5 best bowling spells in a losing cause in IPL history ft. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Even as the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) were eliminated from IPL 2023 following their loss at the hands of the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday, May 15, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had an evening to remember on a personal note.

The ace seamer became just the third bowler in the history of the IPL to register multiple five-wicket hauls, with his outstanding figures of 5/30 seeing SRH restrict the Titans to 188/9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. If not for his spell, the target could have been far worse from SRH's point of view as they were subjected to a masterful Shubman Gill century.

It all began when Bhuvneshwar swung the new ball prodigiously and got Wriddhiman Saha to nick off to first slip. He returned to prize out GT skipper Hardik Pandya before bagging three wickets in the final over as he capped off a memorable spell. Unfortunately, the batters failed to step up as the SunRisers crumbled during their chase.

This wasn't the first time though that a bowler has either picked up a five-for in the IPL or sent down a superb spell, only to end up on the losing side.

Here, we take a look at five other such instances in the tournament's history:

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#5 James Faulkner (RR) - 5/16 vs SRH, IPL 2013

Having already bagged a five-wicket haul against SRH in IPL 2013, James Faulkner was in the act again when the Rajasthan Royals (RR) played the hosts at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

He cut their top order to size, nipping both Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan in the bud early before returning to take three more wickets for his second five-for of the season.

Faulkner's exploits helped RR restrict the SunRisers to a middling 136/9. However, barring skipper Rahul Dravid's 24-ball 25 and a late unbeaten 26 from Kevon Cooper, none of the Royals batters got going.

Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra led a collective stifle that saw SRH limit RR to 113/9. Despite his brilliance with the ball, Faulkner couldn't end up on the right side of the result.

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#4 Sunil Narine (KKR) - 5/19 vs KXIP, IPL 2012

Sunil Narine (R) weaved magic around the Kings XI Punjab in 2012 (File image).

When the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went all out to secure Sunil Narine's services at the IPL 2012 auction, the mystery spinner from Trinidad proved just why that was the case against the Kings XI Punjab (now called Punjab Kings) at the Eden Gardens.

Narine spun a web around the Kings, prizing out the dangerous Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh inside the powerplay. He was then summoned to bowl the 18th and 20th over of the innings and he duly responded with three more wickets, ending with figures of 5/19.

Sadly though, a target of 135 proved to be tough for KKR, whose batters made heavy work of it as Piyush Chawla snared three wickets. The contest went right down to the wire and despite Debabrata Das' heroic unbeaten 35 off 23 deliveries, the Knight Riders fell short by two runs.

Narine walked away with the Player of the Match award though, for what was truly a magical spell of bowling.

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#3 Umran Malik (SRH) - 5/25 vs GT, IPL 2022

'Pace is pace yaar'.

That famous sub-continental adage was proven right by Umran Malik when SRH took on the Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in IPL 2022. The SunRisers racked up 195/6 on the board on a belter of a surface and Wriddhiman Saha looked determined to chase it down without a fuss.

Umran was thrown the ball post the powerplay and what followed was a menacing spell of fast bowling through the middle overs. Attacking the stumps on a good length with raw pace, he sent them flying at will and cut the Titans' middle order to size, also bouncing Hardik Pandya out in the process.

By the time he was done with his spell at the end of the 16th over, he had five wickets against his name in what was truly an unplayable and breathtaking spell of bowling.

Alas for him and SRH, their former superstar Rashid Khan broke their hearts, carting Marco Jansen for 25 runs off the final over to pull off a stunning heist.

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#2 Anil Kumble (RCB) - 4/16 vs Deccan Chargers, IPL 2009

When Anil Kumble castled Deccan Chargers (now defunct) skipper Adam Gilchrist for a duck in the first over of the IPL 2009 final, it seemed like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were well on their way towards glory.

While the Chargers stuttered along, they had Herschelle Gibbs stitch together two useful partnerships with Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma.

Kumble was the biggest thorn in their flesh though, as the RCB skipper broke both those stands en route to returns of 4/16 off his four overs. The Challengers had to chase just 144 in order to clinch their maiden title and started decently despite losing Manish Pandey early.

However, RCB hit multiple stumbling blocks along the way with Gilchrist marshaling a young bowling attack beautifully to pull off a superb defense, helping the Chargers lift the trophy.

That didn't stop the adjudicators from awarding Kumble with the Player of the Match award though, for what was truly an outstanding display of bowling.

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#1 Adam Zampa (RPS) - 6/19 vs SRH, IPL 2016

Adam Zampa has a six-wicket haul against his name in the IPL but in a losing cause (File image).

Fancy picking up a six-for in a T20 and still ending up on the losing side. Alas for Adam Zampa, that's what transpired when the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants faced SRH in Visakhapatnam in IPL 2016.

The SunRisers were kept quiet throughout their batting display as they never ran away with the contest. Zampa was asked to bowl three overs at the death by skipper MS Dhoni and he delivered a cluster of wickets that began with Yuvraj Singh's scalp in the 16th over.

In a beautiful display of guile, spin, and drift, he bamboozled the SRH batting lineup and finished with figures of 6/19, the then-second-best bowling figures in the history of the IPL.

Pune's batters, however, failed to overhaul a target of 138 and once Dhoni was run out, Zampa had to face the final delivery with five runs required.

He nicked behind off the bowling of Ashish Nehra as SRH prevailed by four runs. Zampa emerged a tragic hero at the end of it all and to date, these remain the best bowling returns in a losing cause in the IPL.

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Which of these spells which came in a losing cause is your favorite? Have your say in the comments section below!

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