Ishant Sharma's 5 best spells in IPL history

On Tuesday, May 2, in Ahmedabad, the Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) by five runs in IPL 2023. As GT remained in the first place and DC continued to lag at the bottom of the points table, neither team's position in the table changed.

Batting first, the Capitals were reduced to 23/5 in five overs after Indian pacer Mohammed Shami's explosive opening burst. In the current IPL season, they unintentionally set the record for losing most wickets in the powerplay overs.

DC recovered to post a reasonable score of 130/8 in their 20 overs, thanks to Aman Khan's heroic half-century (51 runs off 44 balls).

In response, GT initially encountered difficulties as well, as the DC bowlers took advantage of excellent bowling conditions and reduced the hosts to 32/4 in 6.4 overs.

Captain Hardik Pandya scored a steady half-century which kept his team in the game. Rahul Tewatia's 20 runs off 7 balls in the penultimate over helped the hosts go within striking distance as GT needed 30 runs from the final 9 balls.

However, Ishant Sharma brilliantly held off Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, and Hardik Pandya with 12 runs needed in the final over.

Ishant (4-0-23-2) bowled an excellent spell of fast bowling, repeatedly asking questions of the batters. He scalped the crucial wickets of Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar. He swung the ball when it was new and executed the yorkers and the slower balls to perfection in the death overs.

Being a veteran of the game, Ishant has played several seasons in the league. Though he has been at his best in the longest format, there have been many good performances from the tall bowler in IPL also. Let us look back at the top 5 spells bowled by Ishant Sharma in IPL.

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#1 Deccan Chargers vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, IPL 2011

Batting first, the Deccan Chargers posted a fighting total of 129/7 at the end of their 20 overs after a fighting half-century from their captain Kumar Sangakkara.

On a wicket that offered a lot of assistance to the pacers, Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn were expected to make early inroads in the Kochi line-up. Ishant did just that as he destroyed the strong opposition batting line-up.

Ishant took 5 wickets in his 3 overs, giving away just 12 runs at an economy rate of 4. In his spell, he took the wickets of quality players such as Mahela Jayawardene, Parthiv Patel, Kedar Jadhav, Brad Hodge, and Raiphi Gomez. He was awarded the POTM award for his top-quality spell.

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#2 Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, IPL 2011

Ishant and Sehwag were in opposing camps in this match [Pic unrelated]

In a match remembered for Virender Sehwag's scintillating hundred that took the Delhi Daredevils home, Ishant Sharma made the ball talk in the initial overs of the Daredevils' chase. Chasing 176, Delhi was reduced to 25/3 inside the powerplay, thanks to an excellent start by both Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn with the ball.

In his 4 overs, Ishant gave away just 16 runs at an economy rate of 4. He picked up the important wickets of Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha, using the new ball to good effect. However, Sehwag (119 runs off 56 balls) took his side to victory and walked away with the POTM award to spoil his fellow Delhi player's party.

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#3 Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2023

Making a comeback for a struggling DC side in this edition of the IPL, Ishant Sharma contributed immensely to his team's first win in the competition. The veteran seamer is currently not part of the scheme of things for India in Test cricket.

When he played his first game for DC in the season, the former lead pacer for India showed why he is still one of the best fast bowlers in the country.

In his four overs, Ishant Sharma gave away just 19 runs and picked up two wickets at an excellent economy rate of 4.75. He dismissed Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine in a quality spell of fast bowling.

In the end, DC won the match in the final over and Ishant Sharma won the POTM award.

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#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2013

Ishant had the honor of dismissing Sachin Tendulkar in this IPL match [Pic unrelated]

Bowling first, Ishant Sharma broke the backbone of the MI batting line-up, dismissing Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik in the same over.

Ishant cleaned up the 'Little Master' with an absolute peach of a delivery. In his 4 overs, he gave away just 15 runs against a line-up comprising of Tendulkar, Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard, and Ambati Rayudu. His economy rate in the spell was just 3.75.

Chasing 130, Sunrisers Hyderabad got to the total easily, thanks to an unbeaten half-century by Shikhar Dhawan. SRH won the game with 7 wickets in hand and two overs to spare. Ishant Sharma received the POTM award for his exploits with the ball.

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#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2008

The inaugural match in IPL history is fondly remembered for Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 158-run knock off just 73 balls. But Ishant Sharma also played a leading role in that contest, proving why he was considered one of the best young pacers in those days.

Chasing 223, RCB were bowled out for 82 runs. A youthful Ishant Sharma, coming off a great tour of Australia where he bowled a famous spell to Ricky Ponting at Perth, dismissed Rahul Dravid with his very first ball.

The teenager consistently troubled a batting line-up comprising of Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Cameron White, and Mark Boucher.

In his three overs, Ishant gave away just 7 runs at an economy rate of 2.33 and picked up the big wicket of Rahul Dravid. KKR won the game by 140 runs and McCullum was awarded the POTM award.