Top 5 lowest defended totals in IPL

Only five times a total less than 120 has been defended successfully in the IPL.

Due to least number of overs per innings than other two formats, T20s are often considered a batter’s game and Indian Premier League (IPL) is no different. IPL has witnessed mammoth totals in many games, and there is no doubt that a total less than 180 often looks insufficient to defend in modern-day cricket.

With the addition of Impact Player rule, teams now have an extra batter in the playing XI. This has also resulted in some IPL games witnessing 250+ totals; something which was considered almost a rare occurrence in the tournament.

On the contrary, there have also been a few games where teams have defended low totals with brilliant bowling shows. Such low-scoring games always surprise the fans as they never expect the team batting first to claim a victory after a dismal batting show in the first innings. In this listicle, we glance at the top five lowest defended totals in IPL.

Top five lowest defended totals in the IPL history:

5. SRH – 119 vs Pune Warriors (IPL 2013)

In the 22nd match of IPL 2013 against the now-defunct team Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defended a 119-run target. Batting first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune, SRH could put up only 119/8 on the scoreboard.

They lost the first four batters Parthiv Patel (12), Quinton de Kock (2), Hanuma Vihari (1), and Cameron White (0), cheaply. Biplab Samantray top scored for the side with 37 runs while Amit Mishra added 30 runs towards the end to take the team total to 119/8.

However, the Cameron White-led SRH made a fabulous comeback in the second innings. They dismantled Pune Warriors India for just 108. After scoring 30 runs with the bat, spinner Amit Mishra picked a four-wicket haul to help his side win the clash. Former Sri Lankan spinner Thisara Perera picked three wickets as SRH won the game by 11 runs.

4. PBKS – 119 vs Mumbai Indians (IPL 2009)

In the second season of IPL, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) defended a 119-run total against Mumbai Indians (MI). In the 20th game of the tournament in Durban, South Africa, KXIP could only add 119/8 batting first. Kumar Sangakkara top scored for the side with 45 runs as other batters failed to come up with a decent show.

However, PBKS showed wonderful teamwork in bowling later. Irfan Pathan (2), Yusuf Abdulla (2), Vikramjeet Malik (1), Ramesh Powar (1), and Piyush Chawla (1) did a brilliant job to restrict MI for 116/7 in the second innings. The Yuvraj Singh-led side won the nail-biting game by just three runs. Abdulla successfully defended 12 runs off the final over to shock MI.

3. SRH – 118 vs Mumbai Indians (IPL 2018)

In IPL 2018, SRH defended a 118-run total in a clash against MI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The visitors SRH produced a dismal show with the bat, getting bowled out for 118 runs in the first innings. Opener Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan added the most – 29 runs each.

Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Mayank Markande shared two wickets each to crush the SRH batters. While MI were expected to defeat the visitors easily with the home advantage, they faced one of their worst batting collapses in IPL. Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya hit 34 and 24 as MI lost rest of their batters batters for single digits.

With combined efforts by Rashid Khan (2 wickets), Basil Thampi (2 wickets), and Sidharth Kaul (3 wickets) in bowling, SRH bundled out MI for just 87 in the match. Sandeep Sharma, Mohammad Nabi, and Shakib Al Hasan also picked one wicket each as SRH won by 31 runs.

2. CSK – 116 vs Kings XI Punjab (IPL 2009)

In IPL 2009, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) crushed KXIP (now PBKS) by 24 runs after successfully defending a 117-run target. Batting first, CSK could only add 116/9 at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban. Parthiv Patel slammed the most (32 runs) as other batters failed to cross the 20-run mark in the match.

For KXIP, Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth picked two wickets while Ramesh Powar, Piyush Chawla, and Wilkin Mota picked one wicket each. While KXIP were highly expected to chase the total, CSK bowlers had something else in mind. With two wickets each by Thilan Thushara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Suresh Raina, the MS Dhoni-led Super Kings halted PBKS at 92/8 in the second innings to win the clash by a decent margin.

1. PBKS – 111 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL 2025)

The PBKS vs KKR game in IPL 2025 steals the top spot on this list. In the 31st match of the tournament, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first. Openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh got out after hitting 22 and 30 respectively. Batting at No. 3, Iyer lost his wicket for a duck while No.4 Josh Inglis got out for 2. In the end, the home team was bowled out for just 111 runs on the scoreboard.

KKR bowlers Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Sunil Narine shared seven wickets among them to crush the PBKS batsmen. However, PBKS bounced back in the second innings to defend the lowest ever total in IPL. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal clinched a four-wicket haul while pacer Marco Jansen clinched a three-wicket haul to bowl out KKR for just 95 and win the match by 16 runs. Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, and Glenn Maxwell also grabbed one scalp each.

(All stats updated till 16th April, 2025)

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