Picking the wicket of the opening batsmen is crucial in any format of the game. In a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the openers are destined to make full use of the powerplay overs, it becomes important for the opposition bowlers to restrict them from doing that.
It is noteworthy that the opening batsmen have the maximum time to settle before changing their gears to make big scores. Themore than 75% of the total centuries in the IPL.
Also, 14 out of 17 times, specialised openers have won the Orange Cap in the tournament’s history.
So, without doubt, dismissing the openers is the first and foremost task of the opposition side’s bowlers, especially those who bowl in powerplay overs.
This article will list the bowlers who have dismissed the opening batsmen the most times in the IPL.
Bowlers to Dismiss Most Opening Batsmen in IPL
| BOWLERS | DISMISSING OPENING BATSMEN | INNINGS BOWLED |
|---|---|---|
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 76 | 189 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 68 | 169 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 61 | 130 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 59 | 132 |
| Trent Boult | 58 | 119 |
| Piyush Chawla | 58 | 138 |
| Sandeep Sharma | 56 | 133 |
| Sunil Narine | 53 | 154 |
| Amit Mishra | 52 | 113 |
| Zaheer Khan | 51 | 99 |
Key Insights
Interestingly, the spinners dominate the list with four of the top five spots acquired by Indian off-spinners, and overall, seven out of ten spots are occupied by spinners.
left-handed openers his bunnies. The carrom-ball specialist has made himself useful by picking more than 50% of his wickets as top-order batters. Notably, he has dismissed left-handed openers like Chris Gayle (five), Parthiv Patel (four), and Quinton de Kock (four).
Surprisingly, his highest dismissals are against a right-handed top-order batter, Robin Uthappa. Ashwin dismissed Uthappa seven times in the 15 innings the duo played against each other.
Zaheer Khan is the only left-handed bowler on this list.
