Jofra Archer holds the record for the most expensive bowling figures IPL history has seen. Playing for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025, he gave away 76 runs in four overs without taking a wicket. That spell sits at the top of a list no bowler wants to lead, and it shows how brutal IPL batting has become in recent seasons.
In a T20 match, a bowler can bowl at most four overs. When those four overs cost 70 runs or more, the spell enters this unwanted record list. Three of the top four spells on the list came in a single season, 2025, which tells its own story about flat pitches, short boundaries, and fearless batting. This article lists the ten most expensive bowling figures in IPL history, with the match, the season, and the story behind each spell.
IPL Stats Most Expensive Bowling Figures Overview
The most expensive spell in IPL history is Jofra Archer 0/76 for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025. The most expensive spell by an Indian bowler is Mohammed Shami 0/75 for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings, also in 2025. The full top ten runs from 76 runs down to 66 runs, and every spell on the list came from a full quota of four overs.
| Record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Most expensive spell | Jofra Archer, 0/76, Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2025 |
| Most expensive spell by an Indian bowler | Mohammed Shami, 0/75, Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings, 2025 |
| Oldest spell on the list | Ishant Sharma, 0/66, Sunrisers Hyderabad against Chennai Super Kings, 2013 |
| Season with most entries | 2025, with three spells in the top four |
| Lowest entry in the top ten | 66 runs, shared by Ishant Sharma and Mujeeb Ur Rahman |
Top 10 Most Expensive Bowling Figures in IPL
Each figure below is for a full spell of four overs. The economy rate is the runs given away per over.
| Rank | Bowler | Figures | Overs | Economy | Team | Opponent | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jofra Archer | 0/76 | 4 | 19.00 | Rajasthan Royals | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2025 |
| 2 | Mohammed Shami | 0/75 | 4 | 18.75 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Punjab Kings | 2025 |
| 3 | Will O’Rourke | 2/74 | 4 | 18.50 | Lucknow Super Giants | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 2025 |
| 4 | Mohit Sharma | 0/73 | 4 | 18.25 | Gujarat Titans | Delhi Capitals | 2024 |
| 5 | Basil Thampi | 0/70 | 4 | 17.50 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 2018 |
| 6 | Yash Dayal | 0/69 | 4 | 17.25 | Gujarat Titans | Kolkata Knight Riders | 2023 |
| 7 | Reece Topley | 1/68 | 4 | 17.00 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2024 |
| 8 | Luke Wood | 1/68 | 4 | 17.00 | Mumbai Indians | Delhi Capitals | 2024 |
| 9 | Ishant Sharma | 0/66 | 4 | 16.50 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Chennai Super Kings | 2013 |
| 10 | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 0/66 | 4 | 16.50 | Punjab Kings | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2019 |
Reece Topley and Luke Wood both gave away 68 runs, and Ishant Sharma and Mujeeb Ur Rahman both gave away 66 runs, so the places at the foot of the top ten are shared on runs conceded.
Record History
The record for the most expensive spell in IPL history changed hands slowly at first, then very fast. Ishant Sharma 0/66 against Chennai Super Kings in 2013 stood as the worst spell for five years. Basil Thampi passed it in 2018 with 0/70 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Bengaluru, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru scored 218/6 and won by 14 runs.
Thampi held the unwanted record for six years. Mohit Sharma passed it in 2024 with 0/73 for Gujarat Titans against Delhi Capitals, in a match where Rishabh Pant attacked him late in the innings and the final over alone cost 31 runs. Mohit held the record for less than a year.
The 2025 season then rewrote the top of the list in a matter of weeks. Jofra Archer 0/76 for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 23 March 2025 passed the mark first. Mohammed Shami 0/75 for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings at Hyderabad, where Punjab Kings scored 245/6, followed. Will O’Rourke 2/74 for Lucknow Super Giants against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 27 May 2025 completed the new top three. The Archer spell came in a match where Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 286/6, the second highest total in IPL history, with Ishan Kishan scoring an unbeaten 106 off 47 balls. The opening over from Archer alone cost 21 runs, and he never recovered.
The pattern is clear. Batting totals in the IPL have grown season by season, and the costliest spells have grown with them. A spell that led this list in 2013 would now sit joint ninth.
What This Record Tells Us
First, no bowler is safe from a bad day in the IPL. Archer and Shami are two of the finest fast bowlers of their generation, yet they own the top two spells on this list. One bad match does not define a bowler, but in T20 cricket one bad over can wreck a spell, and one bad spell can wreck a match.
Second, most of these spells came in very high scoring matches. The Archer spell came while Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 286/6. The Topley spell came while Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 287/3, the highest team total in IPL history. When a team is scoring at nearly 15 runs an over, even good balls disappear to the boundary.
Third, the death overs decide most of these spells. The Dayal spell is the famous example. He went into the final over of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023 with 29 runs to defend, and Rinku Singh hit five sixes in a row to win the match. That single over turned a poor spell into a historic one. Readers who want the Indian only version of this list can read our most expensive spells by Indian bowlers, and the best spells of the same season are covered in our IPL 2025 best bowling figures article.
Finally, the list shows how quickly records fall in the modern IPL. Three spells in the top four came in one season. Bowlers now plan for power hitting from the first ball, and captains protect their bowlers by holding back overs for calmer moments. Even so, the next record breaking spell is probably only one high scoring match away. For more on bowling at the death, see our most wickets in death overs list, and for the batting side of these shootouts, see the highest successful run chases in IPL.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history?
Jofra Archer has the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history. He gave away 76 runs in four overs without taking a wicket for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025.
What is the most expensive spell by an Indian bowler in IPL?
Mohammed Shami holds that mark. He gave away 75 runs in four overs without taking a wicket for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings in 2025.
Who held the record before Jofra Archer?
Mohit Sharma held it with 0/73 for Gujarat Titans against Delhi Capitals in 2024. Before Mohit, Basil Thampi held it with 0/70 for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2018.
What happened in the Yash Dayal 0/69 spell?
Yash Dayal was bowling for Gujarat Titans against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023. He had 29 runs to defend in the final over, and Rinku Singh hit five sixes in a row to win the match for Kolkata Knight Riders. Dayal finished with 0/69.
What is the worst economy rate in a full IPL spell?
Jofra Archer economy rate of 19.00 in his 0/76 spell is the worst for a full four over spell on this list, since 76 runs divided by four overs gives 19.00 runs per over.
Has any spinner made the top ten most expensive spells?
Yes. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, a spinner from Afghanistan, gave away 66 runs in four overs for Punjab Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019, and he sits tenth on the list.
Which season produced the most expensive spells?
The 2025 season produced three of the top four spells: Archer 0/76, Shami 0/75, and Will O’Rourke 2/74. No other season has more than two spells in the top ten.
Statistics updated through: 1 November 2026
