Nineteen. That is the most fours anyone has hit in a single IPL innings, and two men share it: AB de Villiers, who hit 19 in his 133* off 59 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on 10 May 2015, and Paul Valthaty, a then-unknown Kings XI Punjab opener who hit 19 in his 120* off 63 balls against Chennai Super Kings at Mohali on 13 April 2011. Across 1,169 IPL matches and 278,205 deliveries from 2008 to 2025, nobody has reached 20.
The record says something about the IPL that the six-hitting tables hide. In 2008, IPL batters hit 2.73 fours for every six. By 2024 that had fallen to 1.72. The six has grown into the IPL's signature shot, yet fours per match have not fallen. They have risen, from 29.4 a game in 2008 to 30.6 in both 2024 and 2025. This piece looks at the innings that defined the most-fours record, the batters who built careers on the shot, and why the four still decides more T20 matches than the highlight reels suggest.
The 19 Club: Two Innings, Two Very Different Stories
AB de Villiers, Wankhede, 10 May 2015
Royal Challengers Bangalore were 235/1 by the end of the evening, and de Villiers' 133* was the centrepiece. He walked in when Chris Gayle fell in the fourth over and did not hit his first four until the sixth. From there, all 19 of his fours came between overs 6 and 19, with three in the 15th over alone. His unbroken stand of 215 with Virat Kohli (82*) was the highest IPL partnership at the time.
The shape of the innings matters. De Villiers hit four sixes, so exactly 100 of his 133 runs came in boundaries (75%). He scored the rest by turning ones into twos and finding gaps on the off side, while his fours kept coming at a rate no field placement could stop. Mumbai Indians replied with 196/7, losing by 39 runs, with Lendl Simmons making 68. De Villiers took the Player of the Match award. More than a decade later, this is still the benchmark for a pure-boundary innings in the IPL.
Paul Valthaty, Mohali, 13 April 2011
Valthaty's innings is the more remarkable piece of history, because nobody expected it. Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions, had posted 188/4, with Murali Vijay's 74 and Subramaniam Badrinath's 66. Chasing 189 for Kings XI Punjab, Valthaty hit fours in each of the first seven overs. By the end of the 11th over he had 13 of them. Punjab got home at 193/4 with four balls to spare, and Valthaty finished on 120* with 19 fours and two sixes.
He never made another IPL hundred. Of all the IPL's records, this may be the one held by the most improbable name. It came in the second innings of a chase, against MS Dhoni's defending champions, with a target of 189. It shows that the four-fest is not reserved for the established greats.
Why Nobody Has Hit 20
The arithmetic is unforgiving. A T20 batter who faces 60 balls and hits 20 fours finds the rope with a third of them, while still rotating the strike and surviving. As the game has moved towards six-hitting, the batters who face 60 balls are increasingly the ones who clear the ropes rather than pierce them. Abhishek Sharma's 141 off 55 balls against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2025 had 14 fours and 10 sixes. In 2011 an innings like that would have had more fours and fewer sixes. Today the 20-four innings is more likely to come from a classical opener on a big, fast outfield than from a power-hitter.
The Sixteen-Four Tier: Near Misses and Different Eras
Below the two 19s, four batters reach 16. Each is from a different era and each played a different kind of innings.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's 124 in the 1,000th IPL Match
On 30 April 2023 at the Wankhede, Yashasvi Jaiswal made 124 off 62 balls for Rajasthan Royals, with 16 fours and eight sixes. That is 112 of 124 runs in boundaries (90%), the most boundary-heavy innings on this list. Rajasthan made 212/7, but Mumbai chased it down at 214/4 in the final over, with Suryakumar Yadav making 55 and Tim David 45. Jaiswal won Player of the Match in a losing side.
Ajinkya Rahane's 98, and Six Fours in One Over
Ajinkya Rahane hit 16 fours in his 98 off 66 balls for Rajasthan against Kings XI Punjab at Jaipur on 6 April 2012. He fell two short of a hundred. Nine days later, at the Chinnaswamy on 15 April 2012, he made 103 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and hit Sreenath Aravind for six consecutive fours in the 14th over. It is one of only two overs in IPL history in which a batter hit six fours.
The other came on 29 April 2021 in Ahmedabad, when Prithvi Shaw faced the first over of Delhi Capitals' chase of 155 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Shivam Mavi started with a wide, and Shaw hit each of the next six legal balls for four. He went on to make 82 off 41 balls, and Delhi won with more than three overs to spare.
Devon Conway and Michael Lumb
Devon Conway hit 16 fours in his 92* off 52 balls for CSK against Punjab Kings at Chepauk, also on 30 April 2023, the same day as Jaiswal's 124. Chennai made 200/4 and still lost by four wickets off the final ball. Michael Lumb made 83 off 43 balls for Rajasthan against Kings XI Punjab at Jaipur on 7 April 2010, hitting 16 fours and two sixes. Seventy-six of his 83 runs came in boundaries (92%), the highest share on this list. Rajasthan chased 154 in 15 overs and won by nine wickets.
