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After five successive defeats, Delhi Capitals finally opened their account in this year’s IPL. They made wholesale changes to their playing XI and among the many names, Ishant Sharma made a comeback. After 2019, Ishant Sharma played his first game in the IPL and made an immediate splash.
His accuracy and inward movement caused a lot of trouble for the KKR batters and Ishant showed why he can once again have a great IPL season. He was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant spell as Delhi won this game to get their season up and running.
We take a look at three of the best spells by Ishant Sharma in the IPL:
#3 2 for 15 vs Mumbai Indians, 2013
Back in 2013, Mumbai Indians took on the revamped SunRisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Mumbai won the toss and decided to bat first, but the SRH bowlers were on the money from the word go.
Ishant Sharma led the attack with the new ball and hit his stride almost instantly. He got rid of Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik to set Mumbai back. The visitors could not recover from these early jolts and limped their way to 129 in 20 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan led the chase with a superb 73 off 55 balls as SRH chased down the total in the 18th over. Ishant Sharma was adjudged player of the match.
#2 2 for 19 vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2023
Ishant Sharma, 34, bowled a superb spell with the new ball in his first IPL match in more than two years. The fast bowler was unsold last season and had only played a combined four matches in the 2020 and 2021 seasons of the IPL.
However, he was in his element and kept KKR in check with a fine spell of 1 for 14 in his three overs in the powerplay. He then came back and claimed another wicket and ended with figures of 2/19 in four overs and was named player of the match.
Ishant combined brilliantly with Anrich Nortje as KKR couldn't really get going. They faced a total of 67 dot balls and eventually ended with just 127. Delhi won this match in the final over to open their account this season after a string of five consecutive defeats.
#1 5 for 12 vs Kochi Tuskers, 2011
Ishant was at his absolute best for the Deccan Chargers back in 2011. In this match against the Kochi Tuskers, the lanky fast bowler wreaked havoc and ended with a five-wicket haul.
Kochi were chasing a modest target of 130 runs from 20 overs, but they were blown away by the brilliance of Ishant Sharma. They were reeling at 6/11 after just four overs.
Mahela Jayawardena's Kochi floundered big time and were knocked over for just 74 runs. This remains one of the greatest spells of bowling by an Indian pacer in the IPL.
