IPL 2015: 16 most memorable bowling moments

Cricket has evolved as a batsman’s game and speaking of Twenty20 (T20) format, the margin for errors further reduces for the bowler. However bowlers too have innovated over the years and much of the credit for a team’s success goes to their bowlers. The recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) saw some wonderful bowling feats.

Suraj Choudhari lists down 16 most memorable bowling moments from this season’s IPL.

1.  Imran Tahir deceives Rajasthan Royals batsmen with his canny spin

Imran Tahir continued his World Cup form into this season of IPL. Tahir foxed RR batsmen with his deceptive spin and almost turned the game for Delhi Daredevils (DD), while they were defending a target of 185 runs. He picked up the wickets of the dangerous looking Deepak Hooda and James Faulkner in the 19th over to turn the game bring DD back in the contest. His googlies were hard to pick as most of the batsmen struggled to pick the discrete change in action. He picked four crucial wickets and gave away just 28 runs in his four overs but the strong RR managed to win the thriller of a contest of the final ball.

2.  JP Duminy stuns Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen with a fabulous bowling show

JP Duminy has always been an underrated bowler in shorter formats. He’s been more than a handy off-spinner and has always managed to provide the much needed breakthroughs. In the 13th game between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and DD, Duminy led his team from the front with a superb all-round performance. In the first innings, he smashed a half-century as DD posted 167 on the board and later broke the spine of SRH’s batting order by picking top four most pivotal wickets in his three overs. He finished his figures with 3-0-17-4. This performance saw his side emerging victorious by four runs.

3.  Ashish Nehra knocks out Royal Challengers Bangalore in their own den

Indian veteran left arm pacer, Ashish Nehra was brilliant with the ball throughout the tournament. He picked 22 wickets in the tournament and held the Purple Cap for a long time in the tournament. In the 20th game between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RCB, Nehra managed to send four RCB’s star batsmen back to the pavilion with his consistent length and line. He hardly bowled any loose deliveries and made the batsmen earn every single run. By giving away just 10 runs in his four overs he picked four wickets. His prized scalps included the top three wickets of Manvinder Bisla, Rilee Rossouw and Virat Kohli. Nehra won the game for CSK on a pitch which had almost nothing for the bowlers as they defended 182.

4.  Mitchell Starc ends Rajasthan Royals’s winning streak

RR had a dream start to the tournament as they won their first five consecutive matches this season. In the 22nd match between RCB and RR, Starc spoilt RR’s winning streak with his figures of three for 22. He walked away with the man-of-the-match trophy. He mixed up the deliveries pretty well and delivered toe-crushing yorkers at a lethal speed of over 90 mph. RR were restricted to 130 as RCB won the game by nine wickets.

5.  Lasith Malinga’s perfect exhibition of death bowling against Sunrisers’ at Wankhede

Malinga wasn’t in best of form when he started but all knew that it was just a matter of time. In a match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and SRH, he sealed four wickets to his name conceding just 23 runs. MI were defending a target of 158 and the match was heading towards a close finish when Malinga bowled a maiden with three wickets in the 19th over! Ultimately SRH fell short by 20 runs.

6.  Brad Hogg shows again why age is just a number for him

Australian chinaman bowler Hogg was the oldest cricketer playing in the IPL. The veteran justified his selection in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side as his mystery befuddled the CSK batsmen. Replacing Sunil Narine in the side, Hogg excelled. His variations were difficult to pick and he bowled at an identical pace. The pitch further assisted his style of bowling as he picked four wickets in his four overs for 29 runs and restricted the big hitting side to 165 runs. KKR went on to win the match by seven wickets.

7.  Zaheer Khan makes a dream comeback

A fit Zaheer Khan is an asset to a side. The Indian pace legend missed the first few matches for DD due to injury but made an enormous impact with his comeback. The left arm pacer contained the KXIP batsmen with his deadly accurate length picking up the wicket of his longtime India teammate Virender Sehwag off the second ball. He picked the wickets of both KXIP openers at an impressive economy of 4.25 which restricted KXIP to 118. DD won the match by nine wickets.

