IPL: 6 most expensive spells by Indian bowlers in tournament history
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most lucrative T20 franchise league in the world.
The bowlers' economy rates are a significant factor in any limited-overs encounter, with the IPL being no different. While a frugal bowling spell can win the match for a team, a couple of expensive overs can turn the tide in the opposition's favour.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman holds the dubious record of the most expensive spell by a foreign bowler in the history of the IPL. The Afghanistan spinner conceded 66 runs in his 4 overs while playing for Kings XI Punjab against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019.
Let us take a look at the 6 Indian bowlers who have conceded the most runs in an IPL encounter.
Most expensive spells by Indian bowlers in IPL history
#T5: Ashok Dinda - 0/63 in 4 overs
Ashok Dinda holds the joint-fifth position in the list of Indian bowlers to have conceded the most runs in an IPL innings. The Bengal pacer conceded 63 runs in his 4 overs while playing for the Pune Warriors against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2013.
Ricky Ponting, the MI captain, won the toss and elected to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium, in the 6th season of the IPL. Dinda was brought in to the attack to bowl the 3rd over, with the MI score reading 11 for no loss.
After he bowled a wide, Dinda was smashed for 4 consecutive fours by Sachin Tendulkar off his first four legitimate deliveries. Even though no runs came off the last 2 balls, the over had gone for 17 runs.
Dinda was taken out of the attack after this mauling and brought back to bowl the 15th over. By that time, the Mumbai franchise had reached a score of 104/2 and was looking to press the accelerator with 8 wickets in hand.
Although the right-arm pacer bowled a decent over, it still went for 11 runs. While Rohit Sharma struck a boundary off the second delivery, he was fortunate to be dropped by Abhishek Nayar off the final ball of the over.
Sharma took full advantage of this let-off in Dinda's next over. He smashed two consecutive sixes, with the second one coming off a no-ball, as 19 overs were scored off the over.
Dinda was again dispatched for 2 consecutive sixes by the current MI captain in the final over of the innings. With the over going for 16 runs, Ashok Dinda finished his 4-over spell, conceding 63 runs without claiming a wicket.
This assault helped the 4-time IPL champions reach a score of 183/3 in their allotted 20 overs. They restricted the Pune Warriors to a score of 142/8 to eventually win the match by 41 runs.
#T5: Varun Aaron - 2/63 in 4 overs
Varun Aaron is the other bowler at the tied-fifth spot in the list of Indian bowlers to have conceded the most runs in an IPL match. The Jharkhand pacer also conceded 63 runs in his 4 overs while playing for the Delhi Capitals (DC), then called Delhi Daredevils, against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2012.
Virender Sehwag, the DC skipper, won the toss and elected to field first at Chepauk, in the fifth edition of the IPL. Aaron was given the ball only in the 6th over, by which time CSK had gotten off to a flying start, having scored 52 runs without any damage.
Murali Vijay made the best use of the field restrictions in the last over of the powerplay, smashing three fours. With Aaron also bowling a wide delivery, his first over went for 13 runs.
The express pacer came back to bowl the 9th over and struck immediately, getting Michael Hussey caught behind. But his joy was short-lived as Vijay and Suresh Raina struck a boundary each, with a total of 9 runs coming off the over.
After his first 2 overs had gone for 22 runs, Aaron was brought back to bowl at the death. A total of 16 runs came in the 17th over of the innings bowled by him. Although he got rid of MS Dhoni in that over, Vijay and the CSK captain also smashed two fours and one four respectively in the same over.
But the worst was yet to come, as Aaron's final over went for a massive 25 runs. He got a mauling from the blade of Dwayne Bravo, with the Trinidadian hitting him for 2 fours and 2 sixes off consecutive deliveries.
Although Varun Aaron did take 2 wickets, his 4 overs had gone for 63 runs. With most of the other bowlers also having a bad day, the 3-time IPL champions amassed a massive 222/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
DC was bowled out for 136 runs, with the Chennai franchise winning the match by a huge margin of 86 runs.
#T3: Sandeep Sharma - 1/65 in 4 overs
Sandeep Sharma is tied-third on the list of Indian bowlers who have conceded the most runs in an IPL encounter. The Punjab medium-pacer conceded 65 runs in his 4 overs while playing for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2014.
George Bailey, the KXIP captain, won the toss and put the home team in to bat, in the seventh season of the IPL. Sharma bowled a decent first over, conceding just 6 runs, even though the first ball was dispatched for a four by Aaron Finch.
The swing bowler's second over also did not give any signs of the things to follow. SRH only managed 7 runs in that over, with Finch hitting another boundary.
But all hell broke loose in Sharma's 3rd over as Shikhar Dhawan carted him for 4 fours and a six. His problems were accentuated by the two no-balls he bowled on the first 2 deliveries, as 26 runs were conceded in that over.
