The final over of batting innings is extremely critical. While in the first innings, the 20th over decides the momentum-holders for the next inning, usually, when a game comes down to the final over in the second innings, we would have had a good game. The batters are usually dominant in this over. That said, in IPL history, we have witnessed a few cases wherein the bowlers have also dominated the proceedings. In fact, a few bowlers have done the extraordinary thing of bowling a maiden in the final over. A maiden in a T20 game is gold dust and that too in the final over is sensational. On that note, in this article, we take a look at four bowlers who have bowled a 20th over maiden in IPL history so far.
1) Irfan Pathan (Kings XI Punjab) – IPL 2008
Opposition: Mumbai Indians || Innings: Second || Venue: Mohali
Irfan Pathan is the first player to bowl a maiden in the 20th over in IPL history. The Baroda all-rounder did it in the inaugural season itself. This happened in a game against the Mumbai Indians.
Pathan ended with figures of 4-1-19-2 and his two wickets included that of Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh. While Irfan was excellent that day, the game became famous for the “Slapgate” incident between Bhajji and Sreesanth after this match.
2) Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) – IPL 2009
Opposition: Deccan Chargers || Innings: First || Venue: Durban
Of course, Lasith Malinga is one of the bowlers who have bowled a 20th over maiden in IPL history so far. Arguably the greatest T20 pacer, Lasith Malinga was a nightmare for the batters at the death.
With his pinpoint accuracy and variations, the Sri Lankan made it very difficult for batters to target him. Against the eventual winners Deccan Chargers in 2009, the pacer bowled a 20th over without giving away any runs. It was a terrific show by the cricketer in that encounter but he was yet not able to win the game for his team.
3) Jaydev Unadkat (Rising Pune Supergiants) – IPL 2017
Opposition: Sunrisers Hyderabad || Innings: Second || Venue: Hyderabad
IPL 2017 was a memorable year for the Rising Pune Supergiants and Jaydev Unadkat. While the franchise reached the finals, Unadkat had a terrific year, which gave him a good bid at the IPL 2018 Auctions. In the game against SRH in 2017, Jaydev bowled a maiden over in the 20th over.
This was while defending a score of 148 and the Saurashtra cricketer was exceptional with his performance. He even took a hat-trick in that over. The pacer’s wickets column included Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha, Bipul Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
4) Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – IPL 2022
Opposition: Punjab Kings || Innings: First || Venue: Mumbai
Umran Malik is one of the bowlers who have bowled a 20th over maiden in IPL history so far. The young Jammu & Kashmir pacer is the latest addition to this elite list. The regular batters are themselves struggling to take on the pace of the youngster. Hence, it is expected that the tail-enders will not survive long against Umran.
A similar scenario happened recently against Punjab Kings. With the set batters out, Umran had to bowl at the less established batters in the team. He got the likes of Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar and Vaibhav Arora out in this over. The player did not concede a single over and ensured a strong finish for his team. The way that Umran has been performing, we could expect similar achievements in the future.
