From IPL archives: Highest wicket taker for each team in IPL 2009

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Deccan Chargers won the title in 2009 by beating RCB in the final.
Deccan Chargers won the title in 2009 by beating RCB in the final.

The success of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008 took the world by storm. From the blistering knock of Brendon McCullum in the first match to a last-ball finish in the finals, every aspect of the game was at its glamorous best. Given the popularity of the sport and a star-studded line up of players, everyone in the cricketing fraternity wanted to be a part of the cash-rich league.

As general elections were scheduled to take place in multi-phases in 2009, BCCI decided to shift the tournament to South Africa. This presented a new challenge as teams build for slow and low turners of Indian surfaces started looking for quality pacers in the squad to suit pitches in South Africa.

With the T20 World Cup set to happen in England right after the IPL, players used it to get acclimatized to the pace and bounce. As expected, bowlers had the upper hand with only one total of over 200 compared to 11 in 2008.

Let us look at the primary bowlers for each team took the most wickets.


#1 Deccan Chargers - RP Singh - 23 Wickets

R.P Singh
R.P Singh

RP Singh had an impressive start to the season against Kolkata Knight Riders with a four-wicket haul. This man of the match performance gave the confidence to the left arm pacer as he ended up grabbing the purple cap with 23 wickets.

He was instrumental in the title-winning reign of Deccan Chargers as he was the primary wicket-taker. The left-arm pacer was very effective in the powerplays, picking up wickets regularly and had the ability to tie down the batsman with some wonderful death bowling.

It was evident in the finals of the tournament, where his spell of 4-0-16-1 helped his team defend a below-par score of 143 against an experienced RCB batting lineup. He picked up the wicket of Jacques Kallis in his first spell and came back at the death to give just 7 runs in his last overs to secure the title.

#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore - Anil Kumble - 21 Wickets

Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble

Royal Challengers had a horrible start to the IPL in 2008 as they were smashed all over by Brendon McCullum at Chinnaswamy. They couldn't recover from that as they finished second last in the inaugural edition. Anil Kumble, who quit international cricket in 2008, was handed over the responsibility of captaincy of RCB midway through the tournament after Kevin Pietersen had to leave for national duty.

He led from the front with the ball in hand right from the first match of the tournament where he bamboozled defending champions Rajasthan Royals with an impressive spell of 3.1-1-5-5. In a format where spinners were considered as the bowlers that batsman will attack for runs, Kumble countered it by attacking the batsman with his guile.

He ended up taking 21 wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of 5.86. He also reintroduced the trend of making a spinner open the bowling as he took the new ball in crucial matches. His man of the match performance of 4-0-16-4 in the final was not enough to win the title.

#3 Delhi Daredevils - Ashish Nehra - 19 Wickets

Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra

After having an ordinary outing for Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition, Ashish Nehra was traded to his home team Delhi Daredevils in exchange of Shikhar Dhawan. This move resulted in Delhi forming a trio of left-arm pacers in Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes, and Pradeep Sangwan as they accounted for 49 wickets.

Nehra was the leader of the pack picking up 19 wickets at 6.78, way better than the other two. This helped him to make a comeback to the Indian team after four years which continued till the 2011 World Cup triumph.

He produced consistent performances throughout the season which helped Delhi Daredevils finish at the top of the table. Even in the semifinals, he picked up Herschelle Gibbs for 0, but that couldn't help his team get past a rampaging Adam Gilchrist who smashed a 35 ball 85 to knock Delhi out of the tournament.

#4 Chennai Super Kings - Muttiah Muralitharan - 14 Wickets

Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan

When a side has a certain Muttiah Muralitharan, who has the most wickets in ODIs and Tests, then it doesn't surprise anyone as he finished the leading wicket-taker of Chennai Super Kings in 2009 with 14 scalps to his credit.

As teams had many inexperienced players, they considered Murali as a possible threat and were looking to play out his four overs. His season economy rate of 5.22 was a clear indication of that strategy. In fact, his economy is the best among bowlers who had bowled more than four overs in the season.

He formed a good bowling partnership with Goa spinner Shadab Jakati. They were very effective in the middle overs and made run-scoring difficult for the opposition batsmen. Super Kings qualified for the knockout stages only because of their bowling abilities, as their batsman failed to produce runs. Although Mathew Hayden won the orange cap, none made valuable contributions apart from MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.

#5 Kings XI Punjab - Irfan Pathan - 17 Wickets

Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan

Coming into the tournament, Kings XI Punjab was considered as one of the title favourites. With a line-up boasting of Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara, Shaun Marsh and Brett Lee, the favourites tag did suit them.

Irfan Pathan was one guy who did more than what was expected of him. He picked up 17 wickets in the tournament at an average of 22.94. He along with South African Yusuf Abdulla was instrumental in making Punjab stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. He was their go-to bowler and he delivered at crucial junctures.

Irfan was also effective with the bat, scoring 196 runs at a strike rate of 124.05 which was very handy lower down the order. Since he couldn't receive proper support from his teammates through performances, KXIP eventually failed to qualify for the semifinals.

#6 Rajasthan Royals - Munaf Patel - 16 Wickets

Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel

Rajasthan Royals won the first season of IPL with a squad of experienced international players and young domestic players who were the surprise packages of that season. Due to various reasons like political cross-border tensions, national commitments and retirements, Royals lost key internationals like Sohail Tanvir, Shane Watson, Kamran Akmal and Darren Lehmann in 2009.

Hence the burden of carrying the team was more on players like Shane Warne, Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan. Munaf Patel ended up as the leading wicket-taker for Royals with 16 wickets. Once an express fast bowler, the Greg Chappell factor made him a line and length bowler. He then used deception to fox the batsman and picked up wickets.

His consistency in line and length resulted in an economy rate of 6.92. His accuracy in execution was evident when he successfully defended four runs off the last over against Mumbai Indians. Off the five balls that he bowled, Royals picked up three wickets and gave away only a single run.

#7 Mumbai Indians - Lasith Malinga - 18 Wickets

Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga missed the first season of Indian Premier League due to an injury. In 2009 Malinga made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians and it turned out to be a fruitful association as he finished as the team's leading wicket-taker of the season with 18 wickets in his kitty.

His slinging action and toe-crushing yorkers at 140+ kmph with impeccable accuracy made life difficult for the batsman. Batsmen were looking to survive when he was bowling and tried attacking others for runs. Teams were successful in doing so and hence negotiated his overs with minimal damage.

His spells of 4-0-15-3 against Chennai Super Kings and 4-1-19-3 against Deccan Charges exemplified the threat he posed to the opposition batsmen. His economy rate of 6.3 runs per over was best among fast bowlers who have played more than five matches. His exploits in the death overs were one of the highlights of Mumbai's season.

#8 Kolkata Knight Riders - Ishant Sharma - 11 Wickets

Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders had a tumultuous season in 2009 with every strategy adopted by their coach John Buchanan backfiring.

They spent a whopping US$ 600,000 on Bangladeshi pacer Mashrafe Mortaza who was their only buy at the auction. Having spent 12 times of his base price, KKR expectations were high. But he could play only one game which turned out to be a nightmare with figures of 4-0-58-0.

The only encouraging factor in KKR's bowling department was the young pace sensation, Ishant Sharma. With his height and pace, he hurried many a batsman on the fast pitches of South Africa.

But with John adopting a multiple captaincy theory and rotating players just like a football squad, he lost the rhythm as he could muster only 11 wickets. Despite bowling in the powerplays, his economy was just 6.92 which showed his vast potential.

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Edited by Kumud Ranjan