Leading from front – Best bowling figures by IPL Captains
The IPL franchises are showing interest in roping in batting superstars and wicket-keepers to lead their teams. The 2020 IPL might see only Steve Smith (RR) and Shreyas Iyer (Delhi) as the captains capable of rolling their arm. This is one of the reasons why the best bowling figures by a captain don’t come up as often as the best individual scores by captains. Till date, only five 4-wicket hauls have been recorded by captains in the IPL and none of them are since the start of 2016.
Here are the top five bowling figures by captains in the IPL:
5. Yuvraj Singh – 4/29 in 2011:
Yuvraj Singh smashed an unbeaten 32-ball 66 with five sixes during the 2011 season game against Delhi Daredevils while leading Pune Warriors India. Later with the ball, Yuvraj introduced himself when DD were needing 73 from 48 balls with eight wickets in hand. He struck twice in his first over and conceded only 16 runs in his first three overs.
In his final over, Yuvraj picked the wicket of Aaron Finch on the first ball and Venugopal Rao on the last. But 13 runs came in between for Delhi who needed 21 from 12 balls. The Daredevils took only two balls in the 20th over to complete the chase and put Yuvraj’s efforts in vain.
4. Shane Warne – 4/21 in 2010:
Shane Warne led the Rajasthan Royals across the first four seasons but the leg-spinner managed to pick only one 4-wicket haul. During the 2010 season game against Deccan Chargers, Warne introduced himself in the 12th over when the opponents needed only 68 from 54 balls with seven wickets in hand.
In a space of 12 balls he bowled between 14th and 18th over, the Australian took four wickets for six runs. The Chargers, who were 112/3 at a stage, collapsed to 139/7 due to Warne’s heroics and eventually lost the match by two runs despite a gritty 44-ball 73 from Rohit Sharma.
3. JP Duminy – 4/17 in 2015:
JP Duminy got a chance to lead an IPL franchise in 2015 where he was appointed as the skipper of Delhi Daredevils. Duminy, fresh off a hat-trick in the CWC, proved his utility as an off-spinner in a match against SRH. He bowled the 2nd over of SRH’s 168-run chase but couldn’t break the opening stand. He returned in the 7th over and claimed both Warner and Dhawan in space of three balls.
SRH slowly moved towards the target and were 48 runs away from a win in the last four overs. Duminy fancied his chances with the ball in the 17th over which he began by conceding a six. But the South African bounced back by picking wickets of Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan. Duminy finished with analyses of 3-0-17-4 and helped his team to win by four runs.
2. Anil Kumble – 4/16 in 2010:
The first three IPL seasons had a knockout style phase following the league stage. The 2010 edition was an odd one as 3rd place play-off took place between RCB and Deccan Chargers who lost their respective semis. The RCB skipper, Anil Kumble, opened the bowling and took 4/16 in his 3.3 overs. As a result, the Chargers were bundled out for 82, a total which was chased down by RCB losing only one wicket.
1. Anil Kumble – 4/16 in 2009:
The 4-wicket haul in the 2010 3rd place play-off was the 2nd time Kumble took a 4-fer as a captain in the IPL. His first one also came against the Deccan Chargers but in the 2009 final. Interestingly, the leg-spinner recorded figures of 4/16 in both the matches but got to finish his four overs in the 2009 final. Kumble was named player of the final for his bowling effort even though RCB lost by six runs.
