Indian Premier League is synonymous with big-hitting. IPL has a played a big role in transitioning cricket from a five-day game to a three-hour non-stop entertainment. People love watching the ball sailing out of the ground and with the coming of IPL, one gets to see a lot of those.
The cash-rich league perhaps has made cricket a batsman’s game. Bowlers getting plundered for 40-50 runs in their 4-over spell have become a common sight. However, on some occasions, the bowler too made the life difficult for the batsmen and bowled exceptionally well against formidable batting line ups.
On that note, we take you through the five most economical spell in IPL history:
5. Rahul Sharma: 4-0-7-2
Playing for Pune Warriors in 2011 edition of IPL, Rahul Sharma produced an exceptional spell of bowling against Mumbai Indians. On a slow and turning track, he spun a web around Mumbai batsmen, giving away just 7 runs in his four-over spell. He took two crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma and TL Suman during his spell. With that performance, he also became the first bowler to have given away seven or less than seven runs in four overs in a match.
4. Lockie Ferguson: 4-1-7-2
The New Zealand fast bowler, Lockie Ferguson made his debut in IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017 edition. Batting first, RCB had restricted Pune to 157 for 3 in 20 overs. RPS needed their bowlers to put up an exceptional performance to get the better of RCB. Much to their delight, Ferguson stepped up to the occasion and put on a special performance. He bowled at the right lengths and gave away just 7 runs in his 4 fours and also took the crucial wicket of AB de Villiers. His performance helped the side beat RCB by 61 runs in the end.
3. Fidel Edwards: 4-1-6-0
The fourth match of IPL 2009 saw a special performance from Fidel Edwards at Cape Town. Playing for Deccan Chargers, Edwards didn’t ball a single bad ball against the likes of Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Sourav Ganguly. Boundaries just didn’t arrive in the powerplay overs as Edwards gave away only 6 runs in his four overs. KKR, in the end, were bundled out for just 101 in the first innings.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal: 4-1-6-1
Over the last few years, Yuzvdendra Chahal has been a consistent performer for RCB in IPL. The 2019 IPL opener between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings witnessed the best economical spell of his IPL career.
After RCB got bundled out for just 70 runs in the innings, Yuzvendra Chahal tried his best to not let CSK win the game easily. He gave away just 6 runs in his four overs while also picking an important wicket of Shane Watson. His efforts, however, went in vain as CSK chased down the target in 17.4 overs.
1. Ashish Nehra: 4-1-6-1
Ashish Nehra is counted amongst the best left-arm seamers the world has ever seen. His ability to angle the bowl into the right-handers troubled a lot to the opposition batsmen. He has not only performed exceptionally for India but has a stellar record in IPL as well. His most economical spell came against Kings XI Punjab in 2009 IPL.
After Delhi was restricted to just 120 runs in the first innings, Nehra bowled his heart out to not let Punjab take win easily. He conceded just 6 runs in his four overs while taking the crucial wicket of opener Sunny Sohail. His efforts though weren’t enough for the side as KXIP chased down the total in 19.1 overs.
