With yet another exciting IPL season fast approaching, the cricketing world is as stoked as ever. Before the 18th season of the tournament commences on March 23, let us take a look at the best finishers in IPL history of the all season.
From CSK’s match-winning ‘Thala’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the ever-exciting AB de Villiers of South Africa, here are our top five picks for the best finishers.
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MS Dhoni
Excluding the former World Cup-winning Indian captain from the list of great finishers is a grave injustice. Even though the Chennai Lions couldn’t retain their title last year, Dhoni played an exceptional knock.
Fans saw the long-haired power hitter back in his prime form. Despite facing fewer deliveries, the Ranchi native certainly left a lasting impression with his patented helicopter shot and power hitting.
In a sport where every ball is critical, being a finisher is far from an easy spot to be in. Especially, when it came to chasing massive totals, that’s where ‘Thala’s’ experience and prowess with the bat comes in.
Dhoni has 27 no-outs in successful chases. Meaning, the 43-year-old has seen his side home 27 times! If that’s not impressive, we don’t know what is! Out of 284 matches from the inaugural season of the tournament, MS Dhoni has racked up an impressive 5243 runs. He even led the men in yellow to two titles – 2010 & 2011 – and four runner-up finishes.
MS Dhoni IPl Stats
| Year | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT | ST |
| Career | 264 | 95 | 5243 | 84* | 39.13 | 3812 | 137.54 | 0 | 24 | 363 | 252 | 152 | 42 |
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Andre Russell
The Trinidadian gave his all and it gave him their third title last year. He lived up to his moniker – one of the best all-rounders – racking up 222 runs along with a highest score of 64* and 19 wickets in the last season.
In fact, the heavy-hitter’s knock was instrumental in Kolkata’s title triumph. Time again and time the attacking all-rounder proved his mettle, becoming a reliable asset for KKR, be it in setting up humongous totals or chasing massive numbers.
Despite receiving flak owing to his lack of form, the 36-year-old gave a befitting reply to the nay-sayers with a blistering knock in the opening match of the 2024 season. Astonishingly, his strike rate was in the 250 after he hit the SRH bowling attack all over the ground, smashing seven sixes!
That’s the kind of firepower and grit a team needs chasing big totals.
Andre Russell IPl Stats
| Year | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT |
| Career | 126 | 20 | 2484 | 88* | 29.22 | 1420 | 174.93 | 0 | 11 | 170 | 209 | 35 |
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Ravindra Jadeja
‘Jaddu’s’ love for runs and wickets needs no formal introduction to cricket fans. The 36-year-old has always been Dhoni’s go-to man when he needed to break a partnership or see the side across the finish line.
As a matter of fact, the Gujarati has done that on 26 separate occasions, meaning, he has fought his way through to get his side home in flying colors. Not to mention the fact that his 2008 IPL performance with Rajasthan Royals got him the nickname ‘Rockstar’ named by the late great Shane Warne.
From his 2008 debut, Jadeja has amassed 2959 runs from 240 matches along with 160 crucial wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja IPl Stats
Batting
| Year | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT |
| Career | 240 | 76 | 2959 | 62* | 27.4 | 2281 | 129.72 | 0 | 3 | 215 | 107 | 103 |
Bowling
| Year | Mat | Balls | Runs | WKTS | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4W | 5W |
| Career | 240 | 3829 | 4864 | 160 | 5/16 | 30.4 | 7.62 | 23.93 | 3 | 1 |
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David Miller
Despite coming into the tournament four years after its inaugural season (2008), in 2012, Proteas left-handed batter, David Miller came in like a firestorm. Following his debut, he dominated the 2013 season, racking up 418 runs from 12 innings with an average of 59.71 and a staggering strike rate of 161. He continued his onslaught with his Punjab side for the next two seasons.
His ability to smash both spinner and fast bowlers made him an invaluable asset in the death overs. All in all, he has 21 innings in the IPL where he remained unbeaten to see his side home along with a total of 2924 runs from 130 matches.
David Miller IPl Stats
| Year | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT |
| Career | 130 | 43 | 2924 | 101* | 36.55 | 2100 | 139.24 | 1 | 13 | 207 | 134 | 75 |
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Yusuf Pathan/ Dinesh Karthik
This might be a bit controversial but naming just five out of a horde of top players is a tall order but the numbers indicate a numbers advantage for the former Indian players. However, the right-handed batsman from Baroda, Gujarat – Yusuf Pathan was a nightmare for bowlers.
He had this uncanny ability to hit the ball right out of the park and his physicality of sustaining that in high-pressure situations meant that he was a terror in the death overs. His IPL debut with RR was just as impressive as his strike rate.
Racking up 435 runs with four fifties at a strike rate of 179, Pathan stood tall, playing a pivotal role in guiding the Royals to their sole title in 2008. Looking at the numbers, he is tied with his former teammate Dinesh Karthik for 22 unbeaten chases where he guided his side to the victory lane.
In total, he has amassed 3204 runs from 174 matches. Now coming to Karthik, the wicket-keeper batsman despite early adversities had to claw his way to the top with sheer determination.
While the critics completely wrote him off, he showed his caliber in 2018 when he led KKR to the playoffs. As mentioned above, he remained unbeaten in 22 innings until his side won. All in all, out of the 257 matches played, he has a total of 4842 runs with an average strike rate of 135!
Notable mentions
Dwayne Bravo
As a veteran of the sport, Trinidadian pacer, Dwayne Bravo has helped his side triumph even when the odds were stacked up against them. Though, the former West Indies captain is currently the mentor of KKR, he remained not out in 20 occasions in the IPL, pwoering his side across the finish line. The 41-year-old is arguably one of the death over bowler/lower-order batsman till date.
With 1560 runs and 183 wickets to his name from 161 matches, Bravo’s absence in the 2025 leg of the tournament will be profound.
Ab de Villiers
Reverred as the 360 degree batter, ABD as he is fondly known is a heavy hitter and a credible match finisher. The Proteas can win you matches be it on a good day or bad ones. The middle order wicket-keeper batsman was for a long time the main stay of RCB where he partnered with Virat Kohli to lay smash bowlers one after the other.
With ‘King Kohli,’ de Villiers has posted five 100+ partnerships for RCB and two 200+ partnerships, the only pair in the world to post two such partnerships. In fact, he even made 687 runs in the 2016, finishing third on the runs chart. He garnered 5162 runs in the IPL from 184 matches.
