Fans of cricket, especially those who follow the Indian Premier League, have noticed a changing trend in the world’s biggest T20 league, where teams are scoring big runs. Remember when a score of 180 was considered a winning total? Today, the average run rate of teams throughout the season is in the north of 10 RPO.
Not only are the average totals higher, but the higher echelons of scores are also higher than ever. A few years ago, 250 was a once-in-a-blue-moon event, happening only a handful of times in the history of the IPL. Today, that target has been breached multiple times this season.
The average scores in the IPL are nearing the 200-run mark. So, how did it all change? When did the league start its ‘high scoring’ era? And what can we expect from the upcoming season? Today, we will look at the height of scoring in the IPL in the past, the present, and the future.
The Evolution of the Highest Team Score in IPL History (2008–2025)
The Early Years (2008-2012) Establishing the T20 Template
Cricket, over the past 50 years, has slowly evolved into being a quicker game. From five-day battles of attrition that are Test matches, in the 1970s, ODI cricket was established to allow for a quicker, one-day game of cricket.
However, by the time the new millennium arrived, this one-day, 50-over format too was becoming quite sluggish for the average viewer. We all know what happens next. T20 cricket, a three-hour format, is introduced in English county cricket. It then becomes an international format, and the first T20 World Cup is played in 2007, won by India. That win fast-tracked the introduction of the Indian Premier League in 2008, India’s very own franchise T20 cricket league.
The IPL was a breath of fresh air in global cricket. Not only did the best cricketers in the world play for two months on Indian soil, but the teams that represented cities and states made big runs.
In an era when the dominant format of cricket, that being the ODIs, had teams score at about 5.5 runs per over on average, T20s promised shorter and quicker innings.
Apart from the glitz, the glamour, and the unique format of the league, the quicker scoring in the IPL also made it an instant hit among the fans. The average score in an inning in IPL 2008 was just over 150 runs, that is, 7.5 runs per over on average throughout a 59-match season.
In 2009, a season that was played in South Africa, average scores were down due to the matches being played on more challenging pitches, but the average RPO was still around seven. In 2010, the average scores shot up to 157.
The 2011 season brought about another change in the T20 format, as the bowlers started to catch up with the batters. When the format was first introduced, most believed that spinners would become piñatas for batters looking to hit big on each ball. However, a few years into the popularity of the format, the teams realised that it is the spinners who win games with their wily bowling.
This resulted in the average scores dropping to 142 this season. The impact of spinners could be understood by the fact that of the 10 highest wicket takers in IPL 2011, five were spinners, by far the most in any season so far.
2012 was the start of something else, an era that wouldn’t truly start till the next season. However, 2012 was Chris Gayle’s first full season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He won the Orange Cap that season after scoring 733 runs in 15 matches with a strike rate of over 160. Average team scores this season were 147.
| Season | Avg Team Score |
| 2008 | ~150 |
| 2009 | ~145 |
| 2010 | 157 |
| 2011 | 142 |
| 2012 | 147 |
The Gayle Storm Era (2013-2017)
The next era in scoring could only be described as the Gayle Storm era. Before this season, the average scores each season would fluctuate wildly. But for the next few seasons after 2012, the average scores were consistently over and around 150.
While this change could be attributed to teams starting to adapt better to the T20 format, the face of the league during these years was Chris Gayle. The explosive West Indies opener was always known for his hitting prowess, but struggled in his first few seasons in the IPL.
After winning the Orange Cap in 2012, Gayle was on a planet on his own. He, along with AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, made RCB the most exciting team in all of world cricket.
In 2013, the Royal Challengers, in a match against Pune Warriors India, made a staggering 263 runs in just 20 overs. This was to remain the highest score in IPL history by a team for over a decade. In this match, Gayle made a whopping 175 runs in just 66 balls. This is still the highest individual score in league history.
While the average team scores in IPL 2013 were just under 150, they would shoot up to 156 the very next season in 2014. This season was highlighted by the exploits of one Glenn Maxwell. For the Kings XI Punjab, the Australian all-rounder made 89 runs or more in the team’s first three matches.
2015 saw the average scores drop just below 150 once again. But this was to be the last season when the average team score throughout an IPL season was to go below the 150-run mark. In 2016, that average shot up to 155, and in 2017, it remained around 155 as well.
| Season | Avg Team Score |
| 2013 | ~150 |
| 2014 | 156 |
| 2015 | <150 |
| 2016 | 155 |
| 2017 | 155 |
The Modern Power Hitting Explosion (2018-2023)
Next, we come into an era that, for a long time, was considered the peak of T20 cricket. The average totals were well over 150. During this time, teams would breach the 200-run mark with regularity. On the other hand, the bowlers too would shine on occasion, the face of which was the Sunrisers Hyderabad, a team known to defend incredibly low totals.
In 2017, for the first time in league history, 200 runs or more were scored on 10 occasions in an IPL season. In 2018, that became the norm, as that mark was reached and breached on 15 occasions. This was due to the better understanding of sloggers in the death overs. Teams regularly added 50 runs or more in the last five overs of an inning.
