Chasing 200+ targets is becoming the new normal in the Indian Premier League. It has become a normal thing in the IPL for a team to score 200 runs and still end up on the losing side. Last night, the Mumbai Indians chased down a 215-run target against the Punjab Kings with six wickets and seven balls to spare.
After the match ended, MI captain Rohit Sharma spoke with Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation and pointed out how the T20 format has grown in recent years. There was a time when even 150 was considered a competitive total. However, in IPL 2023, thanks to the Impact Player rule, even 200 seems an achievable target.
Teams like Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals lost a match while defending 200+ targets for the first time in this season. However, the following three teams are yet to lose a game after scoring more than 200 runs in the first innings.
1. Mumbai Indians have never lost in IPL after scoring 200+
Mumbai Indians are five-time champions of the Indian Premier League. They once had the strongest bowling attack in the tournament, but their bowling unit has struggled in 2022 and 2023. In the last four matches, MI have leaked more than 200 runs to the opponents.
Interestingly though, there has no been a single match where MI’s batters scored 200+ and then the bowlers failed to defend it. It will be interesting to see if this record stays intact.
2. Delhi Capitals
Even the Delhi Capitals have never lost a game while defending a target of 200+. DC have a 100% win record when it comes to defending a target of 200+.
3. Lucknow Super Giants
Losing most matches While Defending 200+ in IPL
— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) May 4, 2023
5 – RCB
4 – CSK
3 – PBKS*
2 – KKR
1 – SRH
1 – GT
1 – RR
0 – MI
0 – DC
0 – LSG#IPL2O23
New entrants of the league, Lucknow Super Giants, have never lost a match while defending more than 200 as well. KKR almost pulled off a massive run-chase against them last year, but LSG ended up winning the game.
