IPL's lowest highs - smallest totals successfully defended
Punjab Kings created a new record by defending 111 against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025
Varun Shetty
16-Apr-2025
It's not often that teams make, let alone defend, low scores in the IPL. But every few seasons, there's a match where either the pitch slows up or the pressure builds, and wickets fall in a heap. These are the matches that stand out for how a small total suddenly looked like plenty. Here is a look at the five lowest totals successfully defended in the IPL.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) went from failing to defend 245 one game to defending 111 the next. Chasing 112, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were 7 for 2, then 72 for 3, and then 95 all out. Chahal was clattered for 16 in his last over by Russell, who kept KKR in the game for a little longer, but the legspinner ended with 4 for 28, which proved pivotal. Marco Jansen and Arshdeep Singh chipped in at the end to close the job. The ball turned and gripped but not enough to explain how a team chasing 112 went from cruise control to losing six wickets in 5.2 overs.
This was back when 116 in T20 cricket could still be competitive, especially if Muthiah Muralidaran was on your side. Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) batting spluttered on a slow pitch, but Kings XI Punjab's (KXIP) chase was less of a reply and more of a slow surrender. R Ashwin and Suresh Raina bowled eight overs for 30 between them, taking four wickets. Muralidaran went for eight in his four and also took two wickets. KXIP never looked in a hurry.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came into this match missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake, got bowled out in 18.4 overs and then produced one of the sharpest defensive bowling displays seen in the IPL. Rashid Khan bowled 16 dots in his four overs, taking 2 for 11. Siddarth Kaul hit hard lengths during his three-for and dismissed Mumbai Indians' (MI) last hope in Hardik Pandya, whose 3 off 19 was a painful crawl. Basil Thampi closed it all out after dismissing the set Suryakumar Yadav in the 16th over. MI lasted a ball more than SRH but made only 87.
KXIP's three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock MI's chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, KXIP hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory. MI hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Lasith Malinga's late strikes, but they failed to chase 120. Earlier, Sangakkara had kept the KXIP innings alive with an unbeaten 45 and it proved to be decisive.
Pune Warriors (PW) needed 19 off 19 balls. They had six wickets in hand. And then Amit Mishra happened. He took a hat-trick and ended with figures of 4 for 19, after making an important 30 off 24 earlier when SRH themselves were 44 for 6. PW batted only 13 off those last 19 balls to lose their remaining six wickets. Mishra walked off with a shrug. It was the third hat-trick of his IPL career.
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo