It would take nothing less than a Gayle storm to dethrone McCullum’s record, which stood for five years. Chris Gayle, the Jamaican powerhouse and one of T20 cricket’s most feared hitters, shattered the record with a mind-boggling unbeaten 175 off just 66 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) against the now-defunct Pune Warriors in IPL 2013.
The knock was forged at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a venue that has witnessed its fair share of fireworks — but never anything quite like this.Chris Gayle’s innings remains the highest individual score in the IPL and is the highest in all of T20 cricket. Chris Gayle’s knock, at a strike rate of 265.15, included 13 fours and a jaw-dropping 17 sixes.
Chris Gayle’s carnage began from the outset. He raced to his half-century in just 17 balls and Chris Gayle brought up his hundred in a mere 30 deliveries. It remains the fastest century in IPL history. RCB posted a mammoth 263/5 — which stood as the highest team score in the IPL for 11 years.
While no one has truly threatened Chris Gayle’s towering record, Abhishek Sharma came the nearest. In IPL 2025, the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter delivered a stunning 55-ball 141 against Punjab Kings. It is the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history, eclipsing KL Rahul’s 132 not out – when he played for Kings XI Punjab – against RCB in 2020.
Chasing a daunting target of 246, Abhishek Sharma took the attack to the bowlers from the start, reaching his century in just 40 balls. His innings featured 14 boundaries and 10 sixes. It was a match-winning knock that powered SRH to a dominant eight-wicket win. Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru(RCB) batter Chris Gayle has backed three Indian players and one retired West Indian cricketer to break his record for the highest individual score in T20 cricket.
Chris Gayle backs Shubman Gill to break his record
West Indies’ legendary batter Chris Gayle scripted history in T20 cricket in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 175 off just 66 balls against now-defunct Pune Warriors India. More than a decade later, the record for highest T20 individual score still remains unbroken.
The closest anyone got to the record is former Australia captain Aaron Finch who scored 172 against Zimbabwe in 2016. Ahead of the T20 Asia Cup 2025, Chris Gayle was asked to pick batters who can break his colossal record. He picked three Indian batters – Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma – and retired West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran who continues to play T20 franchise cricket.
“I think it will happen in the IPL because these youngsters are savage these days. You look at the scoring rate as well, how these guys are scoring. Nicholas Pooran, I think, even Shubman Gill can do that as well because he’s a very, very good player. And once you get going, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Well, I like Jaiswal as well. This other guy from SRH, Abhishek Sharma,” Chris Gayle told Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube show.
Abhishek holds the record for highest score in the IPL for an India. In IPL 2025, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener scored 141 runs from just 55 balls against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the successful run chase of 246. In T20Is, he scored 135 from just 54 balls against England at Wankhede Stadium earlier this year.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jaiswal’s high score in T20s is 124 runs from 62 balls which came in IPL 2023 against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium.
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Gill’s highest T20 score is 129 off 60 balls which came against MI in IPL 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. He scored an unbeaten 126 off 63 balls against New Zealand in 2023 at the same venue. He scored 126 for Punjab against Karnataka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022.
However, Pooran is yet to register a huge T20 knock. He has four centuries in T20s but his high score in the format is 108 not out. In the IPL, he is yet to score a century. LSG wicketkeeper-batter’s high score in the IPL is 87 not out. For India, the record for highest score belongs to Tilak Varma. He scored 151 runs from 67 balls for Hyderabad against Meghalaya in SMAT 2024.
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