The T20 cricket is often regarded as a graveyard for bowlers. The fielding restrictions and evolution in the batting has made it really tough for bowlers to survive in the shortest format of the game. However, it is not always true, because even in T20, many times teams have struggled against top-quality bowling.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), fans have seen quite a few low-scoring matches where bowling department has overshadowed batting units. With swing and spin supported by some tremendous fielding, teams have often restricted the run flow.
However, not many times teams have managed to survive full 20 overs despite witnessing a failure in batting.
Let’s have a look at five lowest totals in IPL where teams have played 20 overs:
5.) Royal Challengers Bangalore – 96/9 vs Rising Pune Supergiant
In the 2017 edition of the cash-rich league, Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) displayed outstanding effort in the bowling department and during one of the games they stopped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at 96/9 in 20 overs.
RCB were chasing 158 to win the contest but top-quality bowling by Imran Tahir and Lockie Ferguson never really allowed RCB batters to settle down. Tahir picked up three wickets for 18 in 4 overs while Ferguson bagged two scalps for just seven runs in 4 overs.
Virat Kohli with 55 off 48 balls was the only major highlight for the Challengers. No other batsmen could even score in double digits.
4.) Kings XI Punjab – 95/9 vs Chennai Super Kings
In the 25th match of IPL 2015, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowlers exhibited superb effort and restricted Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at 95/9 in 20 overs.
KXIP were chasing a challenging target of 193, but they surrendered against CSK bowling led by Ravindra Jadeja who picked up three wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs.
Apart from Jadeja, Ashish Nehra and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged a couple each. For Kings, Murali Vijay was their highest scorer with 34 runs off 32 deliveries.
3.) Mumbai Indians – 94/8 vs Rajasthan Royals
In the fourth season of IPL, the contest between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) was a cracker of a game. Both the teams showed tremendous bowling and batters struggled for runs.
After winning the toss, Royals elected to field first and their bowlers completely outplayed the MI batting unit. RR spinner Johan Botha claimed three wickets for just 6 runs in his 2-over spell. As a result, MI could only manage to post 94/8 runs in 20 overs.
In reply, MI bowlers also displayed discipline and fought back really hard in the game. Botha, who impressed everyone with his bowling, shined with the willow as well. He scored 45 and guided his side to chase down the paltry total in 18.1 overs.
2.) Kings XI Punjab – 92/8 vs Chennai Super Kings
During the second season of IPL in South Africa, CSK stopped KXIP at 92/8 in 20 overs, thanks to superb bowling by veteran Muttiah Muralitharan. The Sri Lankan legend bagged two wickets for just 8 runs in his 4-over spell.
KXIP were chasing the target of 117, but their batsmen failed to impress in the game. Luke Pomersbach with 26 off 32 balls was their highest scorer.
For CSK, apart from Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Thilan Thushara, and Suresh Raina also picked up two wickets each.
1.) Kolkata Knight Riders – 84/8 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
In the ongoing thirteenth season of the lucrative league, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) scored 84/8 and registered the lowest score in the history of IPL playing full 20 overs. KKR were playing against RCB in the 39th game at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (October 21).
RCB speedster Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers in the game. The right-armer completely bamboozled KKR top-order with his stunning performance. He picked up three wickets in 4 overs and conceded only 8 runs.
Apart from Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two scalps while Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar took one wicket each.
For the Knight Riders, skipper Eoin Morgan scored maximum 30 runs off 34 balls.
