IPL: 5 highest team totals in tournament history

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been largely unforgiving for the bowlers, right from the very first game in which Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158, which is still the second-highest individual score in the tournament.

Massive totals have been put up on a regular basis, with the 200-run mark breached with increasing ease every year.

15 scores of over 225 have been registered in the IPL, all of them in the first innings of the match. The list is dominated by Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have crossed the 225-run mark on 5 occasions. The 250-run mark, on the other hand, has been breached only once, in 2013.

In this article, we take a look at the 5 highest team totals in the history of the IPL.

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#5 CSK in IPL 2008: 240 vs KXIP

Chennai Super Kings legend Mike Hussey dazzled in the second IPL game of the inaugural season

In the second match of the inaugural edition of the IPL, CSK posted a massive total of 240/5, which remains the fifth-highest team total in tournament history.

Riding on Michael Hussey's unbeaten 116 off 54 balls, which was an innings studded with 8 fours and 9 sixes, MS Dhoni's men made a mark in their first-ever IPL game. Subramaniam Badrinath's 14-ball 31 also helped them way past the 200-run mark.

In response, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) put up a fight but finished on 207/4 to succumb to a 33-run loss. James Hopes' blitzkrieg (71 off 33 balls) and Kumar Sangakkara's rapid fifty briefly threatened CSK, but the Men in Yellow picked up wickets at crucial intervals to get over the line.

Hussey was adjudged the Man of the Match.

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#4 KKR in IPL 2018: 245 vs KXIP

Dinesh Karthik's team put on 245 against his state teammate Ashwin's KXIP

In the 2018 edition of the IPL, Dinesh Karthik's KKR put KXIP on the receiving end again as they posted a score of 245/6 at Indore. This first-innings total is the fourth-highest team total in the history of the IPL.

After Ravichandran Ashwin elected to field, Sunil Narine demolished the Punjab bowling to score 75 off 36 balls. He was ably supported by skipper Karthik (50 off 23) while the destructive Andre Russell chipped in with a 31-run cameo.

In response, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle started positively before a flurry of wickets around the end of the powerplay derailed the chase. Ashwin himself hit a few lusty blows at the end, taking his team to a score of 214/8 in the 20 overs.

Narine picked up a wicket as well, and was adjudged the Man of the Match.

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#3 CSK in IPL 2010: 246 vs RR

Mural Vijay destroyed RR in the 2010 IPL

CSK make another appearance on this list, owing to the 246 runs they put up against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2010 edition of the IPL. This team total is the third-highest in the cash-rich tournament.

After MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat, Murali Vijay took centre stage and scored a authoritative 127 off just 56 balls, which was an innings studded with 8 fours and 11 sixes. Albie Morkel joined in on the fun, scoring a 34-ball 62 to take his team to what was the highest team total in the IPL at the time.

RR had their task cut out for them and although they reached 223/5 riding on the back of Naman Ojha's unbeaten 94 and Shane Watson's 25-ball 60, they were never really in the chase.

The Tamil Nadu opener was awarded the Man of the Match.

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#2 RCB in IPL 2016: 248 vs GL

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers scored hundreds in this game

In the absence of CSK and RR, IPL 2016 saw new franchise Gujarat Lions (GL) on the receiving end of a pasting from Virat Kohli's RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The home team notched up a massive score of 248/3, which is the second-highest IPL team total of all time.

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were the stars of the show as they both scored centuries - 109 and 129* respectively. All the GL bowlers were put to the sword, with only Ravindra Jadeja having a sub-10 economy rate.

In the chase, Suresh Raina's side crumbled spectacularly to be bowled out for just 104, resulting in a 144-run victory for RCB. Kohli used as many as 9 bowlers, Chris Jordan and Yuzvendra Chahal claiming 4 and 3 wickets respectively.

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#1 RCB in IPL 2013: 263 vs PWI

Chris Gayle picked apart the toothless PWI bowling in 2013

RCB also hold the record for the highest team total in the history of the IPL, one that they claimed when they demolished Pune Warriors India (PWI) in the 2013 season.

After PWI captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bowl, Chris Gayle registered the highest individual score in the history of the IPL. The marauding West Indian scored an unbeaten 175 off just 66 balls, which was a knock that featured 13 fours and 17 hits over the short boundaries at the Chinnaswamy.

AB de Villiers added the finishing touches, and scored an 8-ball 31 to take RCB to a total of 263/5 in their 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Luke Wright were saving graces with the ball amidst the carnage as they conceded only 49 runs from their combined 8 overs.

PWI lost Robin Uthappa off the second ball of the innings and were never in the hunt, as all the RCB bowlers chipped in with a wicket or two in the 130-run win.