Hitting mentality, Impact subs usher in 200-plus era

Brace for higher scores with teams opting for batting depth and aggressive Powerplay overs

- Somshuvra Laha

Not too long ago, 170 could be banked upon as a match-winning total.

That number looks increasingly fragile now. Engineering this change is IPL where 200 is the new benchmark. Anything below that looks like a par score at best, a losing one at worst.

And the numbers are rising as well — nine 200-plus scores in 2021 to 18 in 2023, 41 in 2024 and 52 in 2025. This isn’t just a superficial rise in totals. It is the result of a deeper structural transformation in how T20 batting is conceptualised, executed, and optimised.

Fuelling this change of course is the much-documented evolution in approach. Batters are no longer keen on building innings because they are assured of scoring depth. Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli once epitomised elite T20 batting through controlled aggression, anchoring innings and accelerating later, their method anchored on managing risk in the middle overs. But with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Travis Head flipping that model, the head starts have become bigger and swifter.