The right-arm bowler was brought back into the attack to bowl the 19th over. This over again went for 26 runs, with Naman Ojha hitting him for 2 fours and 2 sixes. Although Sharma dismissed Moises Henriques, he did not do himself any favours by bowling another no-ball that was dispatched for a six by Ojha.
SRH closed their innings at 205/5 in their allotted 20 overs, with Sandeep Sharma conceding 65 runs in his 4 overs.
Facing a daunting target, the KXIP batsmen went on the attack from the word go. Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell and Bailey played exhilarating innings, as the Punjab franchise chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand and 8 balls to spare.
#T3: Umesh Yadav - 0/65 in 4 overs
Umesh Yadav is the other bowler to hold the joint-third position in the list of Indian bowlers to have conceded the most runs in an IPL innings. The Vidarbha pace bowler conceded 65 runs in his 4 overs while playing for the Delhi Capitals against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2013.
David Warner, the DC captain, won the toss and opted to field first at the Kotla, in the sixth edition of the IPL. Yadav was brought in to the attack to bowl the 6th over, with RCB restricted to a score of 32/2 in the first 5 overs.
His first over went for just 8 runs, with Virat Kohli stroking a boundary off the last delivery. Yadav's next over, the 9th of the innings, went for 10 runs with another four from the blade of the RCB captain.
The right-arm pacer faced the music when he came back into the attack in the slog overs. The 18th over of the innings went for 24 runs, as Kohli clobbered a couple of sixes and a four, with AB de Villiers also hitting a maximum.
Kohli smashed another couple of sixes and fours each in Yadav's last over, although he was run-out off the last delivery while trying to steal a second run to get to his maiden IPL century.
RCB finished with a score of 183/4 in their allotted 20 overs. Umesh Yadav's last over went for 23 runs, and he thereby conceded 65 runs in his 4-over spell.
The Delhi franchise put up a good fight in the chase. They finished their 20 overs at a score of 179/7 to eventually lose the match by just 4 runs.
#2: Ishant Sharma - 0/66 in 4 overs
Ishant Sharma occupies the second spot in the list of Indian bowlers who have conceded the most runs in an IPL match. The Delhi seam bowler conceded 66 runs in his 4 overs while playing for SRH against CSK in IPL 2013.
Kumar Sangakkara, the SRH captain, won the toss and invited the away team to bat first, in the sixth season of the IPL. Sharma was hit for 2 fours by Michael Hussey in the second over of the innings, with a total of 11 runs coming in the over.
Murali Vijay took the attack to Sharma in his next over, the 5th of the innings, blasting three sixes off consecutive deliveries as 18 runs came in the over.
The right-arm pacer was taken out of the attack and brought back to bowl the 10th over. But there was no significant change in his fortunes. 12 runs came off the over, with Hussey hitting another maximum off the last delivery.
But it was Suresh Raina who gave Sharma a real hammering. The lanky pacer's last over went for 25 runs, as Raina clobbered 4 boundaries and a six.
CSK, the 2nd most successful team in the IPL, finished their innings at a mammoth score of 223 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Ishant Sharma conceded 66 runs in his 4 overs, the most expensive spell in the IPL at the time.
SRH, the 2016 IPL champions, were never in the hunt during the run chase. They eventually finished at a score of 146/8 to lose the match by 77 runs.
#1: Basil Thampi - 0/70 in 4 overs
Basil Thampi holds the dubious record of conceding the most runs by an Indian bowler in an IPL encounter. The Kerala speedster conceded 70 runs in his 4 overs while playing for SRH against RCB in IPL 2018.
Kane Williamson, the SRH captain, won the toss and put the home team in to bat, in the eleventh edition of the IPL. Thampi was introduced into the attack only in the 8th over, with the RCB score reading 51/2.
Moeen Ali launched a brutal attack on Thampi, smashing him for 2 sixes off his first two deliveries. His first over went for 19 runs as De Villiers also struck a boundary in the same over.
Thampi was straightaway pulled out of the firing line and brought back into the attack to bowl the 13th over. But the break did not produce the desired results as 18 runs came off his comeback over. While De Villiers hit a boundary and a six, Ali also hit a four to bring up his half-century.
The right arm-pacer had to be taken out of the attack again, only to be brought back to bowl the 16th over after Rashid Khan had dismissed both his tormentors. But there was no respite for Thampi as Colin de Grandhomme hit him for a boundary and a six, with another 14 runs coming in the over.
Thampi's final over, the 19th of the innings, was again very expensive with 19 runs coming off it. While De Grandhomme struck another six, the cheeky Sarfaraz Khan also hit a four and a maximum.
RCB ended their innings with a score of 218/6 in their allotted 20 overs. The 70 runs Basil Thampi conceded off his 4 overs were not only the maximum runs conceded by an Indian bowler, but also the most any bowler had conceded in the history of the IPL.
Despite the best efforts of Williamson and Manish Pandey, SRH was restricted to a score of 204/3 in their 20 overs. RCB won the high-scoring match by a narrow margin of 14 runs.