IPL 2021: Ranking The Most Destructive Batting Line-Up In All Of 13 Seasons And Their Final Standing

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has indeed seen some of the most destructive batsmen come together and light up the tournament year after year. With franchise cricket taking place worldwide all year, there exists no dearth of destructive batsmen as they have mastered the knack of run-scoring in all the conditions.

It also renders most of the bowlers ineffective in the face of it. Such batsmen have blasted their way into the record books through their free run-scoring and smashing an innumerable number of boundaries in all parts of the ground. Hence, the lucrative T20 format has become further entertaining as the batters have bossed almost every IPL season.

IPL 2021: Ranking The Most Destructive Batting Line-Up In All Of 13 Seasons And Their Final Standing

IPL 2008- Deccan Chargers:

Deccan Chargers entered the inaugural edition of IPL with plenty of promise but hardly lived up to it. With VVS Laxman??at the helm alongside Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma and other youngsters, Deccan Chargers had a powerful batting line-up. Unfortunately, their lacklustre bowling performances significantly contributed to them finishing at the bottom of the table despite compelling batting renditions.

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Keeper-batsman and opener Adam Gilchrist was their top run-getter with 436 runs in 14 matches at 33.54 while Rohit Sharma stood next with 404. One of their cases of bowling failures came against the Rajasthan Royals when the Chargers had to defend 217. Andrew Symonds’ blistering hundred had lifted them to a formidable total; however, his bowling proved to be the team’s, Achilles Heel.

IPL 2009 – Delhi Daredevils:

Delhi Daredevils not only had the most destructive batting line-up in the 2009 edition of IPL but also players tailormade for the T20 format, capable of playing specialized roles. Virender Sehwag, the captain, often batted at the top order while the likes of Gautam Gambhir, David Warner, Ab De Villiers, Dinesh Karthik and Tillakaratne Dilshan were regular players. Their bench boasted of players like Paul Collingwood, Andrew Mcdonald, Owais Shah, Daniel Vettori, and Manoj Tiwary.

The Delhi-based franchise was dominant in the group stage, topping it with 20 points in their kitty and reached the semi-finals convincingly. But they were no match for the Deccan Chargers in the knockouts as the eventual champions beat Virender Sehwag’s men by six wickets. Captain Adam Gilchrist’s breezy knock of 85 off 35 deliveries blew them away.

IPL 2010 – Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians reached their first final in the 2010 edition, facing the Chennai Super Kings in a losing effort. After two underwhelming seasons, Mumbai Indians gathered a well-knit team and a deep batting line-up that helped them reach the finals. The 2010 season proved to be the breakthrough years for Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary – both of who scored a good amount of runs.

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Batting in the middle-order, Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu clattered 419 and 356 runs respectively, stepping up on various occasions to shoulder Sachin Tendulkar’s burdens at the top. Kieron Pollard also had a productive season on his debut year, striking at 185.71 while Harbhajan Singh and JP Duminy also chipped in with useful performances. The final of IPL 2010 saw the Mumbai Indians having eight genuine batsmen in the line-up.

IPL 2011 – Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Royal Challengers Bangalore became unlucky for the second time in 2011 as they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the final after Deccan Chargers beat them two years ago. Royal Challengers Bangalore did not have deep batting line-up; however, the trio of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB De Villiers are capable of taking the game away from the opposition quickly.

Chris Gayle, who joined the Royal Challengers during the middle of the tournament as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, was in the form of his life. The left-handed batsman hammered 608 runs in 12 matches at 67.56 with three fifties and two centuries. However, not only Chris Gayle failed in the final but also Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers perished for low scores. As a result, the Royal Challengers lost by 58 runs.

IPL 2012 – Delhi Daredevils:

While Gautam Gambhir was not with the Delhi Daredevils by the 2012 season, the Virender Sehwag-led franchise had roped in more potent batters. The likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, and Ross Taylor had joined the franchise. And the same had made the Delhi Daredevils an even more formidable batting unit.

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Unfortunately, the side could not close in on their maiden IPL title despite having numerous talented players in their armoury. Delhi Capitals held the top spot with 22 points at the end of the group stage and had two chances to reach the playoffs. Nevertheless, Delhi lost two of them to Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, crashing out of the competition.

IPL 2013 – Chennai Super Kings:

Chennai Super Kings entered their fifth IPL final in 2013 and were up against Mumbai Indians, whom they defeated three years ago at the same stage. Chennai Super Kings arguably had the best captain who had a formidable record in the format and was a gun finisher. The Super Kings had as many as ten batsmen in their line-up who could bat and the top eight were genuine match-winners with the bat and quick run-scorers.

However, things went awry on the night of the final as Mumbai Indians romped to their first of the five IPL crowns. Kieron Pollard’s half-century and a tiny contribution from Ambati Rayudu drove Mumbai to 148 after a top-order collapse. In response, the yellow army had a capitulation of their own with the four out of their top six perished for a single-figure score. Skipper MS Dhoni was the only one standing tall, but his 63 was not enough as they fell 23 runs short.

