IPL bowling records: Most wickets, best economy, hat-tricks, and more

The Purple Cap was initiated three weeks after the Orange Cap, which probably shows the emphasis on batting IPL puts ahead of bowling – but then, that is true in any cricket contest. Sohail Tanvir was the first to win the Purple Cap. Since then, barring a few exceptions, the award has been split between CSK and the two Hyderabad franchises.

Dwayne Bravo and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have won the Purple Cap twice, while Pragyan Ojha is the only spinner to have won it. Here is the complete list.

Player	Season	Team	W	Ave	Econ	SR
Sohail Tanvir	2008	RR	22	12.09	6.46	11
RP Singh	2009	DCh	23	18.13	6.98	16
Pragyan Ojha	2010	DCh	21	20.42	7.29	17
Lasith Malinga	2011	MI	28	13.39	5.95	14
Morne Morkel	2012	DD	25	18.12	7.19	15
Dwayne Bravo	2013	CSK	32	15.53	7.95	12
Mohit Sharma	2014	CSK	23	19.65	8.39	14
Dwayne Bravo	2015	CSK	26	16.38	8.14	12
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	2016	SRH	23	21.30	7.42	17
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	2017	SRH	26	14.19	7.05	12
Andrew Tye	2018	KXIP	24	18.67	8.00	14

His best years may be behind him, but Lasith Malinga still stands tall at the head of IPL wicket-takers, though, given his fitness at this stage, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla may still catch up.

Player	Teams	W	Ave	Econ	SR
Lasith Malinga	MI	154	19.01	6.86	17
Amit Mishra	DCh, DD, SRH	146	24.14	7.39	20
Piyush Chawla	KXIP, KKR	140	26.23	7.71	20
Dwayne Bravo	CSK, GL, MI	136	24.17	8.43	17
Harbhajan Singh	CSK, MI	134	27.27	7.05	23
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	PWI, SRH	120	22.44	7.15	19
Sunil Narine	KKR	112	22.30	6.54	20
Umesh Yadav	DD, KKR, RCB	111	28.15	8.32	20
R Ashwin	CSK, KXIP, RPS	110	26.44	6.72	24
Ashish Nehra	CSK, DD, MI, PWI, SRH	106	23.53	7.84	18
Vinay Kumar	KTK, KKR, MI, RCB	105	28.24	8.39	20
Zaheer Khan	DD, MI, RCB	102	27.27	7.58	22

There is no doubt that Sunil Narine has been KKR’s greatest asset over years, and here is reason why.

Only two of the nine most economic bowlers – with a 50-over cut-off – have been pacers: Glenn McGrath and Dale Steyn. Yes, that is what it takes.

Here is a list of the most economic bowlers.

Player	Teams	W	Ave	Econ	SR
Sunil Narine	KKR	112	22.30	6.54	20
Anil Kumble	RCB	45	23.51	6.57	21
Glenn McGrath	DD	12	29.75	6.61	27
Muttiah Muralitharan	CSK, KTK, RCB	63	26.92	6.67	24
Rashid Khan	SRH	38	21.47	6.68	19
Dale Steyn	DC, GL, RCB, SRH	92	25.06	6.72	22
R Ashwin	CSK, KXIP, RPS	110	26.44	6.72	24
Roelof van der Merwe	DD, RCB	21	23.71	6.74	21
Daniel Vettori	DD, RCB	28	31.39	6.78	28
Lasith Malinga	MI	154	19.01	6.86	17
Johan Botha	DD, KKR, RR	25	32.00	6.91	28
Dimitri Mascarenhas	KXIP, RR	19	18.73	6.93	16

Put a 50-wicket cut-off, and Malinga stands way clear of others in terms of bowling average. In fact, nobody else has come within a range of 3 runs per wicket.

Here is the list of best bowling averages in IPL history. Sandeep Sharma’s inclusion may be a revelation.

Player	Teams	W	Ave	Econ	SR
Lasith Malinga	MI	154	19.01	6.86	17
Imran Tahir	CSK, DD, RPS	53	22.26	8.42	16
Sunil Narine	KKR	112	22.30	6.54	20
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	PWI, SRH	120	22.44	7.15	19
Munaf Patel	GL, MI, RR	74	22.94	7.51	18
Sandeep Sharma	KXIP, SRH	83	23.13	7.73	18
Ashish Nehra	CSK, DD, MI, PWI, SRH	106	23.53	7.84	18
Yuzvendra Chahal	MI, RCB	82	23.56	7.77	18
Amit Mishra	DCh, DD, SRH	146	24.14	7.39	20
Dwayne Bravo	CSK, GL, MI	136	24.17	8.43	17
Mitchell McClenaghan	MI	68	24.42	8.54	17

Only two men have taken multiple five-wicket hauls in IPL history, and they are probably not the ones you expect.

