IPL: 5 bowlers with a 5-wicket haul in a losing cause
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most lucrative T20 league in the world. A 5-wicket haul is a rare occurrence in any T20 game, and so is the case in the IPL.
There have been only 20 instances when a bowler has taken a 5-wicket haul in the 12 seasons of the IPL. James Faulkner is the only bowler to have taken two 5-wicket hauls in the history of the prestigious league, both coming in IPL 2013.
Although a 5-wicket haul would more often than not win the match for the team, there have been 5 instances when such a spell has gone in vain in the IPL.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the five bowlers whose 5-wicket hauls came in a losing cause.
5-wicket hauls in a losing cause in the IPL
#1 Munaf Patel - 5/21 - MI vs KXIP (IPL 2011)
Munaf Patel was the first bowler whose 5-wicket haul in the IPL came in a losing cause. His spell of 5/21 came for the Mumbai Indians (MI) against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in IPL 2011.
The MI captain Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and opted to field first, in an away match played at Mohali in the fourth season of the IPL. Patel was given the ball in the 4th over with KXIP off to a steady start, the score reading 18/0 at the end of 3 overs.
The Baroda medium-pacer struck in his very first over, having Paul Valthaty caught at deep mid-wicket with his fourth delivery. He did not pick up a wicket in his 2nd over, and finished his first spell with figures of 1/9.
Patel was brought back into the attack to bowl the 16th over, with the KXIP score reading 124 for the loss of 2 wickets. Although he was struck for a boundary off the first ball by a well-set Shaun Marsh, he accounted for the Australian off the very next delivery, again caught at deep mid-wicket.
The former India seamer then got the better of David Hussey, having him caught at mid-off for a duck. Brought back to bowl the 19th over, Patel struck immediately by having Dinesh Karthik caught at deep square-leg.
He finished his spell with a wicket off his final delivery- Ryan Harris caught brilliantly by Kieron Pollard at long-on. Munaf Patel thus finished his spell of 4 overs with figures of 5/21.
Despite his excellent spell, KXIP managed a decent score of 163/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Chasing 164 for victory, the MI batting fell apart as they were dismissed for a lowly score of 87 runs.
Bhargav Bhatt was the wrecker-in-chief, accounting for 4 Mumbai wickets and getting the Man of the Match in the process. KXIP won the match by a massive margin of 76 runs, with Munaf Patel's spell going in vain.
#2 Sunil Narine - 5/19 - KKR vs KXIP (IPL 2012)
Sunil Narine became the 2nd bowler whose 5-wicket haul in the IPL went in vain. His spell of 5/19 came for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against KXIP in IPL 2012.
The KKR captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to chase, in a home match played at the Eden Gardens in the fifth season of the IPL. On a pitch assisting the spinners, Narine was brought into the attack to bowl the 3rd over, with the KXIP score reading 14 for no loss.
The Trinidadian made an instant impact, and got Adam Gilchrist to top-edge a hoick to be caught at cover. He struck in his next over as well, castling Shaun Marsh to finish his first 2-over spell with impressive figures of 2/5.
Narine came back into the attack to bowl the 18th over, with the KXIP score reading 101/6. He struck with the last 2 deliveries of his 3rd over. While Bipul Sharma was caught behind, Praveen Kumar had his stumps rattled for a golden duck.
The mystery spinner took his final wicket with the fourth ball of the last over of the innings. Harmeet Singh was caught behind trying to play a cheeky shot. Even though Sunil Narine conceded 10 runs in his final over, he still finished with excellent figures of 5/19.
KXIP finished with a fighting score of 134/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Despite gritty knocks from the top-order and Debabrata Das, KKR was restricted to a score of 132/7, narrowly losing the match by just 2 runs.
All the KXIP bowlers played their part, with Piyush Chawla finishing as the most successful bowler with 3 wickets to his credit. Although KKR lost the match, Sunil Narine was still awarded the Man of the Match for his incredible spell.
#3 James Faulkner - 5/16 - RR vs SRH (IPL 2013)
James Faulkner had the misfortune of becoming the third bowler whose 5-wicket haul in the IPL came in a losing cause. His spell of 5/16 came for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2013.
The SRH captain Cameron White won the toss and opted to bat first, at their home ground in the sixth edition of the IPL. But the decision seemed to have backfired, with Faulkner taking a couple of wickets in the 2nd over of the match.
