Top 10 Best Bowling Performances In IPL History (All-Time List)

Alzarri Joseph’s 6 wickets for 12 runs on his IPL debut in 2019 is the best bowling performance in IPL history. Only three bowlers have ever taken 6 wickets in a single innings across 17+ seasons.

This list covers the top 10 bowling figures in IPL history, ranked by wickets taken, then by economy. Each entry breaks down the match situation, the spell itself, and what made it so destructive.

IPL Top 10 Best Bowling Performances

Here is a quick overview of the ten best bowling performances in IPL history. All three 6-wicket hauls sit at the top, followed by seven exceptional 5-wicket spells.

1. Alzarri Joseph: 6/12 – Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2019

The Match Situation

SRH batted first and scored 150/4. MI were chasing and had already started their innings when Joseph, a 22-year-old West Indian pacer, was brought on. But before he bowled in the innings, this is about the 2nd innings bowling role: Joseph actually bowled in MI’s fielding innings, with SRH batting.

To clarify the context: SRH won the toss and batted first. MI was in the field. Joseph came into the attack and dismantled SRH’s lineup in the middle and death overs.

What Made This Spell So Special

The first thing to know: it was Joseph’s IPL debut. He had never bowled a ball in the Indian Premier League before this match.

In 3.4 overs, he took 6 wickets, conceding just 12 runs. That is an average of 2 runs per wicket. In T20 cricket, where batters are trained to attack every delivery, this is almost impossible.

The previous IPL record for best bowling figures was also 6 wickets, held by Sohail Tanvir (6/14 in 2008). Joseph matched the wickets and improved the economy in his very first IPL outing. The match saw MI restrict SRH and win by a healthy margin. 

2. Sohail Tanvir: 6/14 – Rajasthan Royals vs CSK, 2008

The Match Situation

IPL 2008 was the inaugural season. Nobody quite knew what to expect. CSK, a side with a strong batting lineup including MS Dhoni, came to Jaipur on 4 May 2008.

RR asked CSK to bat first. Sohail Tanvir, a left-arm swing bowler from Pakistan, opened the attack, and what followed was one of the most one-sided bowling spells in T20 history.

What Made This Spell So Special

Tanvir bowled his full 4-over quota. He took 6 wickets for 14 runs. That works out to an average of 2.33 runs per wicket across 24 deliveries.

In the very first IPL season, when teams were still figuring out how to bat in T20 cricket, this was a statement performance. CSK’s batting lineup crumbled. Tanvir was unplayable.

The spell helped Rajasthan Royals win the match and eventually go on to win the entire IPL 2008 title. Tanvir was a central reason for their success, finishing the season as the Purple Cap holder with 22 wickets, a haul that remains one of the best single-season hauls in IPL history. 

3. Adam Zampa: 6/19 – Rising Pune Supergiants vs SRH, 2016

The Match Situation

IPL 2016 saw two new franchises replace Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, who were serving a two-year suspension. Rising Pune Supergiants was one of them.

Playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who would go on to win IPL 2016, the Supergiants needed a strong bowling performance to stay competitive in the second half of the group stage.

What Made This Spell So Special

Adam Zampa is not a name that typically appears at the top of IPL bowling lists. The Australian leg-spinner was more known at this point for white-ball cricket with Australia than for T20 franchise dominance.

But on 10 May 2016, he was unplayable. Six wickets in 4 overs, conceding just 19 runs against an SRH lineup that featured the likes of David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan.

The fact that all three 6-wicket hauls in IPL history (Joseph, Tanvir, Zampa) have been taken by overseas players says something about the impact international cricketers can have in a short burst. 

4. Anil Kumble: 5/5 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs RR, 2009

The Match Situation

IPL 2009 was held in South Africa. It was the first edition played entirely outside India, relocated due to security concerns surrounding the Indian general election.

In the second match of that tournament, RCB took on Rajasthan Royals at Newlands, Cape Town, one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. RR batted second and needed to chase down RCB’s total.

Anil Kumble, 38 years old and primarily a Test match bowler in most people’s minds, walked in to bowl and produced one of the most economical spells in IPL history.

What Made This Spell So Special

5 wickets for 5 runs. That economy rate of 1.57 in T20 cricket is almost illogical. In a format where even the best bowlers typically give away 7 or 8 an over, Kumble conceded fewer than 2 per over while picking up 5 wickets.

What makes it more remarkable is the context. This was overseas, on a Newlands surface that offers decent pace and bounce. The South African conditions actually suited Kumble’s high-bounce leg-spin.

Kumble used drift, flight, and variations in pace to deceive RR’s batters. The spell finished in 3.1 overs, meaning he took the last wicket before completing his 4th over. RR were all out for a very low score.  

5. Akash Madhwal: 5/5 – MI vs Lucknow Super Giants, 2023 Eliminator

The Match Situation

This was a knockout match. Lose and go home. LSG batted second, chasing the Mumbai Indians’ total in the IPL 2023 Eliminator at Chepauk, Chennai.

Akash Madhwal was not a widely known name entering that game. He had played only a handful of IPL matches and had not been the headline bowler for MI that season. But when it mattered most, he was the one who showed up.

What Made This Spell So Special

5 wickets for 5 runs in 3.3 overs. That is an economy of 1.42, the best economy rate in any 5-wicket haul in IPL history.

For comparison, Kumble’s 5/5 came at 1.57. Madhwal’s is even lower. In a knockout match, under the pressure of elimination, he dismantled a batting lineup that included KL Rahul, who was in excellent form that season.

LSG never recovered after Madhwal’s burst. Mumbai Indians won the Eliminator and advanced. Madhwal became a household name overnight.

