With flat pitches, small boundaries and power-hitters all geared up to dominate the matches, the IPL is often hailed as one of the most intense battlegrounds for bowlers. With not even a tiny margin of error for bowlers, the IPL matches add immense pressure on them to pick up crucial wickets right in the initial overs.
Over the years, while seasoned bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine and a few others have thrived under pressure and dominated the batting lineups of the opponent teams with their annihilating bowling attacks, numerous other bowlers have crumbled under high-pressure situations and proved to be a bit too expensive for their respective teams.
In this article we will take a look at the top four most expensive howling spells in the history of the IPL that were nothing short of a nightmare.
IPL’s Top 4 Most Expensive Bowling Spells
Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s 0/66 vs SRH – IPL 2019
Often hailed as one of the deadliest mystery spinners, Afghanisthan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman witnessed one of the most unfortunate bowling stings against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad during the IPL 2019 season. On a flat, batting-friendly pitch, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was forced to bowl defensively against SRH’s opening batsmen Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, which proved to be a blunder for the Afghan bowlers as his defensive lines were brutally punished.
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Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s signature mystery spinners shockingly backfired, and he ended up giving away 66* runs in a total of four overs, putting Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in an extremely tight spot. The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad eventually defeated Kings XI Punjab by a huge margin of 45* runs.
Yash Dayal’s 0/69 vs KKR – IPL 2023
At the second spot in our list of the top four most expensive bowling spells in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have Yash Dayal’s 0/69 in his four-overspell for Gujarat Titans (GT) against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad at the IPL 2023 season. Yash Dayal was smashed all over the ground throughout the match, especially by KKR’s Rinku Singh in the final over.
Just when KKR required a total of 29* runs in the last over, Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal’s spin deliveries, pulling off one of the greatest and most memorable heists in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Well, although Gujarat Titans (GT) fans were looking forward to a sensational bowling spell from Yash Dayal, the bowler ended up having a tough time against KKR’s lethal batting lineup and eventually succumbed to it.
Luke Wood’s 1/68 vs DC – IPL 2024
In the iconic Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2024 season, MI’s Luke Wood shockingly proved to be one of the most expensive bowlers for the entire team. Luke Wood bowled a total of four overs in the match and allowed a frightening total of 68* runs, which played a major role behind Delhi Capitals (DC) mammoth total of 257* runs in 20 overs at a loss of just four wickets.
At an economy rate of 17.00, Luke Wood proved to be one of the most disappointing bowlers for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the match. Luke Wood’s wicket came in the 14th over of the match when Tilak Verma caught DC’s Shai Hope at deep mid-wicket. Despite the breakthrough, Wood continued struggling against the robust batting lineup of the Delhi Capitals (DC) throughout his expensive four-over bowling spell. Eventually, Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by a margin of 10* runs.
Jofra Archer’s 0/76 vs SRH – IPL 2025
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four most expensive bowling spells in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have Jofra Archer’s 0/76 in his four-over spell for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second match of the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
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Rajasthan Royals (RR)’ opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) of the IPL 2025 season on 23 March 2022, proved to be one of the bizarre matches for the RR supporters, as Jofra Archer conceded 76 runs without taking a wicket in his four-over spell which eventually proved to be expensive for his team. As of 24 March 2025, Jofra Archer’s 0/76 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is the most expensive bowling spell in the history of IPL so far.
