Best Bowling Performances of Sandeep Sharma in IPL
Sandeep Sharma’s accurate right-arm medium pace first caught the eye of the cricketing world during his U-19 days. Having represented India in the 2010 edition, he shot to prominence in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2012, where his excellent performance propelled India to the title. Blessed with the ability to swing the ball prodigiously while being able to exercise remarkable control over line and length, Sharma is an extremely dangerous bowler to face.
Read More: Top 5 bowling performances of Washington Sundar in IPL
His exploits soon landed him an IPL contract with Kings XI Punjab in 2013, where he spent many a successful year before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad. At SRH, Sharma forms a formidable bowling partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with the duo regularly wreaking havoc right at the start of the innings.
Some examples of Sharma’s excellent spells in the tournament have been recounted here in this list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma in IPL matches.
5. 4-1-21-3 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2014)
Kicking off this list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma in IPL matches is a spell he produced while he was part of Kings XI Punjab when playing against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014. Kings XI batted first and could only muster 132/9 in 20 overs thanks to a disciplined KKR bowling attack. However, Sharma went one better in reply, sending back Manish Pandey and Gautam Gambhir in successive overs as KKR suffered an early collapse. He then returned to dismiss top-scorer Suryakumar Yadav as well, ending up with figures of 3/21 in 4 overs with a maiden as well, a performance that won his side the match by 23 runs and got him the man of the match award.
4. 3.5-0-19-3 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (2019)
From 2014 we jump forward five years to 2019 for the next entry on this list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma in IPL matches. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sharma had a massive total of 232 to defend after Jonny Bairstow and David Warner had stroked masterful centuries in the first innings. The pacer took full advantage of the pressure that RCB was under, dismissing Virat Kohli, Prayas Ray Barman, and finishing off the innings by dismissing Yuzvendra Chahal to finish with figures of 3/19 in 3.5 overs.
Read More: Top 5 Bowling Performances of Mohit Sharma in IPL
3. 3-1-15-3 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (2014)
Yet another superb spell for Kings XI Punjab makes the list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma in IPL matches, this one coming back in 2014 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sharma struck gold in his very first over, sending Chris Gayle back to the pavilion before ensuring that Virat Kohli followed him just two balls later. While RCB were still reeling from this double shock, Sharma also dismissed Parthiv Patel in his next over, leaving the innings in tatters. The side from Bangalore could not recover from Sharma’s 3/15 in 3 overs, managing to post only 124/8 in their 20 overs. In reply, Kings XI managed to overhaul the target in the 19th overs with 5 wickets in hand, with Sharma walking away with another man of the match award.
2. 4-1-25-4 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2015)
Staying with his spell with the Kings XI Punjab, the next outing to make it to the list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma is one that came against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2015. Batting first, Kings XI rode on skipper George Bailey’s 60 to post a challenging 155/9 in 20 overs. Once again, Sharma found his rhythm from the word go, sending back the dangerous trio of Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, and Manish Pandey in the opening exchanges. Ryan ten Doeschate was added to his kitty as Sharma finished with 4/25 off 4 overs. However, Andre Russell’s late heroics with the bat proved crucial as KKR secured the win in the 18th over.
Read More: Top 5 bowling performances of Mohammed Shami in IPL
1. 4-0-20-4 vs Delhi Daredevils (2017)
Topping this list of the top 5 bowling performances of Sandeep Sharma’s IPL career is his superb spell for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2017. This was a dominant performance from Kings XI right from the start, with Sharma dismissing Sam Billings and Sanju Samson in his first two overs. None of the Daredevils batsmen could score over 20 as Kings XI kept chipping away with crucial wickets – Sharma returned to the action to send back Shreyas Iyer and Kagiso Rabada as Delhi crumbled to 67 all out. As expected, Kings XI raced to that total with 10 wickets in hand as Sharma picked up the man of the match award for his fantastic spell.
