Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
gave Indian Premier LeagueThe batting revolution has reached another extreme in IPL 2026, where even a score above 200 does not guarantee safety. Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday romped to 222/4 against Punjab Kings, the tournament officially recording its 53rd 200-plus total this season – the most ever in a singles. IPL EditionThe highest 200-plus total in an IPL edition53 in 202652 in 202541 in 202437 in 202318 in 2022What makes the numbers even more surprising is the trend over the past few years. IPL 2025 previously set a record with 52 totals above 200. Earlier, IPL 2024 had 41 such scores, while IPL 2023 had 37. Go back just four years to IPL 2022, and the number was just 18. This rise illustrates just how dramatically T20 batting has evolved. Aggressive powerplay intent, fearless middle-order hitting and expert finishers have completely changed the definition of a “good total” in the IPL. The introduction of the impact player rule has tilted the balance more towards the batsmen, allowing teams to field an extra hitter while giving players more freedom to attack with one ball. What was once considered a match-winning score is now often seen as just a draw. RCB’s innings against PBKS was another reminder of this change. Virat Kohli A fluent 58 off 37 balls laid the foundation, while Devdutt Padikal kept the momentum going with 45 off 25 balls. But it was Venkatesh Iyer Who turned the innings into a complete disaster by scoring an unbeaten 73 off just 40 balls. Even after crossing 220, RCB still didn’t feel completely safe as such totals are becoming increasingly chaseable in modern IPL cricket. Earlier this season, Punjab Kings chased down 265 against Delhi Capitals, a result that perfectly summed up the fearless batting era that entered the league. Batsmen are now attacking from the very first delivery, teams regularly score more than 10 runs an over throughout the innings, and the death overs have become a showcase for hitting boundaries. In IPL 2026, 200 is no longer uncommon. This is just the starting point of the competition.