Data Deep-Dive: The Four-Hitting Record Book
All figures are from Cricsheet ball-by-ball data for IPL 2008–2025. Boundary % is the share of the batter's runs scored in fours and sixes.
Most Fours in a Single IPL Innings
| Rank | Batter | Fours | Sixes | Score (Balls) | Boundary % | For | Against | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | AB de Villiers | 19 | 4 | 133* (59) | 75% | RCB | MI | 10 May 2015 |
| 1= | Paul Valthaty | 19 | 2 | 120* (63) | 73% | Kings XI Punjab | CSK | 13 Apr 2011 |
| 3= | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 16 | 8 | 124 (62) | 90% | RR | MI | 30 Apr 2023 |
| 3= | Ajinkya Rahane | 16 | 1 | 98 (66) | 71% | RR | Kings XI Punjab | 6 Apr 2012 |
| 3= | Devon Conway | 16 | 1 | 92* (52) | 76% | CSK | PBKS | 30 Apr 2023 |
| 3= | Michael Lumb | 16 | 2 | 83 (43) | 92% | RR | Kings XI Punjab | 7 Apr 2010 |
| 7= | Rishabh Pant | 15 | 7 | 128* (63) | 80% | Delhi Daredevils | SRH | 10 May 2018 |
| 7= | Murali Vijay | 15 | 4 | 113 (58) | 74% | CSK | Delhi Daredevils | 25 May 2012 |
| 7= | Quinton de Kock | 15 | 3 | 108 (51) | 72% | Delhi Daredevils | RCB | 17 Apr 2016 |
| 7= | Shreyas Iyer | 15 | 2 | 96 (57) | 75% | Delhi Daredevils | Gujarat Lions | 10 May 2017 |
| 7= | Glenn Maxwell | 15 | 2 | 95 (43) | 76% | Kings XI Punjab | CSK | 18 Apr 2014 |
| 12= | Abhishek Sharma | 14 | 10 | 141 (55) | 82% | SRH | PBKS | 12 Apr 2025 |
Three things stand out. First, only three of the top 12 innings came after 2020, even though 2022–2025 were the highest-scoring seasons the IPL has played. Second, three of the 12 came in losing causes: Jaiswal's, Conway's and Pant's. Pant's 128* in 2018 was overtaken by a nine-wicket Sunrisers chase led by Shikhar Dhawan's 92 and Kane Williamson's 83. Third, Murali Vijay's 113 came in Qualifier 2 of 2012, making it the most four-heavy knockout innings in IPL history.
Fourteen-four innings are not common either. Across 18 seasons there have been only 24 innings of 14 or more fours, never more than three in a season (2020 had three). KL Rahul has two of them: 132* off 69 balls against RCB in Dubai on 24 September 2020, and 112* off 65 balls for Delhi Capitals against Gujarat Titans on 18 May 2025.
The Four vs the Six: 18 Seasons in Numbers
| Season | Matches | Fours per Match | Sixes per Match | Fours per Six |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 58 | 29.4 | 10.7 | 2.73 |
| 2009 | 57 | 23.2 | 8.9 | 2.60 |
| 2011 | 73 | 26.2 | 8.8 | 3.00 |
| 2013 | 76 | 27.0 | 9.0 | 3.02 |
| 2016 | 60 | 27.2 | 10.7 | 2.56 |
| 2018 | 60 | 27.5 | 14.5 | 1.89 |
| 2020 | 60 | 26.5 | 12.3 | 2.16 |
| 2022 | 74 | 27.3 | 14.4 | 1.90 |
| 2023 | 74 | 29.4 | 15.2 | 1.94 |
| 2024 | 71 | 30.6 | 17.8 | 1.72 |
| 2025 | 74 | 30.6 | 17.6 | 1.74 |
The low point for fours was 2009, played on slower South African pitches: 23.2 per match. The four-to-six ratio peaked at 3.02 in 2013, the season of Chris Gayle's 175*, which itself had 13 fours to go with its 17 sixes. Since then the ratio has fallen to under two. The six has not replaced the four, though. It has been added on top of it. A 2025 IPL match had on average 30.6 fours and 17.6 sixes, about 228 boundary runs, compared with 182 in 2008.
The Batters Who Lived on the Rope
| Batter | Innings with 10+ Fours | Career IPL Fours (2008–2025) |
|---|---|---|
| David Warner | 13 | 663 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 12 | 768 |
| Jos Buttler | 10 | 408 |
| Virat Kohli | 9 | 774 |
| Virender Sehwag | 8 | 334 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 7 | 492 |
| Rohit Sharma | 7 | 640 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 6 | 454 |
Kohli holds the IPL career record with 774 fours, just ahead of Dhawan's 768. Warner, though, is the specialist of the big four-hitting innings: 13 innings of 10 or more fours, more than anyone else. Gambhir is the purist. He has three of the six highest four counts in innings with no six at all, including 76 off 48 balls with 12 fours against Gujarat Lions on 7 April 2017.
