With team totals in the T20 game reaching all-time highs, pulling off a successful chase has become something of an art. Not only do you need to score at a fast rate, but you also have to ensure that you preserve your wickets. Mastering this sense of scoring and timing while maintaining your composure is a real skill, and something that today’s batters are getting extremely adept at. This is very much the case in the IPL as well, as showcased by this list of the top 3 highest successful run chases by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament’s history.
3. 191/1 vs Delhi Daredevils on 10 May 2018
It is not often that a player scores a century in a T20 match only to end up on the losing side, but that is the fate that befell Delhi Daredevils wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant when his Delhi Daredevils side faced off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. Batting first at his side’s home ground, Pant’s phenomenal unbeaten 128 off 63 balls carried Delhi to 187/5 as the rest of their batting lineup failed to fire. In reply, Hyderabad made short work of the chase, coasting to 191 in the 19th over for the loss of just one wicket. After Alex Hales fell for 14 in the second over, Shikhar Dhawan’s 92* off 50 balls and Kane Williamson’s 83* off 53 carried the visitors over the finish line.
2. 201/5 vs Rajasthan Royals on 29 March 2019
In another incident of a batter scoring a T20 century but not winning the game, Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 55-ball 102 went in vain as his side crashed to defeat against the Sunrisers in Hyderabad in 2019. The Royals rode on the back of Samson’s fantastic knock to post 198/2 in the first innings, with skipper Ajinkya Rahane contributing 70 off 49 balls at the top of the order. Hyderabad were propelled by a century opening stand from their openers, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, who put on 110 for the first wicket. Warner departed for a well-made 69 off 37 balls in the 10th over, followed by Bairstow in the next, who scored 45 off 28. Tensions grew as Hyderabad lost regular wickets, and it was left to star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who popped up with 15 off 8 balls, to secure the five-wicket win with an over to spare.
1. 217/6 vs Rajasthan Royals on 7 May 2023
Rajasthan Royals were the opponents yet again as the Sunrisers posted their highest successful chase in IPL history. Chasing a stiff target of 215 thanks to 95 from Jos Buttler and 66 from skipper Sanju Samson, Sunrisers were given a strong start by openers Anmolpreet Singh (33 off 25) and Abhishek Sharma (55 off 34). Rahul Tripathi chipped in with 47 off 29 but it was Glenn Phillips, who hit three successive sixes in his quickfire 25 off seven balls, that really gave the chase some momentum late in the innings. With five needed to win off the last ball, former SRH bowler Sandeep Sharma bowled a no-ball and Abdul Samad dispatched the resulting free hit for a straight six to seal Hyderabad’s first-ever 200-plus chase in the IPL.