Rising Pune Supergiants leg-spinner Adam Zampa became a household name in India when he picked up 6 wickets for just 19 runs in his second IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2016. The 24-year-old leggie deceived the batsmen with his guile and loop and registered the second best figures in the IPL history.
However, despite his efforts, he had to finish on the losing side as his team lost the game by 4 runs. Chasing a paltry total of 137, RPS finished on 133 and lost their 8th game of the tournament. Even with the loss, Zampa won the Man of the Match award.
It was not the first time such a thing happened in IPL history.In the previous editions too, some outstanding spells of bowlers have gone in vain as their side lost the match.
We picked out the best 5 performances of a bowler in a losing cause apart from Zampa who obviously tops the list. These bowlers picked up either 4 or 5 wickets and their economy was well under 6 in those matches.
Here are 5 such instances. Take a look
5) Mitchell McClenaghan’s 4 for 21 against Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016
The cunning left-arm pacer from New Zealand is a key member of the Mumbai Indians squad and in the absence of Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga, McClenaghan has become the spearhead of the Mumbai Indians attack.
In the 9th match of the ongoing IPL 2016, the left-arm quick bowled his heart out against Gujarat Lions and finished with the figures of 4 for 21 in his 4 overs. However, his efforts went in vain as his side lost the game to Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets.
Batting first, Mumbai put up a paltry total of 143 on the board. However, McClenaghan brought his team back into the game with his bowling. He bowled his heart out and picked up 4 crucial wickets to peg the Gujarat team back.
However, he and his team had to finish second-best that night as Aaron Finch played a gem of a knock to guide Gujarat Lions to victory.
4) Harbhajan Singh’s 4 for 17 against Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2009
In the 55th match of the IPL 2009, two archrivals Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians locked horns with each other at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Batting first, the Mumbai side put up a competitive total of 165 on the board.
While chasing, the formidable Delhi batting line-up consisting the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan, David Warner and AB de Villiers had to face the wrath of the off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who bowled beautifully in that game.
The off-spinner took the key wickets of Sehwag, Dilshan, Rajat Bhatia and AB de Villiers to get Mumbai back into the game. However, he couldn’t find any support from the other end as Delhi chased the target in 17.3 overs.
While other bowlers went for plenty, the wily spinner bowled a spell of 4 for 17 in 4 overs. A truly commendable effort by the veteran!
However, he couldn’t prevent his side from losing!
3) Anil Kumble’s 4 for 16 against Deccan Chargers in the IPL 2009 Final
The legendary Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble who led Royal Challengers Bangalore to their maiden IPL final in 2009 led his team from the front in the final with a magnificent spell of leg-spin bowling.
Against Deccan Chargers, Kumble picked up 4 wickets for 16 runs to restrict them to a total of 143. Choosing to field first, the skipper justified this decision by picking up the key wickets of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao.
He even started the bowling for his team and got rid of his counterpart Gilchrist in only the 3rd ball of the match. One of the greatest match-winners India have ever produced, Anil Kumble bowled with immaculate precision in that entire season to ignite hopes of a famous triumph for the Bangalore franchise.
However, the game of cricket had other ideas. Kumble, despite the efforts, had to be on the losing side as his batters succumbed to the pressure to lose the game by 6 runs.
It was surely a heartbreaking moment for the champion cricketer!
2) Munaf Patel’s 5 for 21 against Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2011
The 54th match of the IPL 2011 saw a splendid performance by one Indian bowler Munaf Patel who picked up a five-for against Kings XI Punjab.
Playing for the Mumbai Indians, Patel picked up 5 wickets for just 21 runs in his 4 overs. Punjab at one stage were threatening to take the game away from Mumbai as they were 128 for 2 at the end of 15 overs.
Munaf picked up the key wickets of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey in the 16th over to check the flow of runs and eventually restricted Punjab for 163.
But the Mumbai batsmen let Munaf down. They were bowled out for a meagre 87 inside 12.5 overs to finish on the losing side.
Another herculean effort went into vain!
1) Sunil Narine’s 5 for 19 against Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2012
The spinner from the Caribbean bamboozled the batsmen throughout the IPL 2012 with his enigmatic spells. Most of the batsmen failed to read him properly and he was instrumental in leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to their maiden IPL title that season.
But sadly, his best figures in the IPL came in a losing cause. In a particular game against Kings XI Punjab that season, Narine’s outstanding bowling effort went in vain as KKR lost that game.
Narine picked up 5 wickets for just 19 runs to restrict the Kings XI batting line-up for a score of 134. He took full advantage of the slow and low track at the Eden Gardens to unleash his tricks of the trade.
But there was a twist to the tale. Kolkata fell just 2 runs short of the target and KXIP surprisingly won the game.
Narine’s best personal achievement failed to bring any luck for his side that day!
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