Player	Teams	W	Ave	Econ	SR	5WIs
James Faulkner	GL, KXIP, PWI, RR	59	30.13	8.69	21	2
Jaydev Unadkat	DD, KKR, RR, RPS, RCH	68	26.77	8.39	19	2

When it comes to 4 or more wickets in an innings, Narine has a significant lead – more so given that he has been a late entry.

Andrew Tye’s record makes excellent reading: he has only 36 wickets, but that includes 4 four-wicket hauls.

Player	Teams	W	Ave	Econ	SR	5	4	4+
Sunil Narine	KKR	112	22.30	6.54	20	1	6	7
Lasith Malinga	MI	154	19.01	6.86	17	1	4	5
Andrew Tye	GL, KXIP	36	16.36	8.00	13	1	3	4
L Balaji	CSK, KXIP, KKR	76	26.68	8.04	20	1	3	4
Ravindra Jadeja	CSK, GL, KTK, RR	93	30.20	7.76	23	1	3	4
Amit Mishra	DCh, DD, SRH	146	24.14	7.39	20	1	3	4
Anil Kumble	RCB	45	23.51	6.57	21	1	2	3
Munaf Patel	GL, MI, RR	74	22.94	7.51	18	1	2	3
Bhuvneshwar K	PWI, SRH	120	22.44	7.15	19	1	2	3

Tanvir’s 6/14, set in the first edition, still remain the best bowling figures in IPL history. Adam Zampa is the only other bowler to have taken 6 in an innings. Here is the list of all 5-wicket hauls.

Player	O	M	R	W	Team	Against	Venue	Season
Sohail Tanvir	4	0	14	6	RR	CSK	Jaipur	2008
Adam Zampa	4	0	19	6	RPS	SRH	Vizag	2016
Anil Kumble	3.1	1	5	5	RCB	RR	C Town	2009
Ishant Sharma	3	0	12	5	DCh	KTK	Kochi	2011
Lasith Malinga	3.4	1	13	5	MI	DD	Delhi	2011
Ankit Rajpoot	4	0	14	5	KXIP	SRH	Hyd	2018
R Jadeja	4	0	16	5	CSK	DCh	Vizag	2012
J Faulkner	4	1	16	5	RR	SRH	Hyd	2013
Amit Mishra	4	0	17	5	DD	DCh	Delhi	2008
Andrew Tye	4	0	17	5	GL	RPS	Rajkot	2017
Harbhajan S	4	0	18	5	MI	CSK	Mumbai	2011
Sunil Narine	4	0	19	5	KKR	KXIP	Kolkata	2012
Bhuvneshwar K	4	0	19	5	SRH	KXIP	Hyd	2017
James Faulkner	4	0	20	5	RR	SRH	Jaipur	2013
Munaf Patel	4	0	21	5	MI	KXIP	Mohali	2011
L Balaji	4	0	24	5	CSK	KXIP	Chennai	2008
D Mascarenhas	4	0	25	5	KXIP	PWI	Mohali	2012
Jaydev Unadkat	4	0	25	5	RCB	DD	Delhi	2013
Jaydev Unadkat	4	1	30	5	RPS	SRH	Hyd	2017

Mishra is the only bowler to take 3 IPL hat-tricks, while Yuvraj Singh has 2. One curious entry on the list is that of Rohit Sharma, who does not bowl anymore.

Player	Team	Against	Venue	Season
L Balaji	KXIP	CSK	Chennai	2008
Amit Mishra	DCh	DD	Delhi	2008
Makhaya Ntini	KKR	CSK	Kolkata	2008
Yuvraj Singh	RCB	KXIP	Durban	2009
Rohit Sharma	MI	DCh	Centurion	2009
Yuvraj Singh	DCh	KXIP	Johannesburg	2009
Praveen Kumar	RR	RCB	Bangalore	2010
Amit Mishra	KXIP	DCh	Dharamsala	2011
Ajit Chandila	PWI	RR	Jaipur	2012
Sunil Narine	KXIP	KKR	Mohali	2013
Amit Mishra	PWI	SRH	Pune	2013
Axar Patel	GL	KXIP	Rajkot	2016
Samuel Badree	MI	RCB	Bangalore	2017
Andrew Tye	RPS	GL	Rajkot	2017
Jaydev Unadkat	SRH	RPS	Hyderabad	2017

There was no hat-trick in IPL 2018. Perhaps it’s time.