SunRisers Hyderabad were eliminated from the IPL 2023 after losing to the Gujarat Titans on Monday, May 15. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a very memorable evening as he got his best bowling spell.
With his fantastic figures of 5/30, the star seamer became only the third bowler in IPL history to record two five-wicket hauls. SRH limited the Titans to 188/9. Without his spell, the target might have been even worse for SRH. They were prey to a brilliant Shubman Gill century.
It all started when Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the new ball wildly and got Wriddhiman Saha to nick to first slip. He returned to dismiss skipper Hardik Pandya before finishing with three wickets in the last over. Unfortunately SRH batters failed to step up and ended up losing the match.
It was not the first occasion in the IPL that a bowler amassed a five-for or bowled a great stint only to finish up on the losing side.
Here are five similar situations in the tournament’s history:
5) James Faulkner (RR) – 5/16 vs SRH, IPL 2013
James Faulkner was back in action as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) faced the hosts at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
He dismissed both Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan early on before returning to grab three more wickets for his 2nd five-for of the season.
Faulkner’s heroics helped RR in limiting the SRH to a dismal 136/9. None of the Royals hitters got going. SRH limited RR to 113/9 as Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra led a collective choke. Despite his performance with the ball, Faulkner couldn’t influence the outcome.
4) Sunil Narine (KKR) – 5/19 vs KXIP, IPL 2012
Sunil Narine revealed why the Kolkata Knight Riders went all out to obtain his services during the IPL 2012 auction against the Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens.
Narine weaved a web around the Kings, dismissing the dangerous Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh during the powerplay. He was subsequently called upon to bowl the 18th and 20th overs of the innings, and he took three more wickets, finishing with numbers of 5/19.
Unfortunately the target of 135 proved too much for KKR. Piyush Chawla took three wickets and the game came down to the wire, the Knight Riders finished two runs short.
Narine was named Player of the Match for what was certainly a magnificent spell of bowling.
3) Umran Malik (SRH) – 5/25 vs GT, IPL 2022
Umran Malik performed remarkably well when SRH faced the Gujarat Titans at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2022. Wriddhiman Saha seemed ready to chase the target of 195/6.
Umran was given the ball following the powerplay, and he bowled a frightening stretch of quick bowling throughout the middle overs. Attacking the stumps with raw speed on a decent pitch, he sent them flying at will and chopped the Titans’ middle order to size.
By the end of his spell in the 16th over, he had five wickets to his name in what was certainly an unplayable and spectacular spell of bowling.
Unfortunately for him and SRH, Rashid Khan crushed their hearts by hitting Marco Jansen for 25 runs off the last over to pull off a sensational victory.
2) Anil Kumble (RCB) – 4/16 vs Deccan Chargers, IPL 2009
When Anil Kumble dismissed Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist for a duck in the first over of the IPL 2009 final, the Royal Challengers Bangalore appeared to be on their way to success.
Herschelle Gibbs formed two helpful combinations with Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma when the Chargers stumbled.
The biggest thorn in their flesh was Kumble, who broke each of those stands. The Challengers needed only 144 runs to win their first title and started well despite losing Manish Pandey early on.
However, RCB had several stumbling blocks along the road, with Gilchrist pulling off a brilliant defence. This allowed the Chargers to win the championship.
Kumble was named the Player of the Match award for his excellent bowling performance.
1) Adam Zampa (RPS) – 6/19 vs SRH, IPL 2016
Imagine racking up a six-for in a T20 match and still losing. Unfortunately for Adam Zampa, that is exactly happened in IPL 2016.
The SunRisers were kept crushed throughout their batting. MS Dhoni instructed Zampa to bowl three overs at the end, and he produced a cluster of wickets that began with Yuvraj Singh in the 16th.
He bamboozled the SRH batting order with a brilliant show of guile, spin, and drift. He ended with numbers of 6/19.
However, Pune’s batsmen fell short of a 138-run goal. As SRH won by four runs, Zampa emerged as a sad hero. His figures are still the best bowling performances in a losing cause in the IPL.