If you love IPL, you must know how batting is one of the most sought out experiences in each game. Despite being batting-heavy, this is also the platform where some of the most amazing bowlers show their valour and skill.
However, it’s tough to be a wicket-taking bowler. To be a top boss in this business, a bowler should possess all the best variations. Moreover, how they employ these variations is more important than anything else.
A high level of game sense and skill is needed to get a batter out in an IPL match. This article is going to discuss the players who have excelled in doing this.
Here is the list of the cricketers with the best bowling figures in IPL.
Top 5 Best Bowling Figures in IPL
1. Alzarri Joseph: 6/12 (3.4 overs), MI vs. SRH (2019)
Alzarri Joseph, whose 6/12 came against SRH while playing for MI, tops this list. This West Indian fast bowler is well known for his lethal pace variation.
In one match, he got out great players like David Warner, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shahbaz Nadeem of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
With utter pace and swing, the batting side could not handle his bowling fire that day. SRH were bundled out for 96 by Mumbai after chasing at just below par score of 137.
Such was Joseph’s unbelievable spell that will always be used as a scale discussing the best IPL performances by a bowler.
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2. Sohail Tanvir: 6/14 (4 overs), Rajasthan Royals vs. Chennai Super Kings (2008)
Sohail Tanvir comes next on the list of best bowling figures ever recorded in IPL. The Pakistani quickie is known for his pace and unique delivery action. He was playing for the first champions Rajasthan Royals who were facing Chennai Super Kings then.
With that action and pitch assistance, there were times when his deliveries seemed unplayable when he released them from his hand. Parthiv Patel, Stephen Fleming, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni were all victims of his left-arm swing bowling.
This record stood for 11 years – before it was broken by Joseph.
The RR bowler also created awkward angles that made it even more difficult for the batters to adjust to his balls’ trajectory.
Additionally, he kept his overs economical, making life harder for the opposition. As such, in that match, Rajasthan bundled out their opponents at 109 only for the winning margin to be overwhelming.
He then went on to win the purple cap too in the maiden IPL edition (2008) having scalped 20 batters in a mere eleven matches.
3. Adam Zampa: 6/19 (4 overs), Rising Pune Supergiant vs. SRH (2016)
An Australian leggie, Adam Zampa possesses amazing bowling figures as a spinner in the IPL. In the contest against SRH, he played for RPSG and took six significant wickets. Moreover, in his four overs, he allowed only 19 runs while applying an unyielding pressure on the batters.
He dismissed dangerous batters such as David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Eoin Morgan, Moises Henriques, and Deepak Hooda. This was almost all the top and middle order of SRH.
Zampa always has a lot of variations at his disposal to worry his opponents. However, RSPG went ahead to lose that match even after some good bowling by the Aussie star.
4. Anil Kumble: 5/5 (3.1 overs), RCB vs Rajasthan Royals (2009)
The legendary cricketer “Jumbo” was simply a legend in Test Cricket for India. Also, he was equally devastating in the shorter forms of cricket. He stands 4th on this list for his 5/5 against RR in 2009 while playing for RCB.
This showed Kumble’s control and variation.
His deceptively quick leg breaks helped dismiss big names like Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha, and Ravindra Jadeja. As a result of Kumble’s blows in that match, which broke the back of RR, the Rajasthan Royals team was bowled out for just 58 runs. His performance helped his team secure a historic victory by 75 runs.
With this performance, Kumble became the oldest player to take a five-wicket haul in IPL history. Interestingly, Jumbo did not rely much on turning the ball. Instead, he believed in being as consistent as possible when it came to the line and length.
Also Read: How Many Overseas Players Can Play in IPL?
5. Akash Madhwal: 5/15 (3.3 overs), MI vs. LSG (2023)
Only a few knew who Akash Madhwal was when he took 5 wickets against LSG for 15 runs. He completely ripped apart the opposition’s batting who got all out for 82 runs.
Exploiting conditions that favoured pacemen in Chennai, Madhwal dismissed experienced batters like KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Ayush Badoni, Manish Pandey, and Krunal Pandya.
His ability to extract movement and bounce troubled the LSG batters in that match. It was mostly because of Madhwal’s unplayable spell that MI won this match.
A performance like this especially in a high-pressure game like the Eliminator was not something you would expect from a debutant. However, maybe the thing that worked for Madhwal was the element of surprise that he brought with him.
Conclusion
Bowling performances like these should be celebrated by the fans and be talked about more. With the conditions and rules being more batting-friendly, it takes some special skill to be among the best bowlers in the world.
While T20 Cricket is always blamed for having a completely batter-friendly format, bowling figures like these tell a different story.
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