Royal Challengers Bengaluru shatter records in historic IPL victory over Chennai Super Kings

Bengaluru. The bowling performance of Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday night was arguably the worst in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In this match, Bengaluru's batters rendered the Chennai bowlers helpless, setting several historic statistics and records.

Bengaluru posted a massive total of 250 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. This is Bengaluru's third-highest total in IPL history and the highest score ever recorded by any team against Chennai. 

Previously, Punjab scored 231 for 4 in 2014, and Gujarat Titans scored 231 for 3 in 2024. Overall, Bengaluru has crossed the 250-run mark three times in the IPL, the second most after Sunrisers Hyderabad (5 times). In T20 cricket, only India (7 times) and Hyderabad have crossed the 250-run mark more than three times.

With this victory, Bengaluru has registered its fourth consecutive win against Chennai. In all these victories, Bengaluru has defended totals of over 190. 

This is the first time Bengaluru has defeated Chennai in four consecutive IPL matches. Previously, between 2009 and 2010, Bengaluru had won three consecutive games. 

In terms of batting, Bengaluru added 97 runs in the final five overs of the innings, which is tied for the second-highest in IPL history. The team scored 159 runs in the final 10 overs, hitting 16 sixes. After Phil Salt was dismissed in the 11th over, the team batted at an extraordinary run rate of 16.82, adding 157 runs in just 9.2 overs.

Tim David's performance in the match was highly aggressive. Coming in to bat in the 15th over, he scored an unbeaten 70 runs. David added 68 runs in the death overs (17th to 20th over) alone, which is the most runs scored by any batter in the death overs of an IPL match. 

Similarly, Sarfaraz Khan set a record by becoming the first player in IPL history to complete 50 runs in the powerplay while batting at number four or lower. Previously, Tilak Varma had scored 43 runs against Gujarat in 2023.

Another unique record regarding sixes was set in this match. While chasing the massive target, 9 Chennai batters, excluding Ayush Mhatre and Matt Henry, hit at least one six. This is the first instance in world T20 cricket where 9 different batters have hit a six in a single innings. 

Since all five of Bengaluru's batters also hit sixes, a total of 14 different players hit sixes in this match. This is the second such instance in T20 history.

Meanwhile, according to this week's IPL statistics, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has completed his 202 wickets in the tournament. With this, he has become the second bowler after Yuzvendra Chahal (224 wickets) to cross the 200-wicket mark in IPL history.