8.  Harbhajan Singh’s tight spell of bowling against Delhi Daredevils

In the 39th game between MI and DD, Harbhajan showed his art of matured cleverness and wisdom with the ball. On a pitch, where all the other bowlers went for runs, he gave away only 11 runs in his four overs and picked up two wickets of promising Shreyas Iyer and destructive Kedar Jadhav. Harbhajan even managed to keep Yuvraj Singh in check. DD were restricted to 152 as MI won by five wickets.

9.  Mitchell Starc and Sreenath Aravind derail the Punjab express

For RCB, their biggest concern was their bowling but Mitchell Starc’s inclusion into the side boosted their confidence and gave other bowlers the freedom to express. Defending 227 against a low morale KXIP wasn’t going to be a tough ask but the RCB bowlers won it in style. Aravind and Starc ripped through KXIP line-up. Aravind finished with 4-0-27-4 and Starc with 4-0-15-4 as KXIP were bowled out for a miserable 88.

10.  Sunil Narine silences his harshest critics

West Indian mystery spinner Narine seemed as if he lost his mojo with the ball but he bounced back emphatically in a match against KXIP to give an illustration of his deceptive bowling. Narine once again displayed his art of spin bowling to perfection when he picked four wickets and gave away only 19 runs in his four overs. He got the key wickets of Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell. This enchanting spell helped KKR to restrict KXIP to a total of 183 runs as they won the contest by a wicket.

11.  Ravindra Jadeja strikes form against Rajasthan Royals

Jadeja failed miserably to make a substantial contribution to the CSK side, a factor which affected the CSK side massively. However he struck form in a contest against RR where he got purchase out of the wicket and utilised it to the fullest. In fact, his spell of four overs, 11 for four turned out to be the second best bowling spell of the tournament and helped CSK to satisfyingly safeguard the target of 158 by 12 runs

12.  Zaheer Khan’s exhibits great skills against the dominant Chennai outfit

Zaheer once again replicated his magical performance against CSK in Raipur; he got rid of the blazing Brendon McCullum and MS Dhoni in his spell. He delivered when DD needed the most and created problems for the CSK batsmen. He was unplayable on most of the times as he swung the deliveries both the ways and kept the batsman dazed. He gave away only nine from his four overs as CSK were restricted to 119 in their 20 overs. DD won the game by six wickets.

13.  Moises Henriques shines with the ball in a bat dominating match

Henriques is considered as one of the most accomplished all-rounders in shorter formats and on this occasion he lived up to his reputation. SRH were defending a target of 81 runs in six overs (D/L method) in a rain affected match, when Henriques came in to bowl the third over of the game. He picked up the prize wicket of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in the only over he bowled and kept his team alive in the hunt as Gayle was on fire. He went for just three runs in one over in a match where RCB chased down 81 from six overs to win the game.

14.  Chris Morris saves the day for Rajasthan Royals in a do-or-die fixture against the Knight Riders

In a do or die match KKR; Morris changed the course of the match in the 14th over as he picked two big wickets of a well set Andre Russell and Surya Kumar Yadav. He also got rid of Gautam Gambhir earlier in his first over with a deadly bouncer and later dismissed the dangerous Shakib Al Hasan. Eventually he managed to achieve brilliant figures of 4-0-23-4, in a willow-dominated match. He helped his side defend the set target of 200 by nine runs.

15.  Mitchell McClenaghan’s three for 16 against Sunrisers in Mumbai’s must-win game

MI bowling attack was furthermore strengthened with the addition of McClenaghan into the side. He’s been among the wicket takers and meant business whenever he came out to bowl. Such brilliance was cited in the virtual knockout clash between SRH and MI. McClenaghan’s figures of 16 for three in his four overs helped MI restrict SRH to 113. The left-arm seamer from New Zealand got the prized wicket of the Orange Cap winner David Warner. Chasing the low total proved out to be a formality for Mi as they won the challenge by nine wickets.

16.  Harbhajan Singh’s wily exhibition against Chennai Super Kings

Harbhajan bowled a magical spell in the first qualifier between CSK and MI to dismiss Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni on two consecutive deliveries. Raina looked was all set to launch a blitzkrieg on the opposition when he was outplayed by Harbhajan’s experience while Dhoni played to the wrong line. His figures of 4-0-26-2 helped his side to successfully contain the formidable CSK side in a crunch game like this. Defending a target of 188 against the star studded batting line-up of CSK requires some serious strategy and determination and MI did the job pretty well as they became the first side to enter the final, which they eventually won.

(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)