IPL 2014: Kings XI Punjab:

The 2014 edition of IPL was not only the best edition for Kings XI Punjab but also for Glenn Maxwell, who was in top-notch form. Kings XI Punjab won their first five matches and was in raging form mainly due to the brilliance of their batting line-up and all hitting the top gear. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha, and captain George Bailey were all chief contributors to the cause.

Glenn Maxwell was the highest run-getter for them with 552 runs in 16 matches while David Miller, who batted down the order did the finishing job exceptionally well. Virender Sehwag came to the party with a blazing hundred in the playoffs against Chennai Super Kings while Wriddhiman Saha struck one in the finals. Unfortunately, Saha’s ton in the tournament-decider went in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders edged past the KXIP in a high-scoring thriller.

IPL 2015 – Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians began marking their dynasty in the Indian Premier League with their second title victory in 2015. While the line-up of 2015 was not as deep as the one witnessed two years ago, the players stepped up in adverse situations to script a remarkable comeback and clinch the crown. The 2015 season saw the emergence of Hardik Pandya and Lendl Simmons, who hammered 540 runs that year.

In his debut year, Hardik Pandya managed 112 runs in nine matches; however, he maintained a strike rate of 180.65 and had a high score of 61 not out. Lendl Simmons hammered a fifty in the final against Chennai while opening the innings while captain Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, and Ambati Rayudu also came up with impactful knocks. Thus, it might not be a deep batting line-up, it certainly boasted of the most destructive and impactful batsmen.

IPL 2016 – Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Royal Challengers Bangalore had once again brought together a batting line-up of supreme quality and a top three that most teams were envious of. While Chris Gayle was uncharacteristically not at his best, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers hit top form in the season. In particular, the former smashed 973 runs in 16 matches at 81.08 while De Villiers amassed 687 runs at 52.

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Despite that, the Royal Challengers could not close in on their maiden IPL title, losing to SunRisers Hyderabad by eight runs in the final. Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle hammered the fifties in pursuit of 209; however, AB De Villiers failed miserably, perishing for a single-figure score. All-rounder Shane Watson was arguably the biggest disappointment for them as he managed only 179 runs in 16 matches at 13.71.

IPL 2017 – Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians became champions for the third time in 2017 in one of the most outstanding fashions that one might have witnessed. While Mumbai Indians’ batting depth could not make an impact in the final against Rising Pune Supergiants, they indeed had it on paper. The batting line-up that already had Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, and Hardik Pandya had another gun batsman added in Krunal Pandya.

Krunal Pandya, who debuted in IPL 2016 and had a decent season, made a massive impact in IPL 2017 final. The left-arm spinner top-scored with 47 runs in the final that carried Mumbai Indians to a winning total of 129. Though Krunal could not manage any wicket in the final, he bowled a reasonably economical spell. Rohit Sharma’s men won the tournament-decider by one run.

IPL 2018 – Chennai Super Kings:

Chennai Super Kings enjoyed a happy homecoming in IPL 2018, sparking a comeback in the cash-rich league after a two-year ban. Chennai Super Kings romped to their third IPL title, courtesy of Shane Watson’s blistering hundred in the final to steamroll SunRisers Hyderabad in the Wankhede Stadium. Apart from Watson’s form in the 2018 edition, a host of other players stepped up with the bat too to contribute to their victory.

One of the best examples of the same was Chennai’s playoff game against SunRisers Hyderabad when the former endured a top-order collapse while chasing 140. Faf Du Plessis weathered the storm and finished with an unbeaten half-century while Shardul Thakur struck some crucial boundaries towards the end. MS Dhoni had more than 450 runs under his belt while Ambati Rayudu mustered 602 runs in an unforgettable season for them.

IPL 2019 – SunRisers Hyderabad:

SunRisers Hyderabad did not have the best batting line-up in the 2019 edition of IPL; however, their dominating openers performed outstandingly well to dictate terms in most part of the tournament. The pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow was at their destructive best in the matches they played. The former even bagged the Orange Cap despite playing the least number of games than his rivals.

David Warner smashed 692 runs in 12 matches at 69.20 while Jonny Bairstow accumulated 445 runs in ten fixtures at 55.62. The players had two centuries between them too which they hammered while opening the innings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and amassed a stand of 185, which is the highest opening stand in the history. The SunRisers finished the edition in the fourth position.

IPL 2020- Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians, who became the eventual champions of IPL 2020, had arguably the most destructive batting line-up. Despite Rohit Sharma’s absence for a few games due to injury, Mumbai Indians had few problems steamrolling the oppositions and marching their way to the fifth title. Moreover, they had Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav make a truckload of runs – two players who have no international caps.

Alongside Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton De Kock, Kieron Pollard, and Hardik Pandya chipped in with compelling performances at crucial times. While Rohit Sharma was not in the best nick, he managed three fifties too, including one in the final that the Mumbai-based franchise won by five wickets. Hence, the five-time champions’ batting line-up clicked consistently enough to clinch their fifth crown in seven years.

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