What stood out was his use of the incoming delivery. LSG’s batters kept looking for width, and Madhwal kept finding the stumps.

6. Jasprit Bumrah: 5/10 – Mumbai Indians vs KKR, 2022

The Match Situation

IPL 2022 was a difficult season for the Mumbai Indians. They were one of the weakest sides in the competition that year, struggling to win in the double round-robin format.

But Jasprit Bumrah was still Bumrah. Even as his team underperformed, he turned up against KKR at DY Patil and bowled one of the best spells of his career.

What Made This Spell So Special

Bumrah took 5 wickets for just 10 runs in a full 4-over spell at an economy of 2.50. He used the back-of-a-length delivery, his trademark slower ball, and that unreadable wrist position to thoroughly bamboozle KKR’s batting order.

At the time, Bumrah had not fully recovered from his back injury that would sideline him for the latter part of 2022. This spell was a reminder of how dominant he is when fit.

The economy of 2.50 across four full overs in an IPL match is extraordinary. KKR’s batters, who are typically aggressive, could not score off him.

• 5 wickets in 4 full overs (24 balls)
• 1 maiden over in an IPL match – extremely rare
• Economy of 2.50 in the first innings of bowling 

7. Mohit Sharma: 5/10 – Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 2023

The Match Situation

This was Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023, the second knockout match. Gujarat Titans, the defending champions, were playing at their home ground in Ahmedabad, one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world.

The Mumbai Indians were chasing. It was GT’s last chance to reach the final. Mohit Sharma, a medium-fast bowler who had taken a break from top-level cricket and revived his IPL career at GT, was given the ball.

What Made This Spell So Special

Mohit took 5 wickets in just 2.2 overs. That is 14 balls. The economy looks slightly higher at 4.28 because of a few boundaries, but 5 wickets in 14 balls is a strike rate of 2.8, which is extraordinary.

The spell effectively ended MI’s chase. Mohit was unplayable in short bursts, mixing his pace well and angling the ball into right-handers. MI’s lower order had no answer.

In 2023, Mohit Sharma finished with 27 wickets across all IPL matches, including playoffs, making him one of the dominant bowlers of that edition alongside Mohammed Shami. 

8. Ishant Sharma: 5/12 – Deccan Chargers vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 2011

The Match Situation

IPL 2011 included two franchises that no longer exist today: Deccan Chargers and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Kochi Tuskers played just one season before the BCCI terminated their contract.

In this 2nd innings chase at Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Ishant Sharma was given the ball as Kochi tried to chase down Deccan’s total.

What Made This Spell So Special

Ishant Sharma is primarily known as India’s long-serving Test pace bowler. He is tall, uses bounce effectively, and generates steep carry. In T20 cricket, these attributes are harder to leverage because batters look to play the short ball.

But in 3 overs on this night in Kochi, Ishant found his rhythm and took 5 wickets for 12 runs. His height worked against Kochi’s batters, who could not deal with the steep bounce even on what should have been a flat Kochi surface.

It remains Ishant Sharma’s best bowling figures in IPL and one of the few times he completely dominated in the T20 format.

9. Lasith Malinga: 5/13 – Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 2011

The Match Situation

Lasith Malinga is the greatest T20 bowler in history by most metrics. He took the most wickets in IPL history (170 wickets across all his IPL seasons) before retiring. But even among his standout performances, this one holds a special place.

Delhi Daredevils batted first in the 4th match of IPL 2011 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Malinga was given the opening spell for the Mumbai Indians.

What Made This Spell So Special

Malinga’s round-arm, slingy action made him almost impossible to read. Batters knew what was coming and still could not deal with it. His yorker was the most dangerous delivery in T20 cricket at the time.

In 3.4 overs, he took 5 wickets for 13 runs at an economy of 3.54. That included a maiden over. Delhi Daredevils, batting first, were restricted to a score that MI chased down comfortably.

What makes this even more contextually relevant is that Malinga was in his prime in 2011 at 27 years of age. His action was at its most difficult to read, and Delhi’s batters simply had no answer.

• Malinga took 170 IPL wickets across his career, the most by any bowler in IPL history. Source: ESPNcricinfo IPL Career Wickets
• His 5/13 came with a 3.54 economy and 1 maiden, making it the most complete spell among the four 5-wicket hauls taken by MI bowlers in this list. 

10. Ankit Rajpoot: 5/14 – Kings XI Punjab vs SRH, 2018

The Match Situation

Ankit Rajpoot is another name that sits outside the regular IPL spotlight. A right-arm fast-medium bowler from Uttar Pradesh, he had not been a consistent performer at the IPL level before this match.

Sunrisers Hyderabad batted first at their home ground in Hyderabad in the 25th match of IPL 2018. Rajpoot was part of a Kings XI Punjab bowling attack that was considered the weaker side going into this fixture.

What Made This Spell So Special

Rajpoot took 5 wickets for 14 runs across his full 4-over allocation at an economy of 3.50. Against an SRH lineup that included David Warner in the form of his life (he won the Orange Cap that season with 735 runs), this was a substantial performance.

His ability to hit a good length consistently and generate some seam movement troubled SRH’s batters throughout his spell. Five wickets in a full quota of 4 overs with no maidens at 3.50 economy is a clean, disciplined bowling display.

Also Read:

• Best Spin Bowlers In IPL History (Updated 2026)
• Top Powerplay Records in IPL History (2026 Stats)

Final Words: Alzarri Joseph has the Best Bowling figures in IPL!

The best bowling figures in IPL history cut across eras, formats, and nationalities. From Tanvir’s 6/14 in the inaugural season to Madhwal’s 5/5 in a 2023 knockout, these are not just statistical records.

Each spell changed the match it appeared in. Most of them happened when the team needed it most.