Trent Boult playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL
And there have not been many bowlers who took wickets in the opening over, but a few of them have done it various times. In this blog, we will be taking a look at the top five bowlers who have the most number of wickets in the first over of the IPL matches.
Known for playing football in both international and IPL matches, Trent Boult undoubtedly tops the list for taking the most wickets in the opening over of the innings. He has taken an impressive total of 30 wickets in 97 innings during the first over, which is also the reason why fans and analysts call him the first-over specialist of the IPL. Boult has also been an economical bowler for the teams in which he played, having a total of 370 dot balls during the first over itself.
He has also conceded just 522 runs in total in the 97 innings where he bowled the first over, with 68 fours and 9 sixes only coming off the same. With an impressive economy of just 5.38 runs, he is able to put pressure on the batters early and also take advantage to take wickets early for his team. In the first over only, Trent Boult holds an impressive average of 17.40 runs per wicket.
Tied for the most wickets by a pacer in the IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar stands in second place when it comes to the list of most wickets in the first over of an innings. The Swing King holds 27 wickets across 127 innings in the first over of the match. With just three wickets remaining to tie with Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar will be looking forward to grabbing the opportunity this IPL season. Along with that, he holds an impressive total of 494 dot balls in the first over, which shows the challenges faced by the batters while facing his deliveries initially.
He has also been economical for the team in the first over, having an economy rate of just 5.04, as he has conceded only 641 runs across 127 innings in the first over. Along with that, he has also been smashed for 61 fours and 4 sixes only during the same, highlighting the difficulties batters usually face to settle against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. His first-over average stands at 23.74, and he also holds a strike rate of 77.98.
A bowler whose name various cricket fans can never forget in the Indian Premier League is Praveen Kumar, who is also regarded as one of the early first-over legends of the sport. Praveen holds 15 wickets in the first over across 89 innings, highlighting his dominance when he was a crucial part of the tournament. In these 89 innings, he has also managed to bowl 339 dot balls, which resulted in early pressure situations for most of the batters, resulting in them losing their wickets.
Praveen Kumar holds an impressive economy rate of just 5.04 runs in the first over, and a strike rate of 78.46 shows his capability to take quick wickets for the team when needed. However, his average is slightly high for the first over, standing at 29.93, as he has also conceded 449 runs in 89 innings. He has also conceded just 58 fours and 4 sixes, showcasing how challenging it was earlier for the batters to smash boundaries in the first over. Praveen Kumar also holds an economy of 5.04, with an average of just 29.93 in the first over.
A name that various fans could not have expected to be on this list is Deepak Chahar, who is known for his effective all-around skills. He stands at number four in the list of bowlers with the most wickets in the first over in the Indian Premier League, with 13 wickets in 77 innings. Although Chahar has not been a primary bowling option for several games, he has been a crucial bowler for CSK for a long time. Developing his skills as a bowler, Chahar was also able to get 260 dot balls, which shows the trouble he gave to the batters early in the game.
His strike rate stands a bit high at 102.83 in the first over, and his economy rate is also a bit higher at 6.48 runs per over. Chahar has also been smashed with 70 fours and 7 sixes in the first over itself, which shows that sometimes he has been costly for the teams lately. However, such an aggressive batting mindset has also helped him to get wickets in the first over, as he also holds an average of 38.07, making him one of the most prolific options for the team to take wickets in the first over.
Nightmare for some and underrated for many, Sandeep Sharma also holds his name in the list of most wickets by a bowler in the first over in the Indian Premier League. Holding the same number of wickets as Deepak Chahar, Sandeep stands at the 5th spot with 13 wickets in 78 innings. However, he is known for unpredictable line and length, which is enough to tackle the batsman early in the innings, giving them almost no time to settle. Due to this reason, he has an economy rate of just 5.41 runs in the first over.
Sandeep Sharma has also bowled an impressive total of 270 dot balls out of the 468 deliveries he has bowled in the first over throughout his career. The batters were only able to score 422 runs against him in 78 innings, including 52 fours and 6 sixes. Being a primary bowler for Rajasthan Royals for a long time, he has also helped the team take out dangerous batsmen such as Virat Kohli in the early stages of the game. Sharma holds an average of 32.46 and a strike rate of 87.60 in the first over.
Although the Indian Premier League has been popular among the fans for its explosive batting performances, which are in almost every match, these bowlers have proven that the batters cannot dominate the game every time. Their ability to take wickets in the first over helped them to turn the cricket scorecards into football scorecards for the fans, adding another layer of excitement.