Top 05 Players with Most Wickets at the Eden Gardens Stadium in IPL
From the city of joy Kolkata comes the never-ending love affair with cricket, and a true testament to that love story is the Eden Gardens stadium, which serves as a beacon of spirit and craze that surrounds this game. An iconic landmark in itself, this is a major sporting venue. The Eden Gardens has the reputation of being the oldest and the second-largest cricket stadium in India, after Narendra Modi stadium, situated in Ahmedabad. With a seating capacity of around 66000, this ground was established in 1864 and is popularly hailed as the ‘Lords of Asia’. The Eden Gardens stadium is a symbol of Kolkata’s rich sporting heritage and cultural identity.
The stadium was named after the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, who was the then Governor-General of India during the colonial rule. Today, Eden Gardens serves as the home ground for the three-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders and the state’s Bengal Cricket Team. Apart from the IPL, it is widely recognized as a significant venue for international and domestic cricket matches, as the stadium has hosted major events like the Cricket World Cup and the Asia Cup. The celebratory venue stands a coliseum where cricketing legends have showcased their talent, enthralled crowds and scripted history. It first hosted a Test match back in the days of country’s cricketing infancy. As of today, the ground is run and managed by the West Bengal Cricket Association. The stadium has retained the spirit of its storied past while embracing a modern identity, which is seen over the years through Indian Premier League (IPL). Several records have been built and broken over the course of IPL, which started with its inaugural season in 2008. Thus far, Eden Gardens has hosted 99 matches in the IPL, out of which, the teams batting second have emerged victorious on 56 occasions. This indicates a general inclination for teams to favour chasing targets rather than setting, as dew plays a huge role in Kolkata. Punjab Kings mustered 262 for 2 in IPL 2024, which is by far the highest successful run chase in the league. On the contrary, Eden Gardens has also recorded the lowest team total in the IPL history, with RCB all packed out for 49 against the home side during the IPL 2017 season. With 99 games hosted so far at the Eden Gardens stadium, there is 01 more league match yet to be played as part of the ongoing IPL 2025 season, which will be the centurion match since the inception of the world’s biggest cricket league.
Not just batsmen, but bowlers have also exhibited tremendous skills and wowed the audience with their magical spells. Some have taken wickets consistently and emerged as the most reliable bowlers for their teams. In this article, we have discussed and detailed about the top five players with most wickets at the Eden Gardens stadium in IPL.
5) Shakib Al Hassan – A bowling all-rounder from Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hassan made his IPL debut in 2011. He was known as dependable left-handed batsman who could anchor the inning, and a wicket-taking conventional bowler Shakib had rallied his nation with consistent performances across formats over the years. In IPL he was picked by the Kolkata squad and played an instrumental role in their victory titles both in 2012 and 2014. As an all-rounder, he was invaluable to any of the teams that he played for. His name at the fifth position on the list of most wicket takers clearly showcases his exceptional bowling skills. During Shakib’s IPL tenure, he has majorly been a part of the KKR franchise but was briefly associated with the SRH during the 2018 season: performing commendably in both. In the 22 innings from 22 matches played as part of the KKR unit, Shakib has taken a total of 21 wickets and has two 3-wicket hauls at this ground. With an economy of 7.95 here and the best bowling index of 3 for 17, Morris built a good record for taking wickets in the IPL, particularly with his spin attack.
4) Harshit Rana – Next up on the list is a rising star of the IPL circuit, Harshit Rana. A pacer from Delhi, Harshit Rana became a part of the IPL in 2022, after having been picked as a replacement of another player. His IPL bowling performance is viewed as quite promising; having taken 19 wickets in the 13 matches played in IPL 2024 edition, which made him the joint-second-highest wicket-taker last year. He has been relatively successful in taking wickets in the powerplay overs and is also reliable as a death-over bowler. In the 17 innings from just 17 matches played as part of the KKR unit, Harshit Rana has taken a total of 21 wickets, same as Shakib Al Hassan. But he is ranked higher since the number of innings taken to reach the mark is lesser. Rana also has one 3-wicket haul to his credit, and on this ground his economy has been fairly decent, around 10 so far.
3) Piyush Chawla – The seasoned leg spinner, Piyush Chawla is seated in the middle on third place in this list. In the 36 innings that he has played as part of KKR, Piyush Chawla has taken a total of 43 wickets. He has four 3-wicket hauls to his name, and a superb bowling average of 22.8. The economy has been around 8.1, which is commendable. One of the best bowling figures is the 4 for 32, which came while playing for KKR against Delhi Capitals in 2015. Often regarded as one of the most successful bowlers in the history of the IPL, he is third in the list of highest-wicket takers in the tournament’s rich history with 192 wickets under his belt already. This bowling all-rounder made his IPL debut right in the beginning in 2008 and has played for several teams throughout this tenure – Punjab Kings, KKR and Chennai Super Kings. This veteran leg break bowler is known for his immense experience and wicket-taking ability.
2) Andre Russell – The sweet second spot has been bagged by a popular Caribbean bowling-all-rounder, is a favourite in the KKR squad. An explosive finisher, a formidable bowler and a complete package is what comes to mind when one thinks of Andre Russel, fondly called as ‘Russell Muscle’. His experience in IPL is abundant, having been a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders camp for over 11 years now. He has taken 44 wickets from the 46 innings that he has bowled in 49 matches, at the Eden Gardens stadium until now. He has four 3-wicket hauls to his name, an economy of around 9.6 and an average of 23.8. Counted amongst the all-time legends of T20 cricket around the globe, Russell continues to remain one of the most important players in the KKR setup.
1) Sunil Narine – The winner of the list and the player with the most wickets at the Eden Gardens stadium in IPL is a fellow Caribbean cricketer, Sunil Narine. Hailed as the OG of the Kolkata Knight Riders camp, he has been a real match winner for his franchise. The stalwart recently created history and etched his name into T20 cricket’s record books for clinching the most wickets for a single team, 208 overall for KKR, sharing the podium finish in a tie with another bowler. At the Eden Gardens stadium, Narine has secured a whopping 72 wickets from the 64 innings that he has bowled here. He has six 3-wicket hauls to his name, an incredible economy of just 6.3 and one of the best bowling indexes of 5 for 19. Counted amongst the all-time legends of T20 cricket around the globe, Sunil Narine has 03 four-wicket hauls and 01 fifer included in his already long list of achievements.
