Harshal Patel now has taken 29 wickets and with two more games potentially left to play, he can overhaul the record set by Dwayne Bravo who has taken the most number of wickets in a single season of the IPL.
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IPL 2021 continues to be super impressive for Harshal Patel. The Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer, who has taken a five-wicket haul and a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians, put up another splendid show in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Harshal took the wickets of Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha, and Jason Holder to end with 3/33. This has taken his tally of wickets to 29 in the entire season. This is the most by any Indian bowler in the history of the IPL. Harshal Patel’s exploits surpassed the mark of 27 set by Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2020. With potentially two more games left to play, Harshal Patel could rewrite the history books.
Harshal Patel’s performance, though, could not help Royal Challengers Bangalore as they lost by four runs. The win for Sunrisers Hyderabad, though, ensured they did not end the season with the least number of points in the tournament. That record was set by Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils. The defeat for Virat Kohli’s team meant that Royal Challengers Bangalore can only finish third and will play in the Eliminator against either Kolkata Knight Riders or Mumbai Indians.
However, the IPL 2021 will be remembered for the exploits of Harshal irrespective of whether RCB go on to win the title or not. With Harshal reaching a special milestone, here is a look at other bowlers who have taken 25 wickets or more in one edition of IPL.
The first individual to breach the 30-wicket mark in one edition of the IPL. The West Indies all-rounder was the key factor in Chennai Super Kings’ run to the final in IPL 2013. From the very beginning, Bravo took wickets at regular intervals but he tended to be expensive as he was mostly bowling in the death. He regularly picked up three-wicket hauls and two-wicket hauls to increase his wickets tally. Perhaps, his best performance came in the First Qualifier against Mumbai Indians. He took 3/9 on the sluggish Arun Jaitley stadium wicket as Chennai Super Kings won by 48 runs. In the final, he took 4/42 but Chennai Super Kings lost by 23 runs to give Mumbai Indians their first IPL title.
In fact, this would not be the first time where Dwayne Bravo would take more than 25 wickets in one single edition. During the 2015 IPL, Bravo ended with 26 wickets, further enhancing his reputation as one of the best in the format.
Kagiso Rabada is one of the finest bowlers in the modern era. His acquisition by the Delhi Capitals is the prime reason why the side is doing so well in three subsequent IPL editions. In the 2019 edition, he picked up 25 wickets and was instrumental in the death overs. However, he raised his game in the 2020 edition with some splendid bowling displays along with his South African teammate Anrich Nortje. The South African duo troubled everyone with pace and opponents could not get on top of him.
Rabada was economical and deadly with the ball in the flat UAE pitches. His best was 4/24 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the second qualifier, Rabada picked up 4/29 to help Delhi Capitals reach the final for the first time in their history. His consistency was simply sublime and at one point, he was involved in a close tussle with Jasprit Bumrah for the Purple Cap. In the end, he won it convincingly.
The 2011 IPL saw Chennai Super Kings coast to their second consecutive title without losing a game at home. But, the IPL will always be remembered for Lasith Malinga and his brilliance. This was the edition that saw Malinga become the ultimate bowler in T20 cricket and for Mumbai Indians. His 28 wickets came at an economy rate of 5.95 and an average of 13.39.
In the fourth match of the 2011 IPL, Malinga took a five-wicket haul against the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. He continued his magnificent form by taking four wickets against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
For average and economy rate, there was none better than Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2020. The ability in the death overs as well as in the powerplay proved to be sublime. Bumrah was once again Mumbai Indians’ ultimate pace option as he took 27 wickets at a staggering economy rate of 6.73 and an average of 14. He reserved his best for the Delhi Capitals.
In two games, he took 3/17 and 4/14 to ensure Mumbai Indians won all their four games against Delhi Capitals. He even shone in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking Virat Kohli as his 100th wicket. The best part was, Virat Kohli was Bumrah’s first IPL victim in 2013. The start of the IPL was also spectacular for him, when he took 4/20 against Rajasthan Royals
Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to win IPL 2016 on the back of two individuals. David Warner led from the front and blasted 848 runs to counter the awesome form Virat Kohli had. Apart from Warner, there was Bhuvneshwar Kumar. His death bowling and calmness under pressure saw him end with 23 wickets at an average of 21. Bowling at the death meant immense responsibility and Bhuvneshwar fulfilled that brilliantly.
However, things became better for Bhuvi in 2017 when he upped his game in a big way. Bhuvneshwar topped the charts in an impeccable way with his consistency. He started the tournament with two consecutive three-wicket hauls. But, it was in the match against Kings XI Punjab that Bhuvneshwar showed his worth. He picked up 5/19 and ensured Sunrisers won the match by a close margin.
The consistency showed by Bhuvneshwar ensured he ended up as the Purple Cap winner for the second consecutive time as he ended with 26 wickets.
He may be 40+ but his enthusiasm and celebrations can put even a youngster to shame. Imran Tahir plays cricket passionately and he has ended up as a useful bowler for any franchise. Be it in the middle overs, powerplay, or at the death, Imran Tahir has been one of the best bowlers. His peak came in the 2019 edition of the IPL for Chennai Super Kings. In 2017, he was one of the vital cogs in Rising Pune Supergiant and he showed his worth again in 2019.
The tournament began with an ultimate bang for Tahir as he took 3/9 on a dustbowl in Chepauk against Royal Challengers Bangalore. That set the tone for him. Tahir took 4/27 against Kolkata Knight Riders. In that period, he bowled with tremendous economy and got wickets. His best haul of 4/12 came against the Delhi Capitals as the MA Chidambaram stadium proved to be good to him. Although Chennai Super Kings lost the final by one run to Mumbai Indians, Tahir had shown he was at his best by winning the Purple Cap. But, since then, Tahir has not been a regular for Chennai Super Kings.
After Malinga, the next bowler to have made an impact was Morne Morkel. Playing for the Delhi Daredevils, he was the main reason why the franchise managed to reach the playoffs in an unexpected manner. Morkel was in prime form, especially in the death overs. He was instrumental in just conceding two runs in the 19th over of a chase against Rajasthan Royals. That spell proved to be crucial as Delhi Daredevils won by one run.
Apart from the heist against Rajasthan Royals, Morkel bowled brilliantly against others. He took 3/18 and 3/23 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers. His best spell came against Kings XI Punjab when he took 4/20. When he missed certain games, Delhi Daredevils suffered in their bowling. Shockingly, he was left out in the second qualifier against Chennai Super Kings and the side suffered a massive defeat.
