Most expensive IPL spells - Shami stops one short of Archer

Mohammed Shami of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) missed returning the most expensive IPL figures - bowled by Jofra Archer earlier this season - by just one run, when he leaked 75 runs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Hyderabad on Saturday. Here are some of the most expensive spells in IPL history:

Shami might be among the best new-ball bowlers in India but the Hyderabad track and PBKS batters are sparing nobody. Prabhsimran Singh spoiled Shami's day from his first over itself by carting him for three consecutive fours. Priyansh Arya, the other PBKS opener, went a step further by starting the third over with back-to-back sixes followed by a four and ended the over by dispatching a full toss over midwicket for six more. Shami then gave away 11 in his third over and would have been hopeful of conceding fewer in the 20th over when SRH were fighting back in the death overs. But Marcus Stoinis dashed those hopes by smoking four sixes on the leg side to end the innings and gave Shami forgettable figures.

Having entered the last auction as a last-minute addition after some back and forth with the ECB and a paycut in his central contact with them, Archer had the most inauspicious start to a new IPL season with his old side Rajasthan Royals (RR). He came on as first change after SRH had already racked up 55 in four overs and he was taken apart immediately by Travis Head for a 23-run over, which also included a wide. Head's dismissal didn't change Archer's fortunes, though, as Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen carted him around for six more fours and three sixes to make him top this list.

Mohit Sharma was introduced in the 12th over of the Delhi Capitals (DC) innings in this game from 2024. Rishabh Pant welcomed him with a boundary and continued his assault in the subsequent overs. When Mohit returned to bowl the final over of the innings, Pant unleashed a flurry of sixes. He smashed the GT bowler for 6, 4, 6, 6 and 6, resulting in the most expensive spell in IPL history at the time.

A brutal night in Bengaluru saw SRH's Basil Thampi have a torrid time in 2018. When Moeen Ali welcomed him into the attack with back-to-back sixes, it set the tone for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting unit to pile on the runs. AB de Villiers, Colin de Grandhomme and Sarfaraz Khan joined in, hitting Thampi for five fours and six sixes, resulting in a forgettable day.

Rinku Singh stunned everyone by smashing five sixes in the final over to pull off an astonishing heist against Gujarat Titans (GT). And it was GT's Dayal who bore the brunt. Dayal was tasked with defending 29 runs in the last over, with his figures already 0 for 38. However, he couldn't find an answer to Rinku's barrage of sixes, ending with 0 for 69.

Gerald Coetzee had a stomach bug, and his replacement Luke Wood probably felt a bit queasy himself after his first three balls went for 14 thanks to the baseball-style hitting of Jake Fraser-McGurk. After conceding just eight in the second over, Wood was taken for two sixes by Shai Hope in his third. In his fourth, Tristan Stubbs decided Wood had been hit in front of the wicket enough and hit four consecutive boundaries with scoops and reverse-scoops. The over ended up going for 26.

RCB were hammered for the highest team total in IPL history at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and it was Reece Topley who felt the heat the most. Despite taking the wicket of Abhishek Sharma, Topley's figures were 1 for 43 after three overs. His final over turned into a nightmare when Abdul Samad hit 4, 4, 6, 6 and 4, helping SRH surpass the record team total of 263 runs.