Done and dusted: Five lowest team totals in IPL history
The Indian Premier League is a T20 competition famous for big-hitting. In a country that produces a quality batsman every now and then, it is tough to believe that there have been really, really low scores in the IPL. As a matter of fact, there have been 38 occasions of a team not being able to score 100 runs.
In the previous season of the IPL, we saw Kolkata Knight Riders ending up with a score of 84 for 8 in their 20 overs. That was the lowest total in the entire season. However, there have been much lower scores in the IPL. Let us look back at the five lowest team totals in the IPL.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders’ 67 vs Mumbai Indians, 2008
The first season for the Kolkata Knight Riders doesn’t have too many memories to look back at. After Brendon McCullum scored 158 runs off 73 balls in the first match, KKR had a season, which they would rather forget. One of the major reasons why this season is a forgettable one is also because of their loss at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and elected to bowl first. KKR got absolutely no momentum during their innings losing wickets at regular intervals. Shaun Pollock (3 for 12) and Dwayne Bravo (2 for 13) were the chief architects of KKR’s slump. They were bowled out for the lowest total in that season, 67. When it came to the chase, it took Mumbai just 5.3 overs to knock off the total.
4. Delhi Daredevils’ 67 vs Kings XI Punjab, 2017
Between 2012 and 2019, when they were renamed and relaunched as Delhi Capitals, the Delhi-based franchise saw some really tough seasons in the IPL. On an evening in Mohali, Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell won the toss and asked Delhi to bat.
Sandeep Sharma had one of his best days. He swung the ball beautifully as Delhi batters struggled to get a start. He bowled four overs by giving just 20 runs and picked up four crucial wickets. His spell jolted the Delhi team and the rest was taken care of by the other bowlers of Punjab as Delhi folded up for 67 runs.
3. Delhi Daredevils’ 66 vs Mumbai Indians, 2017
When we said that 2017 was one of the seasons where Delhi just couldn’t get their act together, we had another total to look at. This match was interestingly played just a week after their loss against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). Mumbai Indians were sent into bat by Delhi captain Zaheer Khan and with fiery knocks from Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard, they reached 212 for 3.
Chasing a big total, Delhi lost early wickets and never looked in control of the chase. It was 6 for 2, then 20 for 3, then 35 for 5, then 46 for 7 and eventually 66 bowled out. In a week’s time, the same time, with mostly the same players had been bowled for less than 70 twice. For Mumbai, Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma starred with the ball picking up three wickets each.
2. Rajasthan Royals’ 58 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2009
Rajasthan Royals, after winning the inaugural season in 2008, started the 2009 season in a strange fashion. They met Royal Challengers Bangalore, who had finished seventh in 2008. Batting first, RCB didn’t get a huge total. With contributions from their newly appointed captain Kevin Pietersen (32) and Rahul Dravid (66), the Bangalore team could manage only 133 for 8 in their 20 overs.
However, what followed was not anyone’s guess. Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for just 58, as the champions of 2008 recorded the lowest ever total in the league. The record was with them until 2017. Anil Kumble bowled a memorable spell of 5 for 5 in 3.1 overs, while he got some good support from Praveen Kumar and part-timer Jesse Ryder, both of whom picked up two wickets.
1. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 49 vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2017
The match between RCB and KKR at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2017 was quite bizarre. KKR began with a flier as Narine made 34 runs from 17 balls. However, the RCB spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi shared five wickets between them to restrict the hosts for 131 runs.
RCB was not charged for what they faced. The trio of Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Colin de Grandhomme took three wickets each while Umesh Yadav got one wicket. In a dismal show, none of the RCB batsmen managed a double-digit score and they were bowled out for just 49 runs. Interestingly, with this, RCB held the record for the highest ever score in IPL along with the lowest ever score.
