At a glance
- 2025 and 2026 IPL seasons have seen average run rates of 9.62 and 9.82
- Anshul Kamboj went for 63 runs in his 2.4 overs against LSG
- Ali Murtaza was hit for 45 runs in 2 overs on the day Chris Gayle scored his unbeaten 175
In recent years, the Indian Premier League has become increasingly batting friendly. In fact, the average run rate across the league has been at its highest over the last two seasons. 9.82 so far in 2026 and 9.62 in 2025.
As a result, the bowlers have suffered. Fast bowlers, medium pacers, finger and wrist spinners alike have gone for plenty of runs as seasons have gone on. Anshul Kamboj’s 63-run spell against the Lucknow Super Giants is a prime example of the same.
Today, we look at the three bowlers with the highest economy rates in a game among bowlers to have bowled at least two overs.
Ali Murtaza – 22.50 (PWI vs RCB, 2013)
23 April 2013 will always be remembered as the day Chris Gayle reached the peak of his powers. On his way to an unbeaten 175, still the highest T20 score of all time, Gayle obliterated almost all bowlers in his path.
One such bowler was Ali Murtaza. The then 23-year-old slow left-armer went for 45 runs in his two overs without a wicket. Gayle welcomed Murtaza into the attack with a four and two sixes right after the powerplay. What came next was worse.
Murtaza was brought back into the attack in the 15th over. This time, Gayle hit him for 28 runs, including two fours and three sixes, the West Indian bringing up his 150 with the last one.
All in all, it was a day to forget for Murtaza, going for 45 runs in two overs as RCB scored a then-record 263/5 in their 20 overs and won the game by 130 runs.
Washington Sundar – 23 (SRH vs DC, 2024)
In a year that is remembered by Sunrisers Hyderabad fans for the number of times SRH crossed the aforementioned 263-run record, Washington Sundar had a day to forget when they came up against the Delhi Capitals. This is, however, the only entry on this list to come in a winning effort.
Having set Delhi a target of 267, Pat Cummins opted to open the bowling with Washington Sundar. Prithvi Shaw drove, cut and swept Sundar for fours in the first four balls.
Sundar would have the last word in the battle though, as Shaw sliced one to Abdul Samad at cover. The last ball of his first over was the most uneventful delivery of his spell as Jake Fraser-McGurk missed with an attempted cut.
Next came the real fireworks. Fraser-McGurk smacked Sundar for three fours, all on the offside, and three sixes, all in the V. The offie conceded 46 of the 55 runs scored in the first three overs.
While Sundar wasn’t called into action again, SRH pulled things back. They restricted Delhi to 199, winning the match by 67 runs.
Anshul Kamboj – 23.62 (CSK vs LSG, 2026)
On a day when not much went right for the Chennai Super Kings, their plight could not have been better illustrated than by Kamboj’s fortunes. The 25-year-old pacer didn’t start his bowling innings too badly.
Anshul Kamboj gave away 11 runs in his first three balls, before coming back strongly to close out the over with three dot balls. And then, all hell broke loose.
Mitchell Marsh sat back and smacked four sixes off the first four balls of the over, punishing some ordinary short bowling. Kamboj then bowled one down leg and Marsh obliged by helping it towards the fine leg boundary. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t see Kamboj again till the 17th over.
He now came in to bowl his third of the night with LSG needing 24 runs off the final four overs. Lucknow only needed four balls though. Although Kamboj tried to mix his lengths up a little, Nicholas Pooran just smashed each one of them over the boundary for six.
The Chennai pacer became the first bowler to be hit for four consecutive sixes on two different occasions in the same match. In the end, he had conceded 63 runs in 2.4 overs as LSG chased down 188 with more than three overs to spare.
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