Lowest Totals Defended In IPL Finals

Lowest totals defended in an IPL final [Source: AFP]

The IPL 2026 final between RCB and the Gujarat Titans was expected to be a riveting contest between two outstanding teams, but the first innings (GT batting) turned out to be a snooze-fest as the Titans struggled to put pressure on the RCB bowlers and could only manage to score 155 runs in their allotted 20 overs.

RCB won the toss and elected to bowl, and the decision paid off as their bowlers were accurate with lines and lengths, and never allowed the batters to get away freely, as all the big names, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler failed massively.

With the IPL 2026 final being a low-scoring contest, and GT needing a miracle to win the title, we take a look at the lowest score a team has defended in an IPL finale.

Lowest score defended in IPL finals as GT faces RCB challenge

5) CSK defended 168 Vs MI (IPL 2010)

2010 was the first time MS Dhoni-led CSK won the IPL championship. However, the win was not easy as they had to defend a modest 168 against a strong Mumbai Indians side. Courtesy of Suresh Raina’s unbeaten 57 off 35, the Super kings posted a strong total.

The Mumbai Indians batters struggled for runs as Sachin Tendulkar scored a valiant 48, but that wasn’t enough as the CSK bowlers tightened the screws and MI was restricted to a mere 146.

4) MI defended 149 Vs CSK (IPL 2019)

The fourth-lowest total defended in an IPL final was done by the Mumbai Indians in the 2019 finale against MS Dhoni’s CSK. MI batted first and courtesy of Kieron Pollard’s quickfire 41 off 25, the side posted a decent 149/8.

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CSK was expected to chase down the total, but the MI bowlers had some other plans as Jasprit Bumrah picked up 2 wickets, and the efforts of Shane Watson (80 off 59) was wasted as the team crumbled to 148/7.

3) MI defended 148 Vs CSK (IPL 2013)

MI and CSK occupy the third spot, and this time, the Mumbai Indians once again prevailed over their arch-rivals. MI once again batted first and posted 148/9. Once again, Kieron Pollard was the man for the big stage as he blasted an unbeaten 60 off 32 balls to take his side to a decent score.

CSK was supposed to chase down the total, but MI prevailed in a nail-biting contest. MS Dhoni remained unbeaten at 63, but that was not enough as CSK could only score 125/9, thus giving MI their maiden IPL title.

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2) Deccan Chargers defended 143 Vs RCB (IPL 2009)

It was in 2009 when RCB reached their maiden IPL final, and they were the heavy favourites as well. However, the Adam Gilchrist-led side had some other plans as they batted first, and posted 143/6.

Andrew Symonds scored a quickfire 33 off 21 as the Chargers posted 143/6. In reply, the RCB side was never in the contest as they lost wickets at regular intervals, and scored 137/9, losing the finale by 6 runs.

1) MI defended 129 Vs RPSG (IPL 2017)

MI once again occupies the spot in the list of lowest totals defended in an IPL final. The opponent was the Rising Pune Supergiant, and the Rohit Sharma-led side batted first and posted a meagre 129/8.

The RPSG side had a strong playing XI, but MI once again prevailed in a last-ball thriller. Mitchell Johnson plucked 3 wickets, as the Pune side could only score 128/6, and MI won the game by the barest of margins (1 run), and became the team to defend the lowest score in an IPL final.

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