---
type: story
title: "The Innings That Taught T20 What Was Possible"
description: >
  On 23 April 2013, Chris Gayle walked out for RCB against Pune Warriors India and built
  something that the IPL has never surpassed: 175 not out, 66 balls, 17 sixes. The innings
  that reset the ceiling for what T20 batting could be.
tags:
  - IPL
  - batting
  - history
  - records
status: active
last_verified: 2026-06-24
timestamp: 2026-06-24
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: public_open_data
canonical_page: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/gayle-storm-175/
resource: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/gayle-storm-175/
entity_id: cricketstudio:story:gayle-storm-175
dataset_version: 2026-06-11
provenance:
  source: >
    Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 — public domain IPL 2013 season scorecard.
    RCB vs Pune Warriors India, 23 April 2013, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
    Chris Gayle career IPL six count (357) from CricketStudio historical aggregation.
  confidence: high
  notes: >
    The 175* scorecard is a fixed historical record from Cricsheet CC BY 3.0. Career six
    counts are from CricketStudio IPL data aggregation as of dataset version. The record
    innings has not been surpassed as of last_verified date.
related:
  - ../dossier/ipl-highest-individual-innings.md
  - ../dossier/ipl-most-sixes-all-time.md
---
# The Innings That Taught T20 What Was Possible

## The Question Nobody Asked

What does it feel like when a batter resets the ceiling for an entire sport?

## What the Data Says

**RCB vs Pune Warriors India — 23 April 2013 — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru**

Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 — public domain historical scorecard.

- **Score:** 175\* (not out)
- **Balls:** 66
- **Strike rate:** 265.15
- **Fours:** 17
- **Sixes:** 17
- **Match result:** RCB won by 130 runs

The ball count: [Gayle](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/ch-gayle) faced 66 deliveries and scored off boundaries on 34 of them. He was not dismissed.

Over his full IPL career, [Gayle](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/ch-gayle) hit **357 sixes** — the most any player has hit in IPL history.

(Source: CricketStudio IPL historical data, Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 base data)

## The Wow

In 2013, a 150+ IPL innings was something the sport had not seen routinely. [Gayle](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/ch-gayle) did not score 150 and add a few more. He scored 175.

The nearest comparable at the time was [Brendon McCullum](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/brendon-mccullum)'s 158\* in the first-ever IPL match (2008) — itself a landmark that stood for five years. Gayle surpassed it by 17 runs, not out, with 11 overs still remaining in the innings.

That RCB reached 263/5 in the match — and Gayle contributed 175 of those runs — means **one batter contributed 66%** of his team's total in an innings that is still the highest individual score in IPL history.

As of June 2026, that 175\* has stood for 13 years.

## What It Doesn't Say

This is the highest IPL innings by a single batter. It is not necessarily the greatest T20 innings — context, opposition, match situation, and pitch conditions all shape how an innings is judged historically.

The 2013 Pune Warriors India bowling attack is not the same as bowling attacks in IPL 2024–2026. Era comparison requires caution.

Gayle's 357 career sixes figure comes from CricketStudio's IPL data aggregation. For the most current verified count, check the canonical dataset with a date.

The innings was not out — Gayle had no need to continue. We cannot know if he would have reached 200.

## Related Concepts

- [IPL Highest Individual Innings](../dossier/ipl-highest-individual-innings.md)
- [IPL Most Sixes All-Time](../dossier/ipl-most-sixes-all-time.md)
