The Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided many fans with sheer delight and excitement. The league has grown over the years and is currently vying to become one of the most popular sporting events. Despite the initial image of the IPL was that it was only for hitters, that perception has shifted in the last few years. Importantly, the sixteenth edition will get off on Friday, March 31, 2023, with a match between reigning champions Gujarat Titans and four-time trophy winners Chennai Super Kings at Ahmedabad’s landmark Narendra Modi Stadium.
Teams have realised that in order to win the title, they must have excellent bowlers on their side as well. In numerous games, it has been seen that one bowler entirely altered the game to favour his team. In this post, we’ll look at-
Best Bowling Figures in IPL History
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1. Alzarri Joseph, 6/12 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2019
Alzarri Joseph, who bowled a scorching session for the Mumbai Indians against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019, leads the group in terms of the highest bowling stats in IPL history. What made the West Indian’s performance even more unbelievable was that he was making his IPL debut in the contest. In the second innings, Joseph put his abilities on display while defending a target of 137 set by fellow West Indian Kieron Pollard’s pyrotechnics.
In his debut spell, he struck out two batters, including the dangerous David Warner. His second stint, which came towards the end, provided four wickets as he savagely picked apart the SRH tail to finish with the greatest figures in the tournament’s history.
2. Sohail Tanvir – 6/14 vs Chennai Super Kings, 2008
Sohail Tanvir of the Rajasthan Royals lit up the maiden season of the IPL with his pinpoint accuracy. His rapid movement and unusual delivery caused a lot of problems for the batsmen, who appeared puzzled at times. That is exactly what occurred when Chennai Super Kings faced Tanvir, who appeared to be unstoppable.
Tanvir sprinted through the CSK top three, leaving them at 11/3, before returning at the end to finish off the tail. His spell contributed to CSK being bowled out for 109, which was easily chased down in less than 15 overs.
3. Adam Zampa – 6/19 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2016
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In what is perhaps the finest performance by a bowler in a losing cause in IPL history, Australian leggie Adam Zampa bowled a deft spell to elude the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen while playing for the Rising Pune Supergiants. Following the first two wickets taken by RP Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin, Zampa took the next six.
The leg-spell spinner’s assisted in limiting SRH to 137. Nevertheless, RPS faltered and fell 4 runs short of the total when MS Dhoni was run out on the penultimate delivery of the match, leaving Ashish Nehra to defend 5 runs off the final ball, which he achieved by dismissing Zampa.
4. Anil Kumble – 5/5 vs Rajasthan Royals, 2009
Anil Kumble’s stint is one of the most renowned in IPL history, as it helped bowl out Rajasthan Royals for a meagre 58 – the lowest team total in the tournament’s history until Royal Challengers Bangalore’s notorious 49 shattered it.
RCB had scored 133 in the second match of the 2009 IPL, with Rahul Dravid anchoring the innings on a tough pitch. Praveen Kumar and Jesse Ryder had destroyed RR’s top order in the second innings before Kumble wove a web around the lower-order batters to take up 5 wickets while allowing only 5 runs.
5. Ishant Sharma – 5/12 vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 2011
In 2011, Ishant Sharma ripped through the Kochi Tuskers Kerala batting order with a high-quality opening spell. Ishant came into bowl for the Deccan Chargers after his bowling partner Dale Steyn had picked up a wicket in the first over, as they defended a small total of 129 sets courtesy to Kumar Sangakkara’s lone struggle.
What followed was a brilliant session in which the Kochi batsmen were rendered helpless against the pace. He removed four of the five batters he faced for ducks. KTK was on 11/6 at one stage, but they recovered before getting bowled out for 74.
| Position | Player | Overs | Runs | Wickets | SR | Against | Venue | Match Date |
| 1 | Alzarri Joseph | 3.4 | 12 | 6 | 3.66 | SRH | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium | 06 April 2019 |
| 2 | Sohail Tanvir | 4 | 14 | 6 | 4 | CSK | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | 04 May 2008 |
| 3 | Adam Zampa | 4 | 19 | 6 | 4 | SRH | ACA-VDCA Stadium | 10 May 2016 |
| 4 | Anil Kumble | 3.1 | 5 | 5 | 3.8 | RR | Newlands | 18 April 2009 |
| 5 | Jasprit Bumrah | 4 | 10 | 5 | – | KKR | DY Patil Stadium | 09 May 2022 |
| 6 | Ishant Sharma | 3 | 12 | 5 | 3.6 | KTK | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 27 April 2011 |
| 7 | Lasith Malinga | 3.4 | 13 | 5 | 4.4 | DC | Arun Jaitley Stadium | 10 April 2011 |
| 8 | Ankit Rajpoot | 4 | 14 | 5 | 4.8 | SRH | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium | 26 April 2018 |
| 9 | Andre Russell | 2 | 15 | 5 | 2.4 | MI | Chidambaram | 13 April 2021 |
| 10 | James Faulkner | 4 | 16 | 5 | 4.8 | SRH | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium | 17 May 2013 |
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