Top five highest powerplay scores in the Indian T20 League

Powerplays have become very important for teams in a game of T20. Bowlers look to get early breakthroughs to build pressure on their oppositions from the start. Batters look to take the advantage of field restrictions. The T20 format has demanded players to adapt to these conditions as it is a faster-moving game and they need to make the most out of it. Here is a list of the highest scores in the powerplay in the Indian T20 League.

Kolkata's 105/0 against Bangalore in 2017

Surprising everyone, Kolkata asked Sunil Narine to open the batting for the first time ever. Along with Chris Lynn, he had to chase a total of 159. The two kept smacking sixes throughout the powerplay and Narine scored 26 runs in a single over. By the end of the powerplay, Sunil Narine had already reached his half-century, while Lynn was batting at 49. This still remains the highest total in the powerplay.

Chennai's 100/2 against Punjab in 2014

The entire credit for this score goes to Chinna Thala Suresh Raina for his brilliance in the powerplay. In a chase of 227 in a knockout game, Raina scored 87 runs in 25 balls at a massive strike rate of 348. He scored 12 fours and hit 6 sixes. They did lose 2 wickets in the 6 overs, but that did not matter much in the end.

Chennai's 90/2 against Mumbai in 2015

The duo of Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith was at the job when they were chasing 184. The first three overs were expensive for 29 runs, but the next four were even bigger. In the 4th, 5th, and the 6th over of the powerplay, these two hit 61 runs. The overs of Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, and Jagisha Suchith saw three boundaries each taking the total to 90 runs in the powerplay.

Kochi's 87/2 vs Rajasthan in 2011

Kochi, a new member of the ITL family in 2011, comprehensively outplayed the Royals in a largely one-sided match in their last game. They chased down the total in 7.2 overs. They scored 87 runs in the powerplay itself after bundling them out for 97, giving themselves a small chance of moving beyond the league phase, which they subsequently missed out on.

Punjab's 86/1 vs Hyderabad in 2014

Wriddhiman Saha had a fantastic year for Punjab in 2014. Despite losing Virender Sehwag early, he and Manan Vohra hammered Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all over their home ground, scoring 91 runs off 41 balls. In the end, the Powerplay burst of 86 for 1 proved decisive, as Hyderabad stumbled in the middle overs of the chase.