The left-arm seamer bowled Parthiv Patel off an inside edge with his very first delivery. He followed that up by having Shikhar Dhawan caught at point with the last ball of the same over.
Although Faulkner did not take any wicket in his 2nd over, SRH was in deep trouble, with White also sent back to the dugout by Shane Watson in the third over of the innings.
The Tasmanian was reintroduced into the attack to bowl the 17th over, with SRH having recovered to reach a score of 104/4. He made an immediate impact by having the dangerous Darren Sammy caught at long-off, thereby breaking a 56-run partnership.
Faulkner took another couple of wickets in his final over. He first had the top-scorer Biplab Samantray caught at long-on with the second delivery. Dale Steyn was his final victim, clean bowled off the Australian's last ball.
Despite James Faulkner's splendid spell of 5/16, SRH was able to post a score of 136/9 in their allotted 20 overs. This was the second time he had taken a 5-wicket haul against SRH in the same season of the IPL.
Although RR got off to a steady start, they were pegged back in the middle overs and could only manage a score of 113/9 in their 20 overs.
Amit Mishra was their principal tormentor, with his miserly spell of 2/8 in 4 overs. The leg-spinner was awarded the Man of the Match, with James Faulkner's incisive spell going in vain.
#4 Adam Zampa - 6/19 - RPS vs SRH (IPL 2016)
Adam Zampa is the only bowler to finish on the losing side after having bagged 6 wickets in an IPL match. His spell of 6/19 came for the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) against SRH in IPL 2016.
The SRH captain David Warner won the toss and opted to set a target, at Vizag in the ninth edition of the IPL. Zampa was introduced into the attack in the 8th over, with the SRH score reading 40/1.
His first over did not give any signs of things to follow, as he did not pick up any wickets. Although he conceded just 5 runs, he was taken out of the attack after just one over, and was reintroduced to bowl the 16th over, with SRH looking to accelerate the scoring.
The leg-spinner put paid to the SRH hopes by dismissing Yuvraj Singh with his second delivery, caught at long-off while going for a big hit. He struck twice in his 3rd over, having both Kane Williamson and Moises Henriques caught at long-off off consecutive deliveries.
Zampa accounted for 3 wickets in the final over of the innings, after being struck for a six off the first delivery. Deepak Hooda was the first to go, stumped by MS Dhoni off the second ball of the over. The Australian then castled Naman Ojha with the fourth delivery of the over, and followed that up by having Bhuvneshwar Kumar caught at long-on with the final ball.
Adam Zampa thus finished with figures of 6/19 as SRH was restricted to a score of 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing 138 for victory, the RPS batsmen disappointed, as they could only manage to score 133/8 to lose the match by 4 runs. Ashish Nehra was the pick of the SRH bowlers with figures of 3/29. 3 wickets fell in the last over, including the vital run out of Dhoni.
Adam Zampa was awarded the Man of the Match for his excellent spell even though his effort came in a losing cause.
#5 Ankit Rajpoot - 5/14 - KXIP vs SRH (IPL 2018)
Ankit Rajpoot was the last bowler whose 5-wicket haul came in a losing cause in the IPL. His spell of 5/14 came for KXIP against SRH in IPL 2018.
The KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and opted to field first, in an away match at Hyderabad in the eleventh season of the IPL. Rajpoot was right on the money from the word go, having Kane Williamson caught at mid-off while trying to play the pull shot.
The Uttar Pradesh seam bowler struck again in his next over, having Dhawan caught at slip by Karun Nair. His third over also fetched a wicket, with Wriddhiman Saha caught at mid-wicket while trying to go for a slog.
Rajpoot thus finished his first 3 over spell with figures of 3/9. He came back to bowl the final over of the innings and accounted for 2 wickets to complete his 5-wicket haul.
He first disturbed the timber of the top-scorer Manish Pandey with the fourth delivery. His final wicket came off the last ball of the innings- Mohammad Nabi caught at long-off.
Ankit Rajpoot's spell of 5/14 helped KXIP restrict SRH to a score of 132/6 of their allotted 20 overs.
KL Rahul and Chris Gayle gave KXIP a bright start but the batting collapsed after both of them were dismissed. The Punjab-based franchise was bowled out for 119 runs, thereby losing the match by 13 runs.
Although KXIP lost the match, Ankit Rajpoot had the consolation of bagging the Man of the Match award for his excellent bowling spell.