IPL 2017: Top 5 bowlers who have conceded the most runs in an innings

The T20 format has always been considered the ideal format for the batsmen to flourish in, and with flat decks and short boundaries in most IPL stadiums, there has been very little for the bowlers. The bats have become thicker, the pitches have nothing to offer and the result: the ball has travelled to all parts of stadiums.

Batsmen have played fearless cricket and have managed to score at a brisk pace. The powerplay overs with field restrictions tilts the match-up strongly in the favour of batsmen.

Here we have a look at the 5 most expensive spells in IPL 2017 till May 3, 2017:

---

#5 Ravindra Jadeja vs RCB – 4-0-57-0

GL hosted RCB in match no. 20 of the league stage, in what was touted to be a thrilling contest. Put into bat and having gotten to a decent start, Gayle began the onslaught in the 8^th over and pumped Jadeja for two consecutive boundaries.

Jadeja started off by conceding nine off his first over; bowling full, fast and straight did not help his cause. Guilty of being too predictable, he kept firing it in and Gayle kept hitting him with the spin towards the long-on mid-wicket region. Gayle scored 20 off the 4 balls he faced of his second over and the Indian spinner never recovered thereafter.

Kedar Jadhav, in the final over, pumped him for 17 runs, cutting, slogging and caressing the ball inside out over cover.

#4 Ashok Dinda vs MI – 4-0-57-0

Dinda has not been the most economical bowler in the IPL

One over can often change the course of a T20 game, and on April 6, in the second match of the IPL, it seemed as if Ashok Dinda had bowled that over. Steven Smith had won the toss and put MI to bat first, choosing to chase on a flat Pune wicket.

Dinda was not able to get any control with the new ball, as a result of which he kept spraying the ball down the leg side or way outside off stump and got smoked for runs. The actual mayhem began during the death overs.

Hardik Pandya took him to all parts of the pitch, dispatching the low full tosses and the slower length balls, scoring four 6s and one 4 in his final over. He scored a total of 30 runs, making it the most expensive final over of an IPL innings. Dinda also has the ignominious record of two 26-run final overs to add to this.

#3 Lasith Malinga vs KXIP – 4-0-58-0

Malinga’s form has waned in IPL 2017

Occasionally, T20s are stripped of some of the simple joys of cricket, such as timing and technique. This was not the case here though. The pitch at the Holkar Stadium, Indore, was as flat as a highway, and with KXIP opting to bat first, the MI bowling attack had their task cut out.

Amla was at his fluent best and Lasith Malinga’s drop in pace after his injuries made even his slower balls less effective. The South African spotted the slower balls early, and clobbered them into the stands, and even hit the roof with one of the sixes.

His wrists were doing some hefty damage, flicking the ball towards the on side or opening the face of the bat and placing the ball behind point for a boundary. Out of the 58 runs conceded, 51 of them were hit by Amla in a mere span of 16 balls.

#2 Ishant Sharma (4-0-58-0) vs MI – Indore

Ishant Sharma was taken to all parts of the ground by Hashim Amla

On the back of Hashim Amla’s splendid century (104* off 60), Punjab were defending a par total of 199 against MI, on a true Indore wicket with even pace and bounce without much turn. Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler took on the attack from the very first over, managing to score 82 in the powerplay overs.

Ishant Sharma, sharing the new ball with Sandeep Sharma, was carved all over the place by both the openers in his first spell. Coming back for the second spell in the 11^th over, Nitish Rana greeted him with a six off the very first ball.

Failing to bowl yorkers and overpitching it, Hardik hit him for consecutive boundaries, plundering 14 off his last three deliveries and sealing the deal for MI.

#1 Kagiso Rabada (4-0-59-0) vs SRH – Delhi

Yuvraj Singh scored 29 runs off 8 deliveries bowled by Rabada

Coming back after an embarrassing batting performance (67 all out) against KXIP, Delhi Daredevils had to come back hard and strong to stay in contention for the playoffs. Winning the toss and opting to bowl first against a confident SRH batting line-up, the bowlers let the openers get off to a flyer.

Rabada was not getting the ball to hoop in the air, as his usual self, thus erring in his line and getting cut and flicked through the off and on side. Coming back during the death overs, Rabada was resolute in bowling length deliveries in the mid 140s on a sluggish Kotla wicket.

Yuvraj, though, was at his vintage best, timing the ball straight down the ground and flicking it towards the on side. He scored 29 runs off the 8 balls he faced from Rabada and powered SRH to a healthy total.