IPL most runs: From Gayle’s record-breaking high-score to Kohli’s unbeatable career tally and all-time batting records you need to know

The Indian Premier League has been the world's greatest stage for T20 batting since 2008. Every season, records tumble and new names announce themselves. But some marks, like Chris Gayle's monstrous 175 not out or Virat Kohli's unassailable career total, stand tall above everything else.

Chris Gayle's 175: Record That May Never Be Beaten

Chris Gayle holds the record for the highest individual score in IPL history. His unbeaten 175 against Pune Warriors in 2013 came off just 66 balls, featuring 13 fours and 17 sixes, and helped RCB post 263/5, a total that stood as the highest team score in IPL for several years. The strike rate was a jaw-dropping 265.15. To this day, over a decade later, no one has come within 17 runs of that mark.


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Second on the all-time list is Brendon McCullum's 158 not out off 73 balls, and the context makes it even more remarkable. This was the very first match in IPL history, KKR vs RCB at Bengaluru on April 18, 2008. McCullum hit 10 fours and 13 sixes at a strike rate of 216.43 and essentially told the world exactly what this tournament was going to be. That innings stood as the IPL's highest for five years until Gayle came along.

Abhishek Sharma Storms Into Third Place in 2025

The 2025 season produced one of the great IPL innings when Abhishek Sharma of Sunrisers Hyderabad blasted 141 off just 55 balls against Punjab Kings at Hyderabad on April 12, 2025. With 14 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 256.36, the young left-hander shot straight to third on the all-time list, ahead of legends like AB de Villiers and KL Rahul. It was a statement innings that confirmed SRH's standing as the most explosive batting side in the league.

The 2025 season more broadly was extraordinary for big scores. Quinton de Kock's 140 not out off 70 balls for LSG against KKR in 2022 sits fourth all time. AB de Villiers appears twice in the top seven, his 133 not out off 59 balls for RCB against MI in 2015, and his 129 not out off 52 balls against Gujarat Lions in 2016, remain two of the most devastating displays of hitting the tournament has ever seen. KL Rahul's 132 not out off 69 balls for Kings XI against RCB in the 2020 UAE edition and Shubman Gill's 129 off 60 balls for GT against MI in the 2023 Qualifier also make the all-time top 10.

IPL 2025 added several more names to the conversation. Rishabh Pant hit 118 not out off 61 balls for LSG against RCB. Heinrich Klaasen produced one of the fastest centuries in IPL history, 105 not out off just 39 balls for SRH against KKR, at a strike rate of 269.23. Ishan Kishan struck 106 not out off 47 balls for SRH against Rajasthan Royals. Teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi announced himself with a stunning 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans. Priyansh Arya of Punjab Kings hit 103 off 42 balls against CSK. And Mitchell Marsh bludgeoned 117 off 64 balls for LSG against GT.

Virat Kohli: The Man Who Owns the IPL Career Runs Chart

When it comes to runs across an entire IPL career, the conversation begins and ends with Virat Kohli. The RCB batter has scored 8,661 runs in 267 matches at an average of 39.55, with 8 centuries and 63 half-centuries, all records in their own right. He is the only player in IPL history to cross 8,000 runs and, heading into IPL 2026, is eyeing the 9,000-run milestone.

What makes Kohli's tally even more staggering is the consistency behind it. He has now recorded five seasons of 600-plus runs, more than any other batter, and became only the third player to score 600-plus in three consecutive seasons, after Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. His 2016 season remains the gold standard with an unprecedented 973 runs, a record that no one has come close to in the nine seasons since. In IPL 2025, Kohli scored 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75, finishing with 584 runs in RCB's 11 wins, no other batter in the tournament had even 450 runs in victories that season. RCB won their maiden IPL title, and Kohli was at the heart of it.

Rohit Sharma is second on the all-time list with 7,046 runs from 272 matches, the only other player to have crossed 7,000 IPL runs. Shikhar Dhawan is third with 6,769 runs across 222 matches, and also holds the record for the most fours in IPL history with 768. David Warner, three-time Orange Cap winner, has 6,565 runs and remains one of the greatest overseas batters the tournament has produced.

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Overall, 14 players have crossed the 4,500-run mark in IPL history. From CSK, Suresh Raina (5,528 runs) and MS Dhoni (5,439 runs) make the all-time top six. KL Rahul has 5,222 runs, AB de Villiers 5,162, Ajinkya Rahane 5,032, and Chris Gayle 4,965.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the only franchise to have three players in the all-time top 10, Kohli, de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik (4,842). It is a batting legacy that the 2025 IPL title has now given its proper due.

IPL 2025, The Most Explosive Batting Season Ever

IPL 2025 was the most prolific batting season in the tournament's history. A record 52 totals of 200-plus were scored, teams successfully chased 200-plus targets on nine occasions also a record and a staggering 2,245 fours and 1,294 sixes were struck, both all-time highs.

Suryakumar Yadav had a season for the ages, scoring 717 runs, the most by a non-opener in a T20 tournament anywhere in the world, surpassing AB de Villiers' 687 runs in IPL 2016. He also set the record for the most runs by a Mumbai Indians batter in a single IPL season. The numbers from 2025 made one thing clear: the IPL continues to push the boundaries of what T20 batting can look like, and the records set this season may themselves not last long.