Right from the time of its inception, T20 cricket is heavily tilted in the favour of the batting side. Bowlers enjoy only a few moments of joy while playing the format and even that gets vanishes later on if he goes for plenty in his remaining quota of overs. With a solid foundation laid early on, batsmen often fancy their chances against the opposition bowlers and take them to the cleaners. This has naturally led to the spoiling of the eventual figures for the bowler, who then enter the list of most expensive spells in the history of the sport. As for this article, we will be focusing on those bowlers, who conjured such disgraceful spells at the IPL. In the below piece, we look at 5 bowlers, who bowled the most expensive spells in IPL history:
1. Basil Thampi – 70 runs
This talented bowler from Kerala tops the list for conceding the most runs in an IPL innings. It came during the 51st game between RCB and SRH at Bengaluru in IPL 2018. Batting first, RCB posted 218-6 in their 20 overs, courtesy innings of 69(39) by de Villiers and 65(34) by Ali. For SRH, Thampi bowled the most expensive spell, going for 70 in his 4 overs while Rashid and Kaul chipped in with 3 wickets each.
In reply, SRH reached 204-3, owing to knocks of 81(42) by Williamson and 62(38) by Pandey, losing the game by just 14 runs. Both Ali and Chahal scalped a wicket each, ending their spells at 1-21 and 1-28 respectively.
2. Ishant Sharma – 66 runs
This spell from Ishant came during the 54th game between CSK and SRH at Hyderabad in IPL 2013. CSK while batting first, posted a mammoth total of 223-3 at the end of 20 overs, courtesy mind-boggling innings of 99(52) by Raina and 67(42) by Hussey. For SRH, Perera picked up 3-45 while Ishant bowled the second most expensive spell, disappearing for 66 in his 4 overs.
In response, SRH could manage just 148-8 at the end of 20 overs, losing the contest comfortably by 77 runs. Parthiv was the top scorer with 44(30) while Mohit Sharma scalped 2-28 to help CSK pull off an easy victory.
3. Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman – 66 runs
This forgettable spell from Mujeeb came during the 48th game between SRH and PK at Hyderabad in IPL 2019. Put in to bat first, SRH posted a daunting total of 212-6 in their 20 overs, on the back of wonderful knocks of 81(56) by Warner and 36(25) by Pandey. Both Shami and Ashwin picked up 2 wickets each for the Punjab side while Mujeeb delivered one of his expensive spells, giving away 66 runs in 4 overs.
In reply, the Punjab side was restricted to 167-8 at the end of their 20 overs and lost the contest by 45 runs. Rahul was the top-scorer for them with 79(56) while both Rashid and Khaleel snapped up 3 wickets each for SRH.
4. Umesh Yadav – 65 runs
It came during the 57th game between RCB and DC at Delhi in IPL 2013. The Bangalore side while batting first, posted a competitive total of 183-4 at the end of 20 overs, owing to a fantastic knock of 99(58) by skipper Kohli. Both Nadeem and Irfan picked a wicket each for Delhi while Umesh bowled his most expensive spell, going for 65 in his 4 overs.
The Delhi side too put up a fight, scoring 179-7, courtesy innings of 41(35) by Chand, 32(27) by Rohrer and 23(11) by Irfan, losing the game by just 4 runs. Pacer Unadkat scalped a fifer for RCB, finishing his spell with 5-25.
5. Sandeep Sharma – 65 runs
One of the worst spells from Sandeep came during the 39th game between SRH and PK at Hyderabad in IPL 2014. Batting first, SRH posted a commanding total of 205-5 in their 20 overs, on the back of innings of 79(36) by Ojha, 45(37) by Dhawan and 44(23) by Warner. Rishi Dhawan picked up 2-42 while Sandeep bowled an expensive spell of 1-65 in his 4 overs.
The target, though, imposing was comfortably achieved by the Punjab side keeping 6 wickets in hand and 8 balls to spare. Top-order batsmen, Vohra, Saha and Maxwell with their respective knocks of 47(20), 54(26) and 43(22) ensured an easy win for PK, demolishing the opposition bowling attack.