2018 was also the highest-scoring season in IPL at the time, with average scores being 164 runs per inning.
That average remained over 160 in 2018 and 2020. The 200-run mark was also broken over 10 times in both these seasons.
The COVID era was a challenging one for everyone. While only half the 2020 season was played in bubble conditions, the entire 2021 season was played in the dreaded bubble. That was reflected in the lower scoring that season. The average score that year was 155, while the 200-run mark was broken only nine times.
2022 was the return of normalcy in the IPL, and it was also a record-breaking season in scoring. Two new teams were added to the league, and the average scores still went up. This was the highest-scoring season in league history, with the average score being just about 165.
So far, we have observed that the year before the change of an era is a sample of what’s next. That could not be a better explanation for the 2023 season. Scoring was taken to another level in 2023.
With the introduction of the infamous ‘Impact Player’ rule, average scores shot up to 172 this season. Before this season, the most times 200 runs or more were made in a season was 18, in 2022. That score was breached 37 times in 2023. However, this insane scoring was nothing compared to what was to come in the following seasons.
| Season | Avg Team Score |
| 2018 | 164 |
| 2019 | 160+ |
| 2020 | 160+ |
| 2021 | 155 |
| 2022 | 165 |
| 2023 | 172 |
The Record-Breaking 2024-2025 Seasons
The 2024 IPL season was the start of something new, not only in the Indian Premier League but in T20 cricket as a whole. All scoring records were broken this season. To start, the average team totals were over 175.
Teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders made 200+ scores normal, to the point that it was no longer a winning total. This was also the year when the long-standing record of the highest team score in IPL history of 263, made by RCB in 2013, was broken when, against RCB, SRH made a staggering 287 runs.
In fact, out of the 15 IPL highest team score in history, 13 were made in the last two seasons. The 200-run mark was also leapt over 90 times in the last two seasons.
And if 2024 was insane, 2025 was something else. The average scores reached over 180, and 200 runs were made every other day, and a strike rate of 160, which was once considered elite, was now bang average.
| Season | Avg Team Score |
| 2024 | 175+ |
| 2025 | 180+ |
Check Out: Height of scoring in the IPL
Why Are Team Scores Suddenly So High? The 3 Key Factors
The Impact Player Rule
The Impact Player Role, which allows teams to substitute an extra player in the team at any point in the match, means that the teams have an extra batter or bowler in the team.
In the IPL, teams have taken advantage of this rule massively. Due to this rule, each team has eight or nine batters in their playing XI. And because of an extra batter, teams take more risks, score more boundaries, and make more runs.
Evolution of Batting Intent and “Range Hitting”
This partly comes into play due to the Impact Player rule. However, in T20 cricket in general, the batters are showing more intent to clear the ropes. There are several factors in play to make this a reality.
First, teams are playing more all-rounders, increasing the number of batters in the batting order. Next, improvement in the strength and conditioning of the players means that they have more power to score boundaries and sixes. Finally, the change in attitude towards attacking in T20 cricket means that batters are practising and innovating more shots and techniques.
Flatter Pitches and Smaller Boundaries
Over the last two seasons, seeing the demand among fans of high-scoring games, stadiums are preparing flatter pitches in IPL games. In earlier seasons, each stadium had a distinct personality. Some were batting-friendly, some allowed spin to rule the roost, while others saw pacers dominate.
However, today, all grounds in the IPL are flat tracks and a batter’s paradise. Couple that with shorter boundaries in games today, and the high scores become obvious. When stadiums like Eden Gardens and Chepauk become sites of high-scoring games, you know something is up with the conditions.
The Role of the Powerplay in Setting Massive Totals
Highest Powerplay Score in IPL History Team Records
The highest powerplay score in IPL history was scored in 2025. In fact, out of the 10 highest powerplay scores in the league, seven were made in the last two seasons.
| Powerplay Score | Team | Against | Venue | Season |
| 125/0 | SRH | DC | Delhi | 2024 |
| 107/0 | SRH | LSG | Lucknow | 2024 |
| 105/0 | KKR | RCB | Bengaluru | 2017 |
| 100/2 | CSK | PBKS | Mumbai | 2014 |
| 94/1 | SRH | RR | Hyderabad | 2025 |
| 93/1 | PBKS | KKR | Kolkata | 2024 |
| 92/0 | DC | MI | Delhi | 2024 |
| 92/1 | RCB | GT | Bengaluru | 2024 |
| 90/0 | CSK | MI | Mumbai | 2015 |
| 89/1 | PBKS | SRH | Hyderabad | 2025 |
What to Expect in IPL 2026: Will We See 300?
For the last two seasons, the elusive 300-run mark has been a target of several teams. So, will that record be breached this season?
That mark has been reached on multiple occasions in T20 internationals. It was once scored in a match where two Test sides played against each other. In 2025, England made 304/2 against South Africa.
So, it is only a matter of time before 300 runs are scored by a team in an IPL match too.
Check Out: height of scoring in the IPL
