Top 5 bowling performances of Jofra Archer in IPL

For an overseas cricketer who hasn’t even earned his debut international cap, spending INR 7.2 crores might not make a lot of sense. But when Rajasthan Royals decided to spend that sum of Jofra Archer in 2018, it did make a lot of sense. Archer is the ideal T20 cricketer who can be utilized in all the three departments.

His raw pace and precise line and length have given nightmares to batsmen aplenty. He can also be a very handy batsman down the order. To complete the package, Archer is extremely agile and electric on the field. He has completely justified his price tag in the first two seasons, and Royals will hope for more scintillating performances.

Let us have a look at the top 5 bowling performances of Jofra Archer in IPL:

5. 2/16 vs Mumbai Indians (2018)

We start off this list with the game between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in 2018, which took place at the Wankhede Stadium. Batting first, hosts Mumbai Indians got off to a brilliant start. Both openers Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis were in sublime knick as Royals failed to pick up a wicket in the first 10 overs.

It eventually came in the 11th, when Archer dismissed Yadav. In the very next ball, he dismissed Mumbai’s skipper Rohit Sharma. That was his end in terms of taking wickets, but he was still very influential in stopping the flow of runs. His economical spell helped Royals restrict Mumbai to 168, which they managed to chase down.

4. 3/39 vs Mumbai Indians (2019)

This entry on the list of top 5 bowling performances of Jofra Archer in IPL is once again against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. Though this match took place last season, there are many similarities with the game in 2018. Mumbai once again batted first and got off to a brilliant start.

Like 2018, they didn’t lose a single wicket in the first 10 overs. Here again, the first wicket was provided by Jofra Archer in the 11th over. Rohit Sharma was his first victim. He again came back in the death and picked up two very crucial wickets. The first of them was Kieron Pollard in the 17th over, while he completed his 3-wicket haul by dismissing Quinton de Kock in the penultimate over of the innings.

3. 3/22 vs Mumbai Indians (2018)

It is not clear as to what Archer drinks or eats before he plays against Mumbai Indians, but it surely does work like magic. Once again against Mumbai Indians, Archer bowled a match-winning spell. This time, however, the venue was Sawai Mansingh Stadium and not Wankhede.

Batting first, Mumbai lost the opener, Evin Lewis, in the first over. But then Suryakuamar Yadav and Ishan Kishan set up a 129-run second-wicket stand. After those two were dismissed, Archer joined the party at the death. He dismissed both the Pandya brothers in the same over. In that very over, he also got rid of Mitchell McClenaghan. His spell helped Royals restrict Mumbai to a score of less than 170.

2. 3/26 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2018)

We finally get off the Mumbai Indians train on this list of top 5 bowling performances of Jofra Archer in IPL. This spell came in a game between Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Batting first, orange Army lost Shikhar Dhawan very early.

Alex Hales and Kane Williamson then built up a great partnership, which set up the perfect foundation for the finishers. At one stage, SRH were looking on course to cross the 170-run mark. Archer stopped such an occurrence by picking up three wickets at the death. His three wickets were Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan and Rashid Khan.

1. 3/15 vs Kings XI Punjab (2019)

Jofra Archer’s best performance in IPL came when Rajasthan Royals took on Kings XI Punjab at the IS Bindra Stadium last season. Batting first, Punjab had a decent first few overs. Archer gave Rajasthan their first breakthrough by dismissing Chris Gayle in the 6th over.

He went quiet after that but conceded very few runs. Once at the death, Archer sprung to life once again and took two wickets. In the penultimate over the match, he took the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Mandeep Singh. Unfortunately for RR, Archer’s spell was not enough for them to pull off a victory as their batting lineup failed to deliver.