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The 16th edition of the IPL began on March 31 and we have witnessed some high-quality T20 cricket in the competition already. The highlight till now has been the performances of Indian youngsters with both bat and ball.
An interesting feature of this year's IPL has been the tactical changes on show due to the introduction of the Impact Player rule, which has given teams more options.
Captains may not bowl their frontline bowlers at all on certain days. There could be multiple reasons for this - opposition matchups, pitch conditions and player form being among the primary ones.
In this piece, we look at five instances where a frontline spinner did not bowl a single over in an IPL match.
#1 Axar Patel vs GT, Delhi 2023
Delhi Capitals were up against the defending champions in their second match of the ongoing season. They batted first and scored 162/8. Axar Patel was the standout batter, scoring 36 runs off just 22 balls. His innings gave DC the much-needed impetus towards the end of the innings.
However, he did not bowl a single over in the second innings. Captain David Warner used Kuldeep Yadav (0/18 in three overs) as the only spinner at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. DC lost the match by six wickets with 11 balls to spare.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja vs MI, Pune 2018
Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field first at the MCA. It was a home game for CSK, whose games were shifted there due to the Cauvery water protests during IPL 2018. CSK scored 169/5 in the first innings, thanks to a Suresh Raina masterclass (75* off 47 balls). MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu also chipped in with valuable contributions.
While Dhoni used Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir, star all-rounder Jadeja did not bowl a single over. MI won the game by eight wickets with two balls to spare.
#3 Sunil Narine vs RCB, Eden Gardens 2017
The RCB vs KKR clash in 2017 remains one of the most talked about IPL matches to date. KKR batted first and could only muster up 131 runs in the first innings. Apart from a quick-fire 34 off just 17 balls from Sunil Narine at the top of the order, no other batter could get going.
In response, KKR's fast bowlers absolutely decimated the star-studded RCB batting lineup. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, and Chris Woakes took three wickets each, while Umesh Yadav took one. They eliminated the RCB lineup in just 9.4 overs with 49 runs on the board.
Hence, Narine was not required to bowl in this game as the pitch assisted fast bowlers even in the second innings.
#4 Harbhajan Singh vs Delhi Daredevils, Wankhede 2012
Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) won the toss and elected to field first against MI. The bowling unit put in a brilliant effort, dismissing the hosts for just 92 runs in the first innings. Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, and Ajit Agarkar took two wickets each, while Irfan Pathan took one. Captain Harbhajan Singh (33) and Rohit Sharma (29) ensured that Mumbai did not break the record for the then-lowest team total.
Harbhajan decided not to bowl in the second innings. Apart from Pragyan Ojha's quota of four overs, he only used pacers. Delhi won the game by seven wickets with 31 balls to spare.
#5 Ravichandran Ashwin vs MI, Cape Town 2009
Ravichandran Ashwin made his IPL debut in the first match of the second edition of the tournament. South Africa hosted the season because of the General Elections in India.
CSK won the toss and elected to field first. MI scored 165/7 as Sachin Tendulkar was the top-scorer with 59* off 49 balls. Abhishek Nayar also played a game-changing cameo of 35 runs off 14 balls.
The 22-year-old Ashwin neither batted nor bowled on his debut. CSK captain MS Dhoni used the following bowlers in the game - Manpreet Gony, Thilan Thushara, Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Joginder Sharma. This was one of the rare instances where CSK did not bowl a single over of spin in the innings. They eventually lost the match by 19 runs.
