‘T20 is a batsman’s game’, this is a phrase which the bowlers in the Indian Premier League seemed to have accepted in the last few seasons. But in this edition, the bowlers have come together as a deadly force for all the batsmen.
Bowlers from all the teams have come up with new variations such as the knuckle ball and have kept the batsmen guessing throughout the season.
The spinners have used the pace of the wicket brilliantly and the fast bowlers have concentrated on their shape and swing.
As Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant get ready to play the IPL 10 final in Hyderabad, here’s a look at the top 5 bowling performances of the edition.
1. Bhuvi’s 5/19 vs Punjab
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s premier fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar turned the match on his team’s favour with figures of 5/19 in the match against Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad on 17 April.
After SRH posted a moderate total of 159/6, Kumar dismissed Hashim Amla and Glenn Maxwell by the third over and reduced KXIP to 16/2.
When Manan Vohra was single-handedly taking the match away, Bhuvneshwar came back into the attack in the latter part of the innings and quickly removed Mohit Sharma and KC Cariappa.
In the third ball of the 18th over, he sealed the match for Hyderabad, when he trapped Vohra LBW for 95 runs.
2. Tye’s Magical Debut
What goes into the mind of a bowler when he is making an IPL debut. Does he think if I can get 3 wickets I will be a happy man? Something along those lines?
But Gujarat Lions’ Andrew Tye picked up 5 wickets for 17 runs, which also included a hat-trick, on his IPL debut against Rising Pune Supergiant in Rajkot on 14 April.
The fast bowler picked up a wicket in his very first over, when he unleashed the knuckle ball and deceived Rahul Tripathi. The opening batsman was out caught for 33 runs.
After dismissing Ben Stokes in the 13th over, Tye worked more magic in the final over.
In the first ball, Tye bowled a full delivery and Ankit Sharma presented a catch to Brendon McCullum.
In the next ball, Manoj Tiwary misjudged the slower delivery and gave a catch to Ishan Kishan at backward square-leg.
On the hat-trick ball, Tye yorked Shardul Thakur and bowled him out to complete the hat-trick.
3. Sandeep Sharma’s Excellent Swing Bowling
Kings XI Punjab’s Sandeep Sharma showed yet again why the Indian team management should keep an eye on him. The 22-year-old, who can swing the ball both ways, had Delhi Daredevils’ top order in shambles in Mohali on 30 April.
He dismissed openers Sanju Samson and Sam Billings by the third over and reduced Delhi to 7/2.
In the 5th over, Shreyas Iyer hit the ball from the toe of the bat and Sharma dived forward and took an excellent one-handed catch.
He came back for a spell in the latter part of the innings and got Kagiso Rabada out for 11 runs.
Delhi were all out for 67 runs and Sharma returned with figures of 4/20.
4. Siraj The Saviour
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s fast bowler Mohammed Siraj saved the day for his team in their last group match against Gujarat Lions in Kanpur on Saturday.
The Gujarat Lions were on course for a big total when openers Dwayne Smith and Ishan Kishan had put up 111 runs in 10.5 overs.
Even after Rashid Khan dismissed Smith in the 11th over, the Lions were still going strong.
Then in the 13th over, Siraj struck twice, dismissing Ishan Kishan and Suresh Raina. Both the batsmen mis-hit their shots and were out caught.
In the 17th over, the fast bowler struck in two consecutive balls. He delivered on the good length area and bowled out James Faulkner and Pradeep Sangwan.
Gujarat, eventually were all out for 154 runs.
The Sunrisers won the match comfortably by 8 wickets and sealed their place in the play-offs.
5. Rashid Khan Spins a Web on Gujarat Lions
In his second IPL match, Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan won all cricket fans’ hearts with his googlies. The leg-spinner, with a simple action, deceived Gujarat’s top order batsman in Hyderabad on 9 April.
He trapped Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch LBW by the 7th over and reduced Gujarat to 42/3.
In the 9th over, Rashid bowled the conventional leg-break and dismissed the captain, Suresh Raina LBW for 5 runs. Gujarat were tottering at 57/4.
Eventually, Gujarat managed to post a meager total of 135/7 and Rashid returned with figures of 3/19.
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