The IPL final was contested between two sides with contrasting strengths. The Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the best bowling and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with the best batting. The Sunrisers came out on top, claiming their IPL crown largely on the back of some incredible bowling, with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran forming a formidable quartet.
With that in mind, it’s only fair that we recollect the 10 best bowling spells that we witnessed in the IPL this season.
#10 Dwayne Bravo (4 - 0 - 22 - 4) (overs – maidens – runs – wickets), (GJ vs KXIP, Mohali, 11th April)
Dwayne Bravo walked out for Gujarat Lions in their first IPL game, fresh after lifting the World T20. He felt like a ‘champion’ and he certainly bowled like one, ripping through the Kings XI batting line up and taking 4 wickets, including those of Miller and Maxwell. It helped his team restrict the Kings to 161, which they chased down and pick up their first win in IPL history.
#9 Axar Patel (4 – 0 – 21 – 4), (KXIP vs GJ, Rajkot, 1st May)
Axar Patel walks into this list having recorded the season’s only hat-trick. The Gujarat Lions were the victims as Axar put on a show picking up the wickets of Karthik, Bravo and Jadeja on 3 consecutive deliveries. He picked up the wicket of Smith just prior to this, making it 4 wickets in 5 balls. His spell was crucial as the Kings recorded a win against the Lions, knocking them over for 131 after putting 154 on the board.
#8 Mitchell McClenaghan (4 – 0 – 21 – 4) (MI vs GJ, Mumbai, 16th April)
For large parts of the league season, the Kiwi was sitting pretty on top of the purple cap chart. He had a season to remember as he was fast and aggressive, picking up wickets aplenty. After Mumbai posted a measely score of 143, McClenaghan picked up the wicket of Raina and got a few crucial wickets later in the innings. It wasn’t enough for his team though, as Gujarat got home on the very last delivery.
#7 Andre Russell (4 – 0 – 20 – 4) (KKR vs KXIP, Kolkata, 4th May)
Who knows what the KKR would have achieved had their star all rounder stayed fit? The team fizzled out after his injury. Early on in the season, Russell was fiery with the bat and the ball. On this occassion, he helped his team defend 164, taking the wickets of Stoinis, Vohra, Miller and Swapnil Singh. He was also involved in the run out of Axar Patel as KKR edged out the Kings by a mere 7 runs.
#6 Marcus Stonis (4 – 0 – 15 – 4) (KXIP vs MI, Vizag, 13th May)
Marcus Stoinis was a bit of a revelation for the Kings. Involved in the playing XI after the change of captaincy, he was pivotal with the bat and the ball as the Kings had a much more respectable finish to the season. On one of the Kings’ best outings the IPL, Stoinis’ 4 wickets helped his team bundle out Mumbai for 124. It was an easy job for the Kings batsmen and they romped home by 7 wickets.
#5 Dhawal Kulkarni (4 – 1 – 14 – 4) (GJ vs RCB, Bangalore, 24th May)
One of the reasons for Gujarat’s success this season, Dhawal had a season to remember. His brightest day came against the RCB in the first qualifier. After Gujarat got to a respectable total of 158, Kulkarni bowled his heart out, dismissing Gayle and Kohli early and following it up with the wickets of Rahul and Sachin Baby. Unfortunately, for him, that game ended in heartbreak as AB de Villiers stole the show.
#4 Chris Jordan (3 – 0 – 11 – 4) (RCB vs GJ, Bangalore, 14th May)
Chris Jordan was heralded as the bowler who was going to come to RCB’s rescue after joining midway through the season. He got off to a poor start however as he was taken for plenty in his first couple of games. It was a struggle for him as he couldn’t find any rhythm whatsoever. That was to change as he came to the party against Gujarat, picking up 4 wickets as RCB recorded the highest win margin in IPL HISTORY!
#3 Amit Mishra (3 – 0 – 11 – 4) (DD vs KXIP, Delhi, 15th April)
It remains a mystery to this day why Amit Mishra wasn’t handed a 4th over on this day. Bowling with great rhythm, the leggie bagged the wickets of Manan Vohra, Marsh, Miller and Maxwell as Delhi bundled Kings XI out for 111. The total was easily chased down by the Delhi batsmen.
#2 Dwayne Smith (4 – 0 – 8 – 4) (GJ vs KKR, Kanpur, 19th May)
Dwayne Smith batted in a number of different positions this season, but it was on the 19th of May, where he had his most memorable outing. Quite useful with the ball, Dr. Smith was unplayable with the ball on this day, picking up 4 wickets for 8 runs. It’s almost a miracle that his figures don’t include a maiden over. His scalps included Uthappa, Shakib, Manish Pandey and Piyush Chawla. Gujarat romped home to an easy win.
#1 Adam Zampa (4 – 0 – 19 – 6) (RPS vs SRH, Vizag, 10th May)
The heartbreak story of the season by a mile. Adam Zampa bowled a spell that will be remembered for quite sometime, picking up 6 wickets. Somehow, he ended up on the losing side. He ended up with the IPL’s second best bowling figures ever. He helped his team bowl out the Sunrisers for 137, but, Pune couldn’t chase it down. He was great in his remaining games as well.
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