Team Innings: The Most Fours in 20 Overs
Sunrisers Hyderabad hold the team record: 34 fours (and 12 sixes) in their 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad on 23 March 2025, the innings in which Ishan Kishan made 106 on debut for the franchise and Travis Head 67. Second is Delhi Daredevils' 31 fours against Gujarat Lions at Kanpur's Green Park on 10 May 2017, in a chase of 196 driven by Shreyas Iyer's 96. Mumbai Indians (30 against SRH in Abu Dhabi, 8 October 2021) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (30 against Lucknow, 27 May 2025) are joint third.
Legacy Impact: What the Four Record Means Today
For anyone reading the game since the 2025 season, the lesson of the four record is that it has become harder to break, not easier. In 2011 a batter who scored 120 off 63 balls got most of his runs along the ground. In 2025 the same 120 might include eight or ten sixes, leaving room for only 12 or 13 fours. The batters most likely to threaten 19 now are the anchors who also attack: openers with classical technique on fast outfields, such as Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Phil Salt, whose 89* off 47 balls against Lucknow at Eden Gardens on 14 April 2024 had 14 fours.
The four also matters to anyone trying to predict matches. A team that relies on sixes is volatile: on a big ground or a two-paced pitch its scoring can dry up, while a team that piles up fours keeps the scoreboard moving even when the ropes are pushed back. CricMind's Oracle does not count fours directly. It rates teams on results, form and conditions. But the pattern shows up in what it measures: sides whose scoring is spread across fours and sixes tend to be more consistent from venue to venue, and consistency is exactly what the Oracle's form ratings reward. You can see how each team's form is rated on the predictions hub.
The record book here covers 2008 to 2025. The 19-four mark has now stood since May 2015, through ten more seasons, more than 650 matches and the biggest-hitting era the IPL has ever seen.
Three Takeaways
- Nineteen fours is the IPL ceiling, and it has stood since 2015. AB de Villiers (133*, 2015) and Paul Valthaty (120*, 2011) share the record. Only six batters have reached 16 or more, and nobody has hit 20 in 1,169 matches.
- The six has been added to the four, not substituted for it. Fours per match rose from 29.4 in 2008 to 30.6 in 2025 while sixes went from 10.7 to 17.6. The fours-per-six ratio fell from 2.73 to 1.74, but the four is still the most common boundary.
- Big four-hitting innings belong to the anchors. Warner (13 innings of 10+ fours), Dhawan (12) and Buttler (10) lead that list, while Kohli has the career record of 774 fours. The four-hitting record is more likely to be broken by a classical opener than by a power-hitter.
FAQ
Who has hit the most fours in a single IPL innings?
AB de Villiers and Paul Valthaty share the record with 19 fours each. De Villiers hit 19 in his 133* off 59 balls for RCB against Mumbai Indians on 10 May 2015. Valthaty hit 19 in his 120* off 63 balls for Kings XI Punjab against CSK on 13 April 2011.
Has anyone hit six fours in an IPL over?
Yes, twice. Ajinkya Rahane hit Sreenath Aravind for six fours in the 14th over for Rajasthan Royals against RCB on 15 April 2012. Prithvi Shaw hit Shivam Mavi for six fours in the first over of Delhi Capitals' chase against KKR on 29 April 2021, after Mavi had started the over with a wide.
Who has hit the most fours in IPL history?
Virat Kohli, with 774 fours from 2008 to 2025, just ahead of Shikhar Dhawan's 768. David Warner (663) and Rohit Sharma (640) are next.
Which team has hit the most fours in an IPL innings?
Sunrisers Hyderabad, with 34 fours in their 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals on 23 March 2025. Delhi Daredevils' 31 fours against Gujarat Lions on 10 May 2017 is second.
Are IPL batters hitting fewer fours because of six-hitting?
No. Fours per match have risen slightly, from 29.4 in 2008 to 30.6 in 2024 and 2025. Sixes have grown much faster, from 10.7 to 17.6 per match, so the four's share of boundaries has fallen even though the number of fours has not.
What is the most fours in an IPL innings without hitting a six?
Twelve, achieved by four batters: Gautam Gambhir (76 vs Gujarat Lions, 2017), Ruturaj Gaikwad (75 vs SRH, 2021), Sachin Tendulkar (65 vs Kings XI Punjab, 2008) and Aaron Finch (74 vs Kings XI Punjab, 2016).
Where can I read about the IPL's six-hitting and highest-score records?
See CricMind's most sixes in an IPL innings record book, the highest individual IPL scores and the highest IPL team totals.