There is no denying that T20 cricket is tilted more in favour of batsmen. The batters come to the middle with only one intention in mind, i.e., to hit the ball out of the ground from the word go. The bowlers don’t enjoy any breathing space as they only have 4 overs to make an impact. With the continuous innovation of shot-making, it has become very difficult for the bowlers to consistently pitch on certain areas.
As a bowler in T20 cricket, one needs to have a lot of variations in his armoury. Sometimes, one could go for plenty of runs in the shortest format, especially when one bowl in the powerplay as well death overs. Over the years, bowlers have conceded a lot of runs in their four-over spell in T20 cricket.
IPL is arguably the most competitive T20 franchise league in the world and it has seen some of the most expensive four-overs spells over the years.
In this article, we look at the top 5 most expensive spells in IPL history:
1. Basil Thampi: 0-70 runs vs RCB
Indian fast bowler Basil Thampi holds the record for the most expensive spell in the history of IPL. Turning up for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Basil Thampi conceded 70 runs in 4 overs against RCB in the 2018 edition of IPL.
Moeen Ali took on Thampi in the latter’s first over as he carted him for two sixes. AB de Villiers took him in Basil’s next over as the latter went on conceding 18 runs in the second over.
Despite going for plenty in his first two overs, Kane Williamson trusted him to bowl the 16th and 19th over of the innings. He went for 33 runs in his last two overs as conceded a total of 70 runs in his 4-over spell.
2. Yash Dayal: 0-69 vs KKR
Young Indian speedster Yash Dayal finds his name on the unwanted record list. Although he has been an impressive name in the domestic circuit, he had a disastrous night when he was hit for ton of runs.
It was in an evening game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2023. While chasing a mammoth total of 205, KKR needed 29 runs off the last over. Umesh Yadav took a single off the first ball, which then put set batter Rinku Singh on the strike.
The chase looked almost impossible but Rinku had other plans as he went on to hit five sixes in a row to do the unthinkable. While Rinku clinched a memorable victory for his side, pacer Yash would require a lot of time to come out of it.
3. Mujeeb Ur Rahman: 0-66 vs CSK
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is a household name in T20 cricket. Over the years, he has produced some match-winning spells in IPL. However, Mujeeb has also conceded the second most expensive spell in the history of the tournament.
Playing for Kings XI Punjab, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was hammered left, right and centre in the 2019 edition of IPL. The Afghanistan spinner was brought into the attack in the second over of the innings as he went for 10 runs in his first over. Warner hit three fours to Mujeeb in his next over as the latter conceded 28 in his first two overs.
Mohammad Nabi and Kane Williamson hit three sixes and a four to Mujeeb’s final over as he conceded 66 runs in his quota of four overs. SRH went on to score 212 runs and won the game by 45 runs.
3. Ishant Sharma: 0-66 vs CSK
Ishant Sharma holds the record for the third most expensive spell in IPL history. He received a severe lashing at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in the 2013 edition of IPL.
Turning up for SRH, Ishant Sharma bowled the second over of the innings. He conceded 11 runs in his first over. His second over saw Murali Vijay hit him for three sixes. Ishant’s last over proved to be the most expensive one as he conceded 25 runs, with Raina hitting him 4 fours and a six.
3. Arshdeep Singh: 1-66 vs MI
Arshdeep Singh is an extremely talented bud who has a bright future ahead of him. But just like any other cricketer, he also had a bad day on the field.
While playing against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023, the left arm pacers leaked 66 runs in his 3.5 overs. Tilak Varma alone punished Arsheep for 24 runs in just 8 deliveries to seal an iconic victory for his side.
6. Umesh Yadav: 0-65 vs RCB
Umesh Yadav sits at number four in the list of most expensive spells in IPL history. The second game of the 2013 edition of the tournament saw Umesh Yadav conceding 65 runs in his quota of four overs. He conceded 18 runs in his first two overs.
However, he received a lashing at the hands of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in his final two overs. Umesh Yadav went for 23 and 24 runs in his third and fourth over respectively.
7. Sandeep Sharma: 1-65 vs SRH
Back in 2014, Sandeep Sharma used to open the bowling attack for Kings XI Punjab in IPL. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he gave away just 13 runs in his first two overs.
However, his third over went for 26 runs as Shikhar Dhawan hit him for fours boundaries and a six. Sharma’s next over also went for the same number of runs as he finished with figures of 1 for 65 in his 4 overs. Interestingly, Sandeep Sharma is the only bowler on the list who got a wicket to his name.
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