Best Bowling Performances of Shreyas Gopal in IPL
Whether a player will be successful in the Indian Premier League or not, is not solely dependent on the player himself. A lot depends on which team he represents and who are his competitors for a playing XI spot there. Shreyas Gopal, the Karnataka all-rounder, found himself surrounded by highly experienced legends at Mumbai Indians. Hence, for the first few years, his place was mostly at the dugout.
But things changed when Rajasthan Royals signed him for just INR 20 lakhs in the 2018 auction. He now got adequate chances to showcase his ability, and was instantly regarded as a super effective T20 cricketer.
5 Best Bowling Performances of Shreyas Gopal in IPL
After a fairly decent first season, Gopal was one of Rajasthan’s most consistent performers last season. Let us have a look at the Top bowling performances of Shreyas Gopal in IPL:
5. 3/12 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – IPL 12
Given that Gopal played only six games before the 2018 edition, it is obvious that all of the mentions on this list of top 5 bowling performances of Shreyas Gopal in IPL will be either from 2019 or from 2018. This one is from the former, where Gopal’s Rajasthan Royals took on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Given the incessant rain on the night, the 20-over game was reduced to a 5-over affair. Bangalore started off brilliantly, scoring 23 runs from the first over. Gopal bowled the second over, and conceded 12 runs from his first 3 deliveries. But then came a very special hat-trick, which involved three renowned batters. His victims were Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis. It was ultimately of no use as the game was abandoned and spoils were shared.
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4. 3/27 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – IPL 12
This is again from last season, when Rajasthan Royals traveled to the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium to take on hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad. Batting first, Royals scored a humongous total of 198. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow went all guns blazing for Hyderabad.
They crossed 100-run mark before the completion of the 10th over, but Gopal restored parity as he got rid of Warner. A few overs later, he dismissed Vijay Shankar, who was also looking intimidating with his 15-ball 35. In the very next ball, he got rid of Manish Pandey. Despite his crucial wickets and economical spell, Yusuf Pathan and Rashid Khan‘s late onslaught propelled SRH over the line.
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3. 3/20 vs Chennai Super Kings – IPL 11
This entry on the list of top bowling performances of Shreyas Gopal in IPL is from 2018, which was a coming of age season for Gopal. Chennai Super Kings met Rajasthan Royals at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s International Stadium.
Suresh Raina and Shane Watson were brilliant in this match as the duo set up a 81-run second-wicket partnership. It was ultimately broken by Gopal in the 12th over, when he got rid of Raina. In his next over, he dismissed opposition skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. To complete his 3-wicket haul, he dismissed Sam Billings in the 16th over. Unfortunately, his spell went in vain again as Chennai emerged victorious.
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2. 3/12 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – IPL 12
While rain denied Rajasthan a victory against RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Shreyas Gopal’s excellence ensured all two points when the sides met at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Batting first, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel gave Bangalore a good start.
The 49-run opening stand was broken by Gopal in the 7th over, in the form of Kohli’s dismissal. In his next over, he handed RCB another killer blow as he dismissed AB de Villiers. His third wicket came in the 11th over, when he tricked the Caribbean youngster Shimron Hetmyer. His spell helped Royals restrict Challengers to 158, which they chased down with a ball to spare.
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1. 4/16 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – IPL 11
RCB fans might consider looking away from this list, as majority of Gopal’s brilliant spells came against Virat Kohli & Co. Batting first, Rajasthan Royals put up a competitive total of 164. RCB lost Kohli early on in the chase, but Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers set up a 55-run second-wicket partnership.
It was broken when Gopal got the better of Patel in the 9th over. In the same over, he dismissed Moeen Ali. His next wicket came in his next over, in the form of Mandeep Singh. Given his form, Royals skipper decided to hand Gopal an extended spell, which resulted in his first 4-wicket haul as he dismissed AB de Villiers in the 13th over. RCB never managed to recover from this blow.
