IPL 2015: Top 10 Bowlers from Pool Stage of Indian Premier League
The 2015 Indian Premier League is bubbling up nicely. The identity of the playoff teams is now known, but which bowlers were most instrumental in getting them there?
We've picked 10 of the best performers from this year's pool stage. The list includes international greats and up-and-coming Indian stars, fiery fast bowlers and cagey spinners. Not to mention the odd medium-pace wobbler.
Read on to see who has made the cut.
Ranking Criteria
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The main criterion for entry into the top 10 was the number of wickets taken. Bowlers with miserly economy rates also scored highly.
It's not all about the numbers though. Match-winning efforts in high-pressure situations were rated more highly than tidy performances in one-sided games.
Bowling at the business end of innings also warranted greater consideration than hiding in the middle overs.
Honourable Mentions
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It's been a torrid campaign for the Kings XI Punjab despite the efforts of Anureet Singh, who picked up 15 wickets. They weren't enough to get him into our top 10 though.
Likewise, Imran Tahir performed well for the Delhi Daredevils but won't be appearing in the knockout stages.
Other notables to just miss out on the top 10 include Harbhajan Singh, Andre Russell and Harshal Patel.
Perhaps unluckiest was the miserly Moises Henriques, whose overs went at an economy rate of just 6.32.
10. Mitchell McClenaghan (Mumbai Indians)
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Matches: 10
Wickets: 14 at 22.50
Economy Rate: 7.87
Sneaking into the top 10 is Mitchell McClenaghan. The New Zealander produced his best performance of the competition when it really mattered, in Mumbai Indians' final game shootout against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The burly left-armer picked up the crucial wickets of David Warner and Eoin Morgan to leave the Hyderabad top order in tatters.
McClenaghan's three for 16 went a long way to restricting the Sunrisers to a paltry total of 113. The Indians coasted home and booked their place in the knockout stages.
Once again, left-arm seamers are proving extremely valuable in the shortest form of the game.
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9. Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings)
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Matches: 11
Wickets: 9 at 19.11
Economy Rate: 5.73
Wickets are the best way to stem a flowing run rate, but having a truly miserly bowler in the ranks is a great option for a captain.
Ravichandran Ashwin has played Scrooge for Chennai Super Kings during this year's IPL. The off-spinner picked up nine wickets during the pool stage. Respectable, but nothing too spectacular. His economy rate certainly was though.
Ashwin's overs went at just 5.73 per over, the best for any bowler with more than 20 overs to his name in the competition.
8. Chris Morris (Rajasthan Royals)
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Matches: 10
Wickets: 12 at 22.41
Economy Rate: 7.07
Chris Morris saved the best until last. Needing a win against Kolkata Knight Riders to secure their place in the knockout stages, Rajasthan Royals eased home by nine runs thanks to a large helping hand from Morris.
The South African ripped the heart out of the KKR middle-order to end up with figures of four for 23.
That took his haul in the group stage to 12 wickets at an average 22.41 and an economy rate of 7.07. With seven wickets in his last two appearances, Morris is hitting form at just the right time.
7. Nathan Coulter-Nile (Delhi Daredevils)
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Matches: 11
Wickets: 15 at 21.40
Economy Rate: 7.55
The Australian pace-bowling cupboard looks well stocked at the moment. Nathan Coulter-Nile may not be a regular in Aussie international colours, but he proved to be one of the top bowlers in this year's IPL.
The 27-year-old showed his class against Kings XI, dismissing David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha en route to figures of four for 20. Punjab were eventually bowled out for just 118 as Delhi coasted home by nine wickets.
We'll even forgive his very dodgy moustache!
6. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
7 of 12
Matches: 14
Wickets: 18 at 22.61
Economy Rate: 7.87
Twenty20 cricket is dominated by genuine pacemen and big-turning spinners. Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed that there's still room for a medium-pacer who can give the ball a wobble.
Kumar was Mr Consistency for Hyderabad in the pool stage, picking up wickets in nine successive matches.
With Dale Steyn missing for much of the competition, Kumar more than picked up the slack.
5. Yuzvendra Chahal (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
8 of 12
Matches: 13
Wickets: 19 at 19.31
Economy Rate: 9.45
Yuzvendra Chahal showed once again why quality leg-spin is so valuable in T20 cricket. Expensive he may have been, but the 24-year-old was a wicket-taking threat throughout the pool stage.
With 19 victims, Chahal was behind only Dwayne Bravo in the wickets column.
Chahal's spin is the perfect complement to Mitchell Starc's searing pace. Throw in the versatile Harshal Patel and wily South African David Wiese and Royal Challengers Bangalore are primed for a deep run in this year's competition.
4. Ashish Nehra (Chennai Super Kings)
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Matches: 13
Wickets: 18 at 19.55
Economy Rate: 7.04
Ashish Nehra turned back the clock with a string of impressive performances with the ball. The 36-year-old showed the value of a quality left-arm seamer in T20 cricket.
Nowhere was that more evident than in the two matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the first game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Nehra destroyed the RCB top order to finish with figures of four for 10.
He repeated the trick in the return in Chennai, picking up another three wickets as the Super Kings coasted home by 24 runs.
T20 isn't just a young man's game.
3. Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)
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Matches: 13
Wickets: 19 at 20.84
Economy Rate: 7.61
Lasith Malinga showed once again during the group stages why he's one of the best bowlers in the shortest form of the game.
The Sri Lankan picked up his usual stack of wickets, all delivered at a very reasonable economy rate. What's not to like?
With 138 wickets, the 31-year-old is comfortably the leading wicket taker in the history of the IPL.
2. Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings)
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Matches: 14
Wickets: 20 at 16.45
Economy Rate: 7.95
The West Indies' loss has been Chennai's gain. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo enjoyed an excellent pool stage offering both control and wickets.
The pick of Bravo's performances was his match-winning effort against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The 31-year-old dismissed Yusuf Pathan, Pat Cummins and Piyush Chawla in the closing stages of a tight run chase.
The Trinidadian eventually finished with figures of three for 22 as the Super Kings squeaked home by just two runs.
1. Mitchell Starc (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
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Matches: 11
Wickets: 18 at 13.44
Economy Rate: 6.91
Mitchell Starc was deservedly named Player of the Tournament at the recent World Cup. The Aussie quickie is staking a pretty good claim for a repeat award in the IPL.
Starc's combination of extreme pace and late swing has proved just as deadly in the 20-over game as it did in the World Cup. That he's near the top of the leading wicket-takers table is no surprise. That he has one of the best economy rates in the competition too is an added bonus.
Taken together, it makes the 25-year-old one of the most complete bowlers in the white-ball formats.
England followers will be hoping that he finds the red ball slightly less to his liking.
Stats come courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.
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