Top 5 bowling performances of Marcus Stoinis in IPL

Top 5 bowling performances of Marcus Stoinis in IPL

Delhi Capitals have always been masters at scouting unknown players. From Andre Russell to David Warner, they have had many players in their team who went to become legends at other franchises. One name in that big list is of Marcus Stoinis‘. Delhi bought the all-rounder five years ago for just INR 25 lakhs.

But as is the case often, Stoinis found himself at the bench throughout the competition. He later joined Kings XI Punjab, where he made a name for himself. After three years with them, Stoinis joined Royal Challengers Bangalore. But in IPL 2020 auction, Delhi bought the all-rounder once again, this time for a much higher fee of INR 4.8 crores.

Let us have a look at the top 5 bowling performances of Marcus Stoinis in IPL:

5. 1/28 vs Rising Pune Supergiant (2017)

The first entry on this list is from 2017, which was a very bad year for Stoinis. He was horrible in almost all games, except this one against Rising Pune Supergiant at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. Batting first, Pune lost the opener, Mayank Agarwal, in the first over.

Experienced campaigners Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith set up a good partnership for the second-wicket stand. After Rahane was dismissed in the 7th over, Stoinis didn’t allow his fellow countryman Smith to build another such partnership. A couple of overs later, he dismissed the Aussie. Pune ultimately scored 163 runs, which Punjab chased down easily.

4. 1/15 vs Rajasthan Royals (2018)

This mention on the list of top 5 bowling performances of Marcus Stoinis in IPL is from the game between Punjab and Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in 2018. Batting first, Royals lost opener Ajinkya Rahane in the 4th over. They decided to play a punt and sent pinch-hitter Krishnappa Gowtham at number 3.

If things went well, Gowtham could have scored big with another big-hitter Jos Buttler at the other end. But Stoinis stopped any such incident from occurring by dismissing Gowtham in the 7th over. He also conceded only 15 runs, which helped Punjab restrict Royals to only 158. Unfortunately, their batting unit crumbled and Royals emerged victoriously.

3. 1/13 vs Kings XI Punjab (2019)

 

This match from last year, between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore, will not be remembered for Stoinis’ bowling. In fact, it was his superb knock of unbeaten 46 from 34 deliveries, which made it to the headlines. That knock helped Bangalore cross the 200-run mark.

But Stoinis made a major contribution with the ball as well. Punjab lost Chris Gayle in the 4th over during their chase, but Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul set up an intimidating 59-run second-wicket partnership. The game was slowly getting out of Bangalore’s grasp, but Stoinis pulled things back when he dismissed Agarwal in the 10th over. He was economical in this game as well and conceded only 13 runs from his couple of overs.

2. 3/40 vs Delhi Capitals (2016)

This entry on the list of top 5 bowling performances of Marcus Stoinis in IPL might lead you into believing that Stoinis always turns up against his previous teams. Like the game against Punjab in 2019, he was on fire when he met his old team Delhi Capitals in 2016. Batting first, Punjab scored a big total of 181, as Stoinis registered a half-century.

But Delhi got off to a spectacular start as both openers Quinton de Kock and Sanju Samson were on song. Marcus Stoinis provided Punjab with the first breakthrough in the 8th over when he dismissed de Kock. Samson then set up a 51-run second-wicket partnership with Karun Nair, but Stoinis came to Punjab’s rescue yet again. He picked up his second wicket in the form of Samson. He got the first 3-wicket haul of his IPL career a few overs later when he dismissed Sam Billings.

1. 4/15 vs Mumbai Indians (2016)

2016 was Stoinis’ best season so far in terms of bowling, which explains why that season has been referred to twice on this list. In this game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Punjab bowled first. They got off to a good start as Mumbai lost 3 wickets with just 36 runs on the scoreboard.

Stoinis started his show after the top 3 were sent back to the dugout. His first victim was Nitish Rana, while he added Jos Buttler to that list in a span of three overs. In the 17th overs, he finished the little bit of resilience Mumbai had in them, by dismissing Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya.