265 to Win, and They Got There: The Biggest IPL Chases in Our Data
The largest successful chase in the IPL matches we hold came in Delhi in April 2026, when a target of 265 was hunted down. Four of the six biggest have come since 2024.
There was a time when 200 was a winning score in the IPL by default. The chase records in our data say that time has passed.
The list
| Target | Ground | Date | |---|---|---| | 265 | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | 25 Apr 2026 | | 262 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 26 Apr 2024 | | 246 | Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad | 12 Apr 2025 | | 244 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 29 Apr 2026 | | 229 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 4 May 2026 | | 229 | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | 25 Apr 2026 |
What stands out
Four of the six came in 2026, and all six came in 2024 or later. Across the thirteen seasons we hold ball by ball, the biggest chases are clustered almost entirely in the last three. That is not a coincidence of scheduling; it is the same shift that has pushed first-innings totals up across the league.
The other thing worth noticing is where they happened. Three of the six are at grounds that sit in the middle of our bat-first table, not at the obvious batting paradises. A target of 265 was chased at Arun Jaitley, a ground where sides batting first have won 45 per cent of the time and the average first innings is 175. In other words, 265 was roughly ninety runs above par there, and it still was not enough.
Why a target stopped being a wall
Two things changed together. Batting sides got deeper, so a chase no longer collapses when the third wicket falls in the tenth over. And the impact substitute rule gave chasing teams a specialist they could hold back for exactly this situation.
The result is that a captain defending 240 now has to bowl well rather than simply bowl. Our wider look at why chasing wins more often puts a number on how much the balance has tilted.
All figures are counted from the IPL matches we hold ball by ball, 2013 to 2026.