. The duo combined for 16 sixes of their own before Shreyas Iyer and Corey Anderson added the finishing touches, decimating the Lions and condemning them to a thumping defeat.

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#3 RR versus Deccan Chargers, 2008 - 217/7

In the inaugural IPL season, the Rajasthan Royals walked into the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad to face the Deccan Chargers. They were hit by a hurricane, one that came in the form of Andrew Symonds.

The Maverick Aussie blazed his way to an unbeaten 117 off just 53 deliveries, powering the Chargers to a mammoth 214/5. The Royals, though, were up to the task, thanks to Yusuf Pathan and Graeme Smith.

A 98-run second-wicket stand put the game back in the balance. Even as Pathan departed for a 28-ball 61 and wickets fell at regular intervals, Smith ensured that the chase was still on. Once he fell and a couple more followed, it seemed as though the Royals had run out of gas.

The late Shane Warne was the orchestrator of RR's fairytale triumph in the inaugural IPL season.

But then came Shane Warne. 17 runs were needed off the last over, which then turned to 14 needed off 4. The RR skipper clouted a four and two sixes, the second of which was an incredible slice over extra cover, to seal a record chase for his side. Incidentally, it was Symonds who sent down the final over for the Chargers.

The record for the highest successful chase in IPL history stood for the best part of 13 seasons thereafter.

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#2 MI versus CSK, 2021 - 219/6

A Kieron Pollard special against his favorite opposition. The Chennai Super Kings have been subject to many nightmares by their perennial kryptonite over the years and Pollard was at it once again, this time at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi during IPL 2021.

Electing to bowl first, MI dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad in the very first over. However, rapid half-centuries from Moeen Ali and Faf du Plessis and a superlative blitz from Ambati Rayudu, who racked up a 27-ball unbeaten 72, powered the Super Kings to a total of 218/4 in their 20 overs.

Even for a batting lineup as intimidating as that of MI, the target looked a far cry. Despite a steady start from openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, their dismissals, followed by that of Suryakumar Yadav, put CSK in pole position.

MI needed a gargantuan 125 runs to win off 8 overs. Game over, surely? Nope, not when Kieron Pollard is around. The Trinidadian blew the wind out of the CSK sails and buried them under an avalanche. A six-hitting fest that saw Pollard fetch able support from the Pandya brothers, Krunal and Hardik, brought it down to 16 needed off the final over.

It went down to the last ball and Pollard squeezed a Lungi Ngidi yorker to wide long on to run a brace and seal the second-highest successful chase in IPL history. Of course, he was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 34-ball 87, aside from the two wickets he picked up with the ball.

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#1 RR versus Kings XI Punjab, 2020 - 226/6

A Sharjah classic for the ages. Small boundary dimensions and a flat deck - it was a batter's paradise when the Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI Punjab (as they were known back then) locked horns in IPL 2020.

A sublime century by Mayank Agarwal, a composed half-century by KL Rahul and a Nicholas Pooran blitz saw the Kings ransack 223/2 in their 20-over quota. Jos Buttler's early dismissal was the last thing the Royals would have wanted as it threw an early spanner into their works.

Skipper Steve Smith took charge though, with Sanju Samson for company. The latter batted like a million dollars, clobbering seven sixes through the course of his 42-ball 85. Surprisingly though, Rahul Tewatia was sent in ahead of Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag, and the left-hander looked totally out of sorts.

With his timing going awry and time running out, RR needed 51 off the last 3 overs with Samson back in the shed. Just when the Kings thought they had the game in the bag, another twist unfolded. Tewatia cut loose and found his mojo, belting Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes off the 18th over to bring the equation down to 21 off the last 2 overs.

He wasn't there to see his side home, but Tewatia's redemption saw the Royals shatter their own record for the highest successful chase in IPL history.

Tewatia would go on to become a cult hero in the IPL, with the phrase 'Can he pull off a Tewatia?' becoming a popular description for Houdini acts thereafter.