Cricket

For the first time in an IPL season Indian hitters outpace foreign batters

By Kajal Sharma - 01 Jun 2026 09:34 PM

IPL 2026 had the highest batting strike rate of any season at 156.34. For the first time in an IPL season, Indian hitters (157.10) scored more runs than foreign batters (154.71). 237.30 strike rate, 776 runs, and 72 sixes In an IPL season, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became just the second hitter to score the most runs, hit the most sixes, and have the greatest strike rate (minimum 50 balls faced). Like Sooryavanshi, Chris Gayle was named Most Valuable Player in 2011.In the previous nine seasons, none of the highest run-scorers were among the top 15 strike rates in that season. The difference between Sooryavanshi's IPL 2026 run total and the next highest total for a batsman with a strike rate of 235 or more in any IPL season (Romario Shepherd's 70 runs in 2025) is 706 runs.

IPL 2026 saw 65 totals of 200 or more, the highest in a T20 competition and 13 more than the previous record of 52 in IPL 2025. Individual teams also set new records in IPL 2026: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) all scored nine runs of 200 or more, the most in a Twenty20 competition.In terms of bowling, PBKS and RR gave up 200-plus totals nine times, which is also the most in a Twenty20 competition. IPL 2026 saw the highest number of sixes struck in a season, 1426, up 10.2% from the previous record of 1294 sixes in 2025. Thanks to 72 sixes from Sooryavanshi, who established the individual record for most sixes in a T20 competition, RR struck 181 sixes, the most of any team in a T20 event.

 

Newsletter

Subscribe our newsletter to stay updated every moment