Best Bowling Performance of Sandeep Lamichhane in IPL
With number of overseas players restricted to only four in a playing XI, we don’t see players from associate nations often in the Indian Premier League. There have been exceptions in the past, with the Dutch all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate once proving to be a very important player for Kolkata Knight Riders. Another player from an associate nation who earned his fame in this tournament is Nepal’s wunderkind, Sandeep Lamichhane.
Not much was known of him when he was bought by the Delhi Capitals, way back in 2018. His nation was yet to play an ODI game, and he was yet to sign for any other franchise-based T20 team. Hence, the signing came as a surprise to many. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that signing Sandeep Lamichhane would help strengthen the bond between India and Nepal, not many expected him to actually have a big role to play in Capitals’ hunt for their first-ever title triumph.
As expected, he spent his time in India mostly on the bench for the first part of the season. Capitals’ think tank had their hopes pinned on the more experienced customers, but they were let down by them. With just three matches to spare, they needed a miracle to turn things around. That is when the journey of Lamichhane started in IPL.
Best Bowling Performance of Sandeep Lamichhane in IPL
Let us have a look at his Top Bowling Performance of Sandeep Lamichhane in IPL:
5. 1/25 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
It will be only justified if we start the list with his very first IPL game. Having lost eight of their eleven games, Capitals felt a desperate need to change things. Their next match was against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, who were famous for their batting prowess.
They decided to play a punt with Sandeep Lamichhane, and it came off way better than they expected. Delhi had set a target of 182, which with their explosive batting unit, Bangalore looked on course to achieve. But Capitals surprised everyone when they gave the new ball to Lamichhane. The teenage leggie weaved his magic at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, as he caught Parthiv Patel leg before wicket in the third over.
Though he couldn’t manage to get any more wickets, he kept a steady check on the flow of runs. While Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were handing the other bowling a thrashing, Lamichhane conceded only 25 runs from his four overs. Though Delhi lost the game, he was by far their best bowler in this match.
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4. 1/21 vs Chennai Super Kings
After a dream debut, the Capitals camp knew it well that they can ill-afford to bench Lamichhane. As expected, he was included in the side for their next match against Chennai Super Kings, and once again, the Nepali teenager was on the money.
Capitals set an even lower target of just 163 this time around, and not many would have expected CSK to lose the match. But here again, Lamichhane was extremely miser in conceding runs and kept an exceptional economy run rate. In four overs, he conceded only 21 runs. In addition to that, he took the crucial wicket of Suresh Raina to ensure that Capitals get a much-needed win.
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3. 3/36 vs Mumbai Indians
Top Bowling Performance of Sandeep Lamichhane in IPL: Though it was too late for Delhi Capitals to turn their season around, three matches were enough for Lamichhane to seal his place in the squad for next season. After two impressive spells, he was once again included in the team for Delhi’s final 2018 game against Mumbai Indians. This time around, he had 175 runs to defend.
He was once again given the first ball, and this time, he struck in his very first over. Suryakumar Yadav became his latest victim in only the fourth ball of Indians’ innings. He later picked up the wickets of two dangerous all-rounders, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya. His spell of 3/36 helped Capitals end their season with a victory.
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2. 2/27 vs Kings XI Punjab
Unfortunately for Lamichhane, he couldn’t build on the strong foundation he had laid on his very first season. Hence, he never quite managed to nail his place down in 2019. However, there were some good performances in that season as well, especially two praiseworthy spells against Kings XI Punjab.
The first of this came at the IS Bindra Stadium, where Lamichhane helped DC contain the explosive Punjab side to a lukewarm 166. He conceded only 27 runs from his four overs and picked up the crucial wickets of opener Sam Curran and in-form Sarfaraz Khan.
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1. 3/40 vs Kings XI Punjab
Lamichhane’s best spell of 2019 came when he faced Ravichandran Ashwin‘s Punjab at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Capitals needed something special from the leggie to restrict KXIP to a low total. He started with a bang as he got KL Rahul stumped in the very second over.
He then went on to victimize the dangerous Chris Gayle, who was looking on course to get a century, and once again got the better of English all-rounder Sam Curran. Though he conceded 40 runs in this game, those three wickets proved extremely crucial as Delhi managed to win the game.
