Top 5 most expensive spells in IPL history ft. Mohit Sharma

The high-octane world of the IPL throws up moments of brilliance and despair in equal measure. While batters strive to clear boundaries and rewrite records, bowlers toil away in search of wickets and economical spells.

However, sometimes even the best laid plans go up for a toss. Veteran seamer Mohit Sharma recently had one such outing, etching his name in the IPL record books for all the wrong reasons.

His forgettable spell against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium saw him concede a staggering 73 runs in his four overs. This expensive outing has reignited the memory of some of the most wayward bowling spells in IPL history.

On that the note, let us take a look at five of the most expensive bowling spells in the history of the Indian Premier League.

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#5 1/66 - Arshdeep Singh vs MI in Mohali, IPL 2023

Arshdeep Singh for Punjab Kings

This was his fifth IPL season, and Arshdeep Singh has been a vital cog for Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a while. His performances, though, against Mumbai Indians (MI) have been hot and cold, to say the least.

While he bowled a match-winning spell (4/29) at Wankhede, Arshdeep got completely thrashed by the five-time champions in the reverse fixture.

In Match 46 of IPL 2023, Mumbai chased down 215 runs in their second innings against PBKS, where Arshdeep leaked 66 runs. He bowled only one over in the powerplay, where he was hit for 16 runs.

After that captain Shikhar Dhawan held back the left-arm pacer's remaining overs for the death. However, MI batters got better of Arshdeep and smoked him for 50 runs off his last 17 balls.

As a result, Arshdeep finished the day with a spell of 1/66. While other bowlers have also leaked 66 runs, Arshdeep bowled 3.5 overs in that game and thus his economy rate was 17.21.

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#4 1/68 - Reece Topley vs SRH in Bengaluru, IPL 2024

Reece Topley alongside his captain Faf du Plessis

It was a T20 match that was nothing less than a nightmare for bowlers. A match which saw as many as 549 runs scored, the highest aggregate score ever recorded in a match in this format.

The 30th game of IPL 2024 between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) saw 13 bowlers roll their arms but none of them had an economy rate of less than 10 runs per over.

Reece Topley, however, was amongst worst of them as he leaked 68 runs at an economy of 17.00. His first over saw him get hammered for 20 runs. While he bowled a decent next over, where he got the wicket of Abhishek Sharma, Topley's last over ended in the worst possible way.

Abdul Samad took the left-arm English pacer to the cleaners, smashing him for 25 runs in his last over. SRH went on to pile up 287 runs in their 20 overs, the highest ever T20 franchise cricket total.

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#3 0/69 - Yash Dayal vs KKR in Ahmedabad, IPL 2023

Yash Dayal after leaking five back-to-back sixes to Rinku Singh

Yash Dayal was at the receiving end of probably the most dramatic finishes an IPL match ever witnessed. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were set a competitive target of 205 in the second innings by the hosts Gujarat Titans in Match 13 of IPL 2023.

Dayal was having an off day for GT as he leaked boundaries and was away from his radar right from the start. However, the real damage came in the final over.

With KKR needing 29 runs for victory, Rinku Singh unleashed mayhem, taking Dayal to the cleaners. Rinku smashed five consecutive sixes in that final over, single-handedly turning the tide and securing a dramatic win for KKR.

The left-armer was left heartbroken as he even failed to bowl even one decent delivery to Rinku.

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#2 0/70 - Basil Thampi vs RCB, Bengaluru, IPL 2018

Basil Thampi held the unwanted record for more than 5 years

Basil Thampi held the dubious record of conceding the most runs in an IPL encounter for more than five years. The Kerala speedster conceded 70 runs in his four overs while playing for SRH against RCB in IPL 2018.

Bowling first, Thampi was introduced into the attack only in the 8th over, with the RCB score reading 51/2. Moeen Ali launched a brutal attack on Thampi, smashing him for two sixes off his first two deliveries. His first over went for 19 runs as De Villiers also struck a boundary in the same over.

Thampi was straightaway pulled out of the firing line and brought back into the attack to bowl the 13th and 16th overs, where he leaked 18 and 14 runs, respectively.

Thampi's final over, the 19th of the innings, was again very expensive, with 19 runs coming off it. While Colin De Grandhomme struck another six, the cheeky Sarfaraz Khan also hit a four and a maximum. RCB ended their innings at a score of 218/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

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#1 0/73 - Mohit Sharma vs DC in Delhi, IPL 2024

Mohit Sharma and Shubman Gill for GT

The 40th match of IPL 2024 between Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals turned into a nightmare for seasoned pacer Mohit Sharma. Entrusted with the crucial responsibility of containing the in-form Delhi batters, Mohit's spell went disastrously wrong. He leaked a tournament-high 73 runs in his four overs, surpassing the previous record of 70 held by Thampi.

The onslaught was led by Rishabh Pant, who took a particular liking to Mohit's bowling. Pant smashed a phenomenal 62 runs off just just 18 deliveries bowled by Mohit, setting a new IPL record for the most runs scored by a batter against a single bowler in an innings.

The misery for the GT pacer was at its peak in the 20th over. The 35-year-old conceded a staggering 31 runs in the final over, effectively handing over the advantage to Delhi who racked up 224/4 in the first innings.