Indian Premier League didn’t have any scope for the bowlers in the initial phase; it has built its brand on the firepower of batsmen. King Kohli tops the list of highest run-scoring in the history of IPL. He tops the overall run-scoring list along with Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, & Rohit Sharma. This top-order batters of the Indian team has played together for several years. Batters have valuable contributions & prestige in the T20 format, while there are so meager of bowlers who emerged over the strong influence of batsmen. The IPL has been blessed with many batters who have stitched the impact of this tournament throughout the world.
When it comes to the biggest centurions of the IPL, then no one can forget ‘Christopher Henry Gayle’, he had hit a historic ton 175*(66), having a massive strike rate of 265, followed by Brendon McCullum’s 158*(73) & AB de Villiers 133*(59). The trio has been striking throughout their IPL career. But, the orange cap winners have a different level of consistency in a season compared to these flamboyant ones.
So here is a list of the top 6 highest run scorers in a single season of IPL.
You can also find the same record for wicket-takers here in this blog.
#6 Chris Gayle – 733 Runs (IPL 2012) / Mike Hussey – 733 Runs (IPL 2013)
The peak of the Gayle Storm had been witnessed in 2012, where he had held the orange cap for his figures 733 runs in just 15 games. In that edition, Chris Gayle’s ruthless aggression had come out against many teams like KXIP, RR & KKR. The following year he had scored a monstrous & historic ton of 175*(66) against the Pune Warriors India.
The ‘Mr. Cricket’, Mike Hussey is the first Australian in the list of top run-getters. Usually, Australians stay ahead in such records & statistics, but the playing equation of the Indian Premier League is altered from the rest of the world. He had played 59 matches in the IPL and scored 1977 runs in it with a brilliant average of touching 39. Chennai Super Kings were very lucky to have him in the opening slot; he had played crucial & match-winning knocks for them throughout his career. In 2013, Hussey was able to aggregate 733 runs in 17 innings to equal Chris Gayle’s tally in the previous year.
#5 Kane Williamson – 735 Runs (IPL 2018)
Kane ‘Consistent’ Williamson is the next asset in the list, ‘Asset’ because the SRH team used to call him a banker of the team. Kane had played 17 matches in 2018 and scored 735 runs in it. He scored three fifties in a row in that season which ultimately defines his persistence with the game. His case is also very similar to Virat Kohli’s; he took SRH into the finals of IPL 2018 but lost it with Chennai Super Kings.
#4 David Warner – 848 Runs (IPL 2016)
David Warner has been the most orange cap-winning player across all seasons of the IPL. He held the record for conquering it 3 times (2015, 2017, 2019) in his career, followed by Chris Gayle, who won the cap for two consecutive seasons. David had scored 848 runs in 17 matches in 2016 but lost the cap to Virat that year. However, he took SRH to the playoffs for the 4th time in a row and won their first-ever IPL championship. Warner stands tall in the list of players who have had multiple 500+ runs IPL seasons.
#3 Jos Buttler – 863 Runs (IPL 2022)
The English wicketkeeper-batsman made the 2022 season his own with the number of runs (863) he bulked for Rajasthan Royals. He gave them brilliant starts almost in every game he played and helped his team making to the finals. The superlative year included 4 centuries and 4 fifties, all of which came at a phenomenal average of 57.53 and strike rate of 149.05. He has hit 45 sixes in that season, which ranks among the top 5 batsmen with the most sixes in a season.
#2 Shubman Gill – 890 Runs (IPL 2023)
2023 is a special year for Shubman Gill, who made run-scoring easy in international cricket against some prominent bowling attacks. He also ensured he continued the same form in the year’s IPL for his side Gujarat Titans. Having started the tournament with a valuable 36-ball 63 against CSK in the very first match of the tournament, Gill peaked at the business end of the tournament scoring 3 centuries inside 4 games, including a Playoff special triple-digit knock against Mumbai Indians.
#1 Virat Kohli – 973 Runs (IPL 2016)
Virat Kohli cemented his position at no1 in the list as he hit the highest number of runs in a single season. He smashed a record 973 runs in 16 matches of the IPL 2016 edition. He also scored 4 tons in that season which is also a record; nobody showed such dominance with the bat in IPL before him. He helped RCB reach the final but couldn’t win the trophy as SRH played the spoiler in that game.
Find out the top records Virat Kohli holds in IPL.
