In fast-paced T20 cricket, bowlers often find themselves on the receiving end, with batters giving them a thrashing. However, a few notable bowlers have used their craft to the best of their abilities, dominating the opponent’s batting unit.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen several bowlers rule the roost against a particular team, scalping heaps of wickets.
In this article, we look at the top 10 bowlers with the most wickets against a single opponent in the IPL.
Most Wickets against a Single Opponent in IPL
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Narine | 27 | 36 | Punjab Kings |
| Umesh Yadav | 22 | 35 | Punjab Kings |
| Dwayne Bravo | 22 | 33 | Mumbai Indians |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 23 | 33 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Mohit Sharma | 21 | 33 | Mumbai Indians |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 21 | 32 | Punjab Kings |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 30 | 32 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 23 | 31 | Punjab Kings |
| Lasith Malinga | 21 | 31 | Chennai Super Kings |
| Amit Mishra | 21 | 31 | Rajasthan Royals |
Key Insights
Umesh Yadav holds the record for taking the most wickets against a single opponent in the IPL.
Yuzvendra Chahal, the IPL’s leading wicket-taker, has bagged 25 or more wickets against four different opponents in the league. (Check out Yuzvendra Chahal’s year-wise performance in the league.)
There are over 34 bowlers who have picked up at least one five-wicket haul against a single IPL team.
James Faulker is the only bowler with two fifers versus an opponent. Representing Rajasthan Royals, he delivered figures of 5 for 20 and 5 for 16 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in consecutive matches in 2013.
Speaking of four-fers, Sunil Narine has three against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. All of them came while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Irfan Pathan have bowled five or more maiden overs against one team. Bhuvi has done so against Chennai Super Kings, while Pathan did it versus Mumbai Indians. (Check out Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s year-by-year in the here.)
Among the bowlers who have bowled in 10+ innings and picked up 20+ wickets, Lasith Malinga has the best bowling average (14.22 vs Delhi) and Harshal Patel has the best strike rate (11.5 vs Mumbai).
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