Top 5 Batsmen With The Most Runs In A Single IPL season

The 13th season of the Indian Premier League [IPL] is all set to kickstart in the United Arab Emirates from September 19. And, as is the case with the beginning of every edition, fans, pundits and writers have started predicting who they think will lead the batting and bowling departments for the respective sides.

So, we at Cricket Addictor thought, why not stroll down memory lane and reminisce about the batsmen who lead the charts as far as scoring most runs in a single season of the cash-rich league?

Here’s a look-

Chris Gayle- 733 runs in IPL 2012, RCB

If ever there is an IPL ‘Hall of Fame’, then ‘Universe Boss’ Christopher Henry Gayle will be among the very first entrants in that elusive club. Gayle has represented the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kings XI Punjab in the past 12 seasons of the IPL but it was his exploits with the Bengaluru-based franchise that etched his name in the folklore of the cash-rich league.

And, it’s ridiculous when you think of the fact that Chris Gayle went unsold in the 2011 IPL auctions. Gayle has only recalled midday through the season as an injury replacement of Dirk Nannes by RCB. The move proved to be a masterstroke as Gayle went on to dominate the league for the next 3-4 years.

Gayle announced his arrival with a brutal hundred against his former franchise KKR, and the burly Jamaican did not take a backward step after that as he went about slaughtering bowling attacks for the next three seasons. Despite missing the first six games of the 2011 season, Chris Gayle still finished as the leading run-getter- 608 runs in 12 games at an average of 67.55- in the 2011 edition.

But, as he eventually proved, it was just a trailer of what was to follow. The ‘Universe Boss’ smashed all the records in the succeeding season as he became the first batsmen to scale the 700-run mark in a single edition of the tournament. Gayle finished with 733 runs in 17 innings at an average of 61.08 and a strike-rate of 160.74, which also included seven half-centuries and one hundred.

His best innings of the season came against Delhi Daredevils [Capitals]; a whirlwind 62-ball 128 consisting of 7 fours and 13 sixes.

Also Read- Top 5 Bowlers With Most Wickets In An IPL Season

Mike Hussey- 733 runs in IPL 2013, CSK

Mike Hussey was one of the cornerstones of Chennai Super Kings’ success in the first few years of the Indian Premier.

Hussey, along with fellow opener Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina, formed a formidable top-3 that gave consistent starts paving way for the shenanigans of power-hitters like Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni to take over at the death.

Hussey had his finest hour in IPL cricket during the 2013 season where he became the then joint-highest run-scorer in a single edition of the tournament’s history.

While CSK finished as the second-best team in the tournament courtesy a crushing defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in the finals, the former Australian cricketer ended up at the numero-uno spot, scoring a colossal 733 runs in 17 innings at an average of 52.35 and a strike-rate of 129.50, which also included six half-centuries.

Kane Williamson- 735 runs in IPL 2018, SRH

Adversity tends to bring out a beast in champions. And, Kane Williamson has certainly proved that to the hilt in his decade-old career.

With David Warner getting ruled out of the 2018 edition due to the ball-tampering scandal, Kane Williamson was tasked with two major responsibilities. Firstly, he had to lead the side that Warner had spearheaded to the titular heist in 2016 and secondly, he had to make sure that the ‘Orange Army’ do not suffer from the lack of firepower with the bat in the absence of the southpaw.

And, boy didn’t he performed both of those responsibilities with disdain? Williamson not only led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the finals, but he also made sure he finished at the top of the table as far as most runs in the season were concerned.

The Kiwi skipper finished with 735 runs in 17 innings at an average of 52.50 and a strike-rate of 142.44, including eight half-centuries.

David Warner- 848 runs in IPL 2016, SRH

It is pretty rare that you finish with more than 800 runs in a single IPL season but you still don’t end up as the highest run-getter.

But, guess David Warner would be more than happy with the fact that he ended up with the IPL trophy. Warner was ridiculously brilliant with the bat as well as a captain in the 2016 edition.

The swashbuckling Australian southpaw matched Virat Kohli blow-for-blow with the bat as he smoked a colossal 848 runs in 17 innings at an astounding average of 60.57 and a strike-rate of 151.42, which also included nine 50+ scores.

Virat Kohli- 973 runs in IPL 2016, RCB

Sachin Tendulkar & 1998, Virat Kohli & 2016. Is there a better love story in cricket? Kohli, like Sachin in 1998, was absolutely ridiculous with the bat in all formats of the game back in 2016.

Following his ‘Player of the tournament’ exploits in the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli took his game to a completely different level in the succeeding IPL season, where he just shattered records like fun.

It was that sort of a season where Virat Kohli would have run on the highway without getting run over. Most runs in the tournament? Check. Most runs during a single season in the history of the competition? Check. IPL hundred? Check. Another 100? Check. Yet another hundred? Check. A hundred with nine stitches on his left hand in a rain-curtailed game? Check. Check. Check.

It was a dream season for Virat as he smoked a barely believable 973 runs in 16 innings at an average of 81.08 and a strike-rate of 152.03 with the help of seven half-centuries and (hold your breath) four hundred. Unfortunately, the dream season did not have a fairytale ending as David Warner’s SRH pipped Virat’s RCB in the finals.