T20 presents the most challenging format for a bowler. With batsmen having the licence to go big from the word go, there is constant pressure on the bowlers. Bowlers have to come up with variations in line and length besides mixing up the deliveries to keep the batsmen guessing. This year’s IPL has seen some thrilling contests and top-notch bowling performances.
Here’s our pick of the top-five deliveries bowled in this year’s IPL:
1. Jasprit Bumrah to KL Rahul (MI vs KXIP)
Kings XI Punjab captain K L Rahul had the chance to see his side home against the defending champions Mumbai Indians. He was batting on 77, his third consecutive fifty, with KXIP needing 24 off 16 balls. Enter Jasprit Bumrah who came in to bowl in the 18th over when the batsmen were on the charge. Bumrah bowled a searing 149 kmph yorker, which castled the off stump of a well-set Rahul. The match turned on its head with Rahul’s dismissal as the match ended up in a tie, followed by a Super Over, and then another. Kings XI Punjab secured a win eventually.
2. T Natarajan to AB de Villiers (SRH vs RCB)
Statistics show that once AB de Villiers is set (batting on 30 or more), he has never been dismissed by a yorker. That was up until this match. In the Eliminator, he was batting on 56 off 42, with two balls left in the 18th over. Natarajan bowled a yorker, which has become his trademark delivery, and it uprooted de Villiers’s middle stump. It wasn't express - about 136kph - but it was executed to perfection. SRH won this match by 6 wickets.
3. Varun Chakravarthy to MS Dhoni (KKR vs CSK)
Of the many fairy tales that Chakravarthy has lived recently, the fact that he bowled MS Dhoni twice in a season is the one that would make him pinch himself most often. Chakravarthy slipped in a quicker one, a 106 kmph slider, which Dhoni missed completely. Dhoni was clearly late on the ball and was bowled neck and crop. CSK won this match in the end by 6 wickets.
4. Mohammed Siraj to Nitish Rana (RCB vs KKR)
Siraj bowled one of the best opening spells by a fast bowler in the tournament. Skipper Kohli’s decision to go for an additional pacer paid rich dividends as Siraj ran through Kolkata’s top order. First, he had Rahul Tripathi caught behind off a perfect outswinger. Next to go was Nitish Rana as the ball swung in late and went through the yawning gap between bat and pad. KKR never recovered from Siraj’s opening spell (3-2-2-3). Siraj finished with figures of 8 for 3 from his four overs, along with two back-to-back maidens, making him the only bowler in IPL history to bowl two maidens in a match. Riding on Siraj’s outstanding spell, RCB won the match by 8 wickets.
5. Jofra Archer to Prithvi Shaw (RR vs DC)
It was the first ball of the match. Shaw did what every batsman looks to do early on in their innings — get a few in the middle of the bat to ease the nerves. Archer landed the ball on a good length, just outside off, as it began to tail in. And that marginal movement was enough for Shaw to get an inside edge, with the ball going on to hit the top of middle stump. DC eventually won the match by 13 runs.