Why we are seeing so many 200-plus scores in IPL 2023

In 20 out of 42 matches in IPL 2023, 200-plus scores have been scored by the teams. This season has now set the record for the highest number of 200-plus scores in the tournament’s history. 

On April 30, all the four teams made 200-plus scores. While Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by 4 wickets chasing 201 in a thriller, in the second match, Mumbai Indians made a succesfull chase of the target of 212 against Rajasthan Royals.

If we look at the history of IPL, just 5 years back, a 200-plus score was a winning score. But today, 200 can be considered a good score, but not a winning score.

Leave aside premium fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami or Mark Wood, most of the pacers are being whacked out of the park in the first six overs.

Why 200-plus scores are becoming easier this season: 

1. Long batting line-up: Each side in a game now comes with nearly 7-8 batters. For example, the batting line-up of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) goes deep down to eighth number till Wanindu Hasaranga. 

Despite the team having three powerful hitters in the top order with Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis, RCB comes down with eight batters.   

And the team that struggles with its batting is the one that is losing most games in the tournament. Delhi Capitals is a fine example of this.

In the first six matches, apart from David Warner, nearly all the batters of Delhi had failed to perform with the bat. Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Phil Salt, Manish Pandey and Sarfaraz Khan all failed to impress with the bat. The result was that Delhi kept losing games.

Same goes for Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad who have been at the bottom of the points table, because batters in their teams have failed to be consistent.

2. The Impact player rule: The leeway of adding a substitute in the middle of the match has allowed each team to add an extra batter to its side. 

When a team comes in to bat, it gets an extra batter, while in the second innings, a batter is replaced by a bowler as an Impact player. 

This especially helps the chasing side as it gives the team get the second batter as Impact player.

3. Batting-friendly wickets: Most of the wickets today in IPL are batting friendly and made for big scores. Be it Eden Gardens, Wankhede Stadium, Mohali, Chinnaswamy or Chepauk, all of these grounds are a paradise for the batters.

The average score in this year’s IPL in Eden Gardens is 222, at Wankhede it is 185, 179 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and 194 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

With each team having a set of batters only for hitting purposes, teams are easily able to score 200-plus scores.

As the tournament has entered its second half, we might see more 200 plus scores being made by the teams.