While the IPL is the battle of the sixes and is often a nightmare for bowlers, we have still seen plenty of phenomenal bowling performances across the years. From Malinga’s toe crushers to Rashid’s leg-spinners to Dale Steyn’s thunderbolts, plenty of batsmen have been made to look foolish by the best in the business. In celebration of the great bowling performances we have witnessed over the years, here are our top 5 bowling spells in IPL history.
5. Jasprit Bumrah 2/32 vs Gujarat Lions 2016
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You might be confused as to why this Bumrah spell is on the list considering he picked up only two wickets for 32 runs in his four overs. However, the match ended up being a tie and Jasprit Bumrah bowled one of the great overs in the history of the IPL to give Mumbai the victory in the super-over. Defending only 11 runs in the Super-Over, Bumrah rubbed salt into the wound by bowling a no-ball on his first delivery. Despite that faux pas, Bumrah bowled six almost unplayable deliveries and two of the greatest strikers of the ball in Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum struggled to even get bat on ball. Bumrah pulled out his entire arsenal of yorkers and slower deliveries and eventually conceded only six runs in the super-over to hand Mumbai the victory.
4. Lasith Malinga 5/13 vs Delhi Daredevils 2011
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Lasith Malinga was at his unstoppable best in 2011 as he ran through the entire Delhi Daredevils batting line up to pick up his only IPL 5-fer. Four of his five wickets were clean bowled and no batsman had any answers to his speed and unerring accuracy. Malinga first got rid of Warner and Unmukt Chand with two searing toe crushers before coming back to clean the rest of the middle order to restrict Delhi to a total of 95.
3. Anil Kumble 5-5 vs Rajasthan Royals 2009
ಹುಟ್ಟು ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು, skipper @anilkumble1074! ❤️🙏
Those memories of the past will always be cherished. #PlayBold #NammaTeamRCB #AnilKumble #RCB #ನಮ್ಮBoldತಂಡ pic.twitter.com/wfW1v8ZE8e
— Namma Team RCB Official (@nammateamrcb) October 17, 2019
At number three we have to go all the way back to the 2009 season in South Africa. Playing in an RCB side that was filled with legends of the Test arena, Kumble bowled one of the finest spells in IPL history to help RCB defend a modest total of 133. Kumble was introduced into the attack after Praveen Kumar had broken through Rajasthan’s top order and wasted no time to clean through the rest of the Royals line-up and dismiss them for only 58. Kumble picked up his 5 wickets in only 3.1 overs and didn’t even concede a single boundary in this spell!
2. Sohail Tanvir 6/14 vs Chennai Super Kings 2008
4⃣-0⃣-1⃣4⃣-6⃣#OnThisDay in 2008, @rajasthanroyals‘ Sohail Tanvir bamboozled Chennai Super Kings!
The figures were IPL’s best bowling performance for nearly 11 years. pic.twitter.com/VjOjKnQ0MZ
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) May 4, 2020
Sohail Tanvir was an absolute menace in the first edition of the IPL with his unorthodox left-arm action that helped him pick up the purple cap for inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals. Tanvir even held the record for the best figures in IPL history for 11 long years as he took apart the Chennai Super Kings line up in 2008. Tanvir dismissed openers Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming in the very first over and ended up with six wickets to restrict Chennai to a target of only 109.
1. Alzarri Joseph 6/12 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 2019
Alzarri Joseph now has the best figures on @IPL debut – 6/12 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟#OneFamily #CricketMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #SRHvMI pic.twitter.com/BY8yMQdDh3
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 6, 2019
Alzarri Joseph has only played three IPL games in his career but has arguably bowled the greatest spell in the history of the tournament on debut. Roped in as a replacement for Adam Milne in IPL 2019, Joseph was chucked straight into the cauldron against the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad. Defending a below-par total of 136, Joseph had a dream start as he castled the stumps of orange-cap holder David Warner with his first ball in the competition. Joseph continued to run through the SRH batting line up with his pace and bounce to end up with the best figures in IPL history on debut.
[Image Credit: IPL – Indian Premier League]
Shivaan Shah