IPL 2020: Five most memorable spells of the tournament

After almost two-months of thrilling games, Super Over finishes and no-show run chases, the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) came to an end with Mumbai Indians (MI) defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final of the tournament by 5 wickets to lift the coveted trophy for the fifth time. It would not be wrong to say that this season of the T20 Championship was truly owned by the bowlers as with their blazing spells, they single-handedly helped their teams in winning the games one-sided.

In this article, let’s take a look at some of the best bowling spells of IPL 2020.

5. Lockie Ferguson ( 3/8 and 2/2 in Super Over) vs SRH

While playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) , Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) could manage to post only 163 on the board. Batting second, SRH had an explosive start and had shifted the momentum completely on their side, however, New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson, who was making his maiden appearance in IPL 2020, bowled a stunning spell by giving just 8 runs in his 4 overs. The pacer also took three main wickets of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg to help his team make a comeback. Lockie then won the match for his team by bowling two brilliant deliveries to send David Warner and Abdul Samad back to the pavilion in the Super Over while giving just 2 runs. KKR easily scored three runs in the Super Over against Rashid Khan and added two crucial points in their bag.

4. Trent Boult – 4/18 vs CSK

In a reverse clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), New Zealand pacer Trent Boult ripped apart CSK’s batting line-up to diminish their hopes of making it to the playoffs. Boult’s parsimonious spell of 4/18 restricted the Men in Yellow to just 114/9 and helped MI in winning the match by 10 wickets. The Kiwi speedster started off by taking the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the very first over of the evening. This was followed by him sending Faf du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja back to the pavilion in the powerplay only. Boult then returned in the last over to take his fourth wicket of the night in the form of England’s all-rounder Sam Curran.

3. Jasprit Bumrah – 4/14 vs DC

Jasprit Bumrah bowled the best spell of his T20 career when his team Mumbai Indians were up against Delhi Capitals in the 1st Qualifier of IPL 2020. Batting first, Mumbai posted a humongous total of 200 on the board. Chasing this target was never going to be easy for Delhi and the match totally slipped from their hands after Bumrah took a 4-wicket haul. The 26-year-old dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams while giving just 14 runs in his 4 overs to take his team into the final.

2. Varun Chakravarthy – 5/20 vs DC

Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the only bowler to take a 5-wicket haul in IPL 2020. Playing against Delhi in a must-win game, the Tamil Nadu Stalwart thrashed the middle-order of the opposition by picking up the wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel. He ended up with the figures of 5/20 in his 4 overs and was rightly adjudged the Man of the Match award.

1. Mohammad Siraj – 3/8 vs KKR

Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Mohammad Siraj registered the best bowling figures of his short cricket career in the fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders. The seamer wreaked havoc with the new ball as he bowled a maiden over while picking up two wickets namely Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana. Siraj again returned in the third over of the evening to dismiss Tom Banton and become the first bowler in IPL history to bowl two consecutive maiden overs. The 26-year-old’s dream bowling figures read 4-2-8-3.