There is a moment in every IPL Final where the camera finds a batsman at the crease, and you just know — tonight belongs to him.
The crowd noise is deafening. The bowlers are nervous. The captain is praying. And one guy just… takes over.
That has happened five times in IPL Final history, producing the highest individual scores the tournament has ever seen.
Some won the trophy. Some didn’t. But every single one of those innings made you forget you were watching a T20 match.
Contents
Highest Individual Scores in IPL Finals
Here are the highest individual scores in IPL Finals — ranked, broken down, and explained.
1. Shane Watson — 117 off 57 balls (CSK vs SRH, 2018)
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way — and then talk about why it’s even more insane than the number suggests.
Shane Watson scored 117 not out in the 2018 IPL Final. That alone is jaw-dropping. But here’s what most people miss: he didn’t score a single run off the first ten balls he faced.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a maiden over. Watson was stuck. The crowd was restless. And then — just like that — he flipped a switch.
What followed was 74 runs off 27 balls against Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma. Seven fours. Eight sixes. A century off 51 balls. The fastest in an IPL Final at the time.
CSK chased down 179 with nine balls to spare. Watson walked off as Man of the Match, and honestly, Man of the Tournament arguments started that night.
This remains the highest individual score in IPL Final history — and the highest by any overseas batsman in a final. Nobody has come close since.
2. Wriddhiman Saha — 115* off 55 balls (KXIP vs KKR, 2014)
If Watson’s innings was a demolition, Saha’s was a rescue mission that almost worked.
Kings XI Punjab were 30 for 2 in the sixth over of the 2014 Final.
The innings were collapsing. Saha walked in and did something almost no one expected — he scored a century.
115 not out. 55 balls. Ten fours, eight sixes. A 129-run stand with Manan Vohra that dragged KXIP to 199 for 4.
And it still wasn’t enough.
Manish Pandey answered with his own 94, KKR chased it down, and Saha walked off the field with a century that felt like a loss.
Brutal. But that 115* is the highest individual score in IPL Final history by an Indian batsman — a record that has stood for over a decade.
Sometimes the best innings don’t win you the trophy. They just win you respect.
3. Sai Sudharsan — 96 off 46 balls (GT vs CSK, 2023)
Twenty-one years old. First IPL Final. Narendra Modi Stadium is packed with 130,000 people. And Sai Sudharsan batted like he’d been doing this for a decade.
96 off 46 balls. Eight fours, six sixes. A strike rate of 208.69 — the highest among the top five scores on this list.
What made this innings special wasn’t just the number. It was the context. Gujarat Titans were defending a total, and Sudharsan gave them something worth defending.
He anchored when needed, accelerated when possible, and played the kind of innings that makes you believe a young player belongs on the biggest stage.
He fell four runs short of a century. GT lost the match. But if you ask most cricket fans who watched that night, Sudharsan’s 96 is the innings they remember most.
It is also the third-highest individual score in IPL Final history — and the highest by a batsman playing his debut season.
4. Murali Vijay — 95 off 52 balls (CSK vs RCB, 2011)
Go back to 2011. IPL Finals were still finding their identity.
And Murali Vijay decided to set the template for what a Final innings should look like.
95 off 52 balls. Opening the batting. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium. In front of a Chennai crowd that had been waiting for this moment.
Vijay and Mike Hussey put on 159 for the first wicket — a partnership that essentially won CSK the match before the second innings even started.
Hussey played the anchor role with 63 off 45. Vijay played the destroyer.
CSK posted 205. RCB managed 147 for 8. Vijay picked up Man of the Match. Chennai won back-to-back titles.
For four years, this 95 stood as the highest individual score in any IPL Final. It took Watson to beat it.
And even then, Vijay’s innings feels more complete — because it came at the start of something, not the middle.
5. Manish Pandey — 94 off 50 balls (KKR vs KXIP, 2014)
Same Final. Same night. Different dressing room. Different outcome.
While Saha was scoring 115 and losing, Manish Pandey was scoring 94 and winning.
That contrast is what makes the 2014 IPL Final the greatest Final ever played — and Pandey’s innings is a big reason why.
KKR needed 200 to win. Pandey never let the required rate become a problem.
Seven fours, six sixes, 94 off 50 balls. He played every delivery like it was the last one he’d ever face — urgent, clean, and absolutely ruthless.
KKR won by three wickets. Pandey got the Man of the Match. KKR lifted their second title.
And here’s a stat that ties it all together: the 2014 Final is the only IPL Final that produced two of the top five highest individual scores. Saha and Pandey.
115 and 94. On the same pitch, on the same night, for opposite teams.
You won’t see that again.
Why These Innings Matter More Than the Numbers?
A high score in a league game is impressive. A high score in a Final is a different animal entirely.
The bowlers are at their sharpest. The field placements are perfect.
The captain is thinking three moves ahead. And the batsman has to be better than all of them, while 130,000 people scream in his ears.
Every inning on this list passed that test. Watson absorbed pressure and exploded.
Saha rebuilt from ruin. Sudharsan announced himself. Vijay set a standard. Pandey delivered when it mattered most.
These are the highest individual scores in IPL Finals — but more than that, they are the moments that made people fall in love with this tournament.
FAQs
- What is the highest score ever in an IPL Final?
Shane Watson’s 117 off 57 balls for CSK against SRH in 2018. It is also the highest by an overseas batsman in a Final.
- Who holds the record for the highest IPL Final score by an Indian?
Wriddhiman Saha with 115 not out off 55 balls for KXIP against KKR in 2014.
- Has anyone scored two centuries in IPL Finals?
No. Only two centuries have been scored in IPL Finals — Watson (117) and Saha (115*). Both came in different years.
- Which IPL Final had two top-5 scores?
The 2014 Final between KXIP and KKR. Saha scored 115*, and Pandey scored 94 — both making the top five.
- Is Sai Sudharsan’s 96 the fastest among top scores?
Yes. Sudharsan’s strike rate of 208.69 is the highest among all five innings listed here.
Also Check:
