The 11^th edition of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner and all the franchises are gearing up for the cash-rich league. It sometimes feels unreal to realize that we are in the 11^th year of the tournament. There have been several records achieved in the last 10 years. Starting from the very first year we have seen some exceptional performances been laid out by some of the top players.

We have seen some big totals in the tournament and teams have also managed to chase down mammoth totals set by the opposition team. Here is the list of 5 highest run-chases in the history of IPL

206/4 in 18.5 overs by Kings XI Punjab vs. Chennai Super Kings (205/4) at Abu Dhabi, April 18, 2014

The first half of the 2014 edition of the tournament was played in Abu Dhabi. It was in UAE that Kings XI Punjab skipper Glenn Maxwell announced his arrival with some sensational knocks. Chennai posted a competitive total of 205/4 in 20 overs courtesy some useful contributions from the batters. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith shared a mammoth 123 runs partnership for the opening wicket. However, despite losing only four wickets, they failed to put on the accelerator during the death overs. Despite the stem in run flow, CSK managed to set a total more than 200.

Punjab lost some crucial wickets and was reduced to 53/3. However, it was Maxwell who smashed the CSK bowlers all around Abu Dhabi. He was looking well set for a century but was dismissed five short of a well-deserved ton. Maxwell shared a 115 runs partnership with David Miller which eventually sealed the deal for Punjab.

208/5 in 20 overs by Chennai Super Kings vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore (205/8) at Chennai, 12 Apr 2012

Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a brilliant start courtesy their openers, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal. Both struck some delightful shots to get going and stitched together 53 runs for the opening wicket. Gayle was playing himself in, but following Agarwal’s dismissal, he started launching into the bowlers. The southpaw shared a 109 runs stand with Virat Kohli. Both scored half-centuries, but they had a horrible collapse in the last 3-4 overs. They could eventually manage only 205 in their allotted 20 overs.

Chennai lost Murali Vijay early, but Faf du Plessis kept them in the chase with some sensible batting. Du Plessis scored 71 of 46 deliveries. Skipper MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order and smashed his way to 41 of 24 deliveries which contained a solitary four and a couple of sixes. Albie Morkel turned the match on its head when he smashed Virat Kohli for 28 runs in the penultimate over of the match. It ended in dramatic fashion as Ravindra Jadeja edged a short of length delivery straight to the third man fielder and completed a run. However, the umpire ruled it as a no-ball which gave Chennai a thrilling victory.

211/4 in 18.4 overs by Kings XI Punjab vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad (205/5) at Hyderabad, May 14, 2014

Hyderabad began well but lost two back to back wickets. However, it was a brilliant innings fro wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha which was instrumental in helping Sunrisers get past the 200 mark. He struck some delightful shots and was accompanied well by David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. Ojha smashed a 36 balls 79 which contained four fours and seven sixes.

There were useful contributions from all Kings XI Punjab batsmen. Manan Vohra got them off to a flying start despite the fall of Virender Sehwag’s wicket. Vohra struck five fours and a couple of sixes during his knock of 47 in 20 deliveries. Wriddhiman Saha chipped in with a crucial half-century. He was dismissed on 54 of 26 deliveries. However, it was Glenn Maxwell’s whirlwind knock of 43 of 20 deliveries which helped Punjab chase the total down in the end.

214/3 in 17.3 overs by Delhi Daredevils vs. Gujarat Lions (208/7) at New Delhi, May 4, 2017

IPL 2018: Five Highest Run Chases in the History of the Tournament 5 — Rishabh Pant

The 2^nd highest chase of the tournament was achieved by Delhi Daredevils against the Gujarat Lions last year. Impressive knocks by skipper Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik was instrumental in helping Gujarat post 208/7 on the board in their allotted 20 overs. Raina scored 77 of 43 deliveries while Karthik chipped in with a quickfire 34 balls 65.

Daredevils made pretty light work of the total as Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant smashed the Gujarat bowlers all around the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. It was some sensational hitting by the duo, Pant in particular. The southpaw looked like a man possessed and smashed six fours and nine sixes during his whirlwind knock of 97 of just 43 deliveries. Delhi eventually chased the total down with 15 deliveries left despite the dismissals of Pant and Samson.

217/7 in 19.5 overs by Rajasthan Royals, vs. Deccan Chargers (214/5) at Hyderabad, 24 Apr 2008

It was the 9th match of the inaugural edition of the tournament. Courtesy a sensational century from the blade of Andrew Symonds; Chargers posted a mammoth total of 214 runs in their allotted 20 overs. It was some sublime hitting by Andrew Symonds which eventually propelled them to a mammoth score. Symonds remained unbeaten on 117 of 53 deliveries, an innings which contained 11 fours and seven sixes.

Chasing the huge total, opener Graeme Smith provided the much-needed start and shared a brilliant partnership of 98 runs with Yusuf Pathan. Smith was dismissed on 71 by Shahid Afridi while Yusuf managed to score a 28 balls 61. Mohammad Kaif and Shane Warne chipped in with useful knocks towards the end of the innings which eventually helped Rajasthan chase the total down in the penultimate delivery of the match.