The IPL Final is not just another cricket match.
It is ninety minutes of controlled chaos where careers are defined, and memories are made.
Entire squads crumble under that pressure. Bowlers dry up. Batsmen freeze.
But a handful of players have done something different.
They have walked out in an IPL Final and batted like it was a warm-up game — fearless, precise, and completely in command.
These are the five highest individual scores in IPL Finals.
Highest Individual Scores in IPL Finals
Not just impressive numbers. Each one tells a story of pressure absorbed and pressure flipped.
The 5 Highest Individual Scores in IPL Finals
1. Shane Watson (CSK) — 117 off 57 balls | IPL Final 2018
The highest individual score in IPL Final history belongs to Shane Watson. And the way he got there makes it even more remarkable.
CSK were chasing 179 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 27, 2018.
Watson’s opening over was a disaster — zero runs off ten balls, completely tied down by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s tight line.
Then something shifted.
Watson found his timing, found his angles, and suddenly the Sunrisers bowlers had no answers.
He plundered 74 runs off just 27 balls against Kaul and Sharma — an astonishing turnaround in the same innings.
By the time he reached his century, he had done it in 51 balls.
Eleven fours. Eight sixes. 117 off 57 balls.
CSK crossed the line with nine balls to spare.
Watson’s century remains the gold standard for the highest individual scores in IPL Finals — by an overseas batsman, and by any batsman overall.
2. Wriddhiman Saha (KXIP) — 115* off 55 balls | IPL Final 2014
Before Watson, the record belonged to Wriddhiman Saha. And this innings still deserves far more credit than it gets.
Kings XI Punjab were in serious trouble at 30 for 2 inside the sixth over of their final against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru.
Saha walked in and took the game apart. He built a 129-run third-wicket partnership with Manan Vohra, putting Kings XI back in control. His final score — 115 not out off 55 balls — powered KXIP to 199 for 4.
Ten fours. Eight sixes. A maiden IPL century, scored in a Final, in a run chase that had already gone badly wrong.
The cruel irony? His 115 was not enough. KKR still won. But Saha’s knock stands as the highest individual score in IPL Final history by an Indian batsman — a record that still stands today.
3. Sai Sudharsan (GT) — 96 off 46 balls | IPL Final 2023
Sai Sudharsan was 21 years old when he walked out to bat in the 2023 IPL Final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
What followed was an innings that left even seasoned cricket watchers searching for words.
His 96 off 46 balls for Gujarat Titans against CSK — eight fours, six sixes — is the third-highest individual score in IPL Final history.
It missed the century mark by four runs but it never felt like a near miss. It felt like a masterclass.
Sudharsan stitched crucial partnerships at different stages of the innings, kept GT moving, and gave them a score worth defending.
GT ultimately lost the final, but nobody who watched that night forgets that knock.
For an innings of that quality on that stage, at that age — it is one of the most impressive individual scores an IPL Final has ever seen.
4. Murali Vijay (CSK) — 95 off 52 balls | IPL Final 2011
At the time it was played, Murali Vijay’s 95 was the highest individual score in an IPL Final. It stood as the benchmark for four years.
May 28, 2011. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. CSK versus RCB in front of a home crowd that was already loud before the first ball was bowled.
Vijay and Mike Hussey walked out to open, and what they built together changed the match completely.
Their opening partnership produced 159 runs. Hussey made a measured 63 off 45.
Vijay went after everything — 95 off 52 balls, with a mix of crisp timing and aggressive intent that put RCB under pressure; they never escaped.
CSK finished on 205. RCB collapsed to 147 for 8.
Man of the Match. Second consecutive IPL title for Chennai.
And one of the cleanest innings you will ever see from an opening batsman in a Final.
5. Manish Pandey (KKR) — 94 off 50 balls | IPL Final 2014
Same match. Same night. Different team. Same extraordinary standard.
Hours after Wriddhiman Saha scored his 115 for Kings XI, Manish Pandey walked in to chase 200 for Kolkata Knight Riders.
At no point did KKR’s run rate dip below the required ten-per-over mark.
The required rate never became a crisis. That was almost entirely down to Pandey.
His 94 off 50 balls — seven fours, six sixes — was the highest individual score in a successful T20 final chase at the time it was played.
He missed his century by six runs but left the field a champion.
KKR won by three wickets. Pandey’s innings gave them their second IPL title.
It is the fifth-highest individual score in IPL Final history, and arguably one of the most match-defining.
A Quick Look at the Record Board
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Watson | CSK | SRH | 2018 | 117 (57) |
| 2 | Wriddhiman Saha | KXIP | KKR | 2014 | 115* (55) |
| 3 | Sai Sudharsan | GT | CSK | 2023 | 96 (46) |
| 4 | Murali Vijay | CSK | RCB | 2011 | 95 (52) |
| 5 | Manish Pandey | KKR | KXIP | 2014 | 94 (50) |
What These Innings Have in Common?
Look closely at these five knocks, and a pattern emerges. None of these batsmen played within themselves.
Every single inning was built on the willingness to take risks under pressure — and the skill to make those risks pay.
Watson absorbed a maiden over and came back with a century.
Saha rebuilt a broken innings and almost single-handedly took KXIP to a title.
Sudharsan carried the burden of a young team’s biggest night.
Vijay dismantled an RCB bowling attack in front of a home crowd, expecting nothing less. Pandey chased 200 like the target was nothing special.
That is what separates these performances from ordinary high scores. These were not just big numbers.
They were match-defining moments that came at the highest individual stakes T20 cricket offers.
FAQs
- Who scored the highest individual score in an IPL Final?
Shane Watson holds the record with 117 off 57 balls for Chennai Super Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL Final. It remains the highest individual score in any IPL Final.
- What is the highest individual score in IPL Final history by an Indian batsman?
Wriddhiman Saha scored 115 not out off 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 IPL Final — the highest individual score in an IPL Final by an Indian batsman.
- What is the highest individual score in IPL Final history by an overseas batsman?
Shane Watson’s 117 off 57 balls in the 2018 IPL Final is the highest individual score in IPL Final history by an overseas batsman, as well as the overall record.
- Did Sai Sudharsan score a century in the IPL Final?
No. Sai Sudharsan scored 96 off 46 balls in the 2023 IPL Final, falling four runs short of what would have been a remarkable century. It is still the third-highest score ever in an IPL Final.
- Has any batsman scored a century in an IPL Final?
Yes. Shane Watson (117) and Wriddhiman Saha (115*) are the only two batsmen to score centuries in an IPL Final.
- Which IPL Final had the most individual batting heroics?
The 2014 IPL Final stands out — Wriddhiman Saha scored 115* for KXIP and Manish Pandey scored 94 for KKR in the same match, making it the only IPL Final featuring two of the top five highest individual scores in Final history.
Conclusion:
The IPL Final asks more of a batsman than almost any other game in cricket.
The margin for error is near zero. The pressure is relentless. And the moments are permanent.
Shane Watson’s 117 sits at the top of this list, but every innings here deserves its place.
Whether it was Saha’s defiant century, Sudharsan’s coming-of-age brilliance, Vijay’s commanding demolition, or Pandey’s ice-cool chase — each one carved something permanent into IPL history.
These are not just the highest individual scores in IPL Finals. They are the innings that remind you why the Final matters so much.
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