Top 5 bowlers with best balls/sixes conceded ratio in IPL history

It has been proven in IPL over the years, that bowlers are as important as the batsman to win a trophy. In fact, the teams who have lifted the cup in the past few years always consisted of a good set of bowlers. With batsmen finding new ways of scoring runs at a faster pace, it becomes imperative to have a bowling line-up that can counter the run flow. Among the skills which every franchise looks for in a bowler, one of the key points is to see how frequently does a bowler concede a boundary. There have been bowlers who have been hit for sixes occasionally and this suppresses the winning chances of a team. In this article, we will be listing out 5 bowlers in IPL history, who have conceded sixes at the least rate. For this, we have used balls per sixes conceded ratio with a minimum of 100 overs bowled by the particular bowler. Since six is the highest scoring shot in cricket, it is always good to have the bowlers in your attack who are least likely to get hit for a six. Let’s take a look at the elite list in the IPL 5. Albiel Morkel – 30.77 Albir Morkel. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Albie Morkel is considered among the best all-rounders in T20 cricket. He was a big asset for the teams during his IPL career with excellent skills as a batsman and a bowler. Morkel played for the Chennai Super Kings team from 2008 to 2013 in the tournament. He was instrumental in helping CSK win two consecutive IPL titles in 2010 and 2011. Overall, Morkel featured in 91 IPL matches in which he scored 974 runs at a strike rate of 141.98 and picked 85 wickets at an average of 27.70. According to the data, Morkel conceded only 56 sixes in 287.1 overs he bowled in the league with a balls/six ratio of 30.77. This means he conceded a six after almost every 31 balls in IPL. This made him a go-to bowler in a pressure situation for his captains. Morkel played for RCB in 2014, for DC in 2015 and for RPS in 2016. 4. Ryan Harris – 30.81 Ryan Harris. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Ryan Harris is one of the most underrated bowlers in the history of IPL. He was part of the league from 2009 to 2013 and featured in 37 games. In his IPL career, he picked up 45 wickets at an excellent economy of 7.55 and an average of 18.48. In his first two years in the league in 2009 and 2010, Harris played for Deccan Chargers. He made a vital contribution to the team in their title-winning campaign in 2009. Later he played for Kings XI Punjab from 2011 to 2013. In total, Harris bowled 138.4 overs in the league and conceded only 27 sixes off his bowling. His balls/six ratio of 30.81 takes him at the fourth spot in this unique list. 3. Deepak Chahar – 32.69 Deepak Chahar. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) We have heard how teams always look for bowlers who can do the tough job of bowling in the death overs. On the other hand, there are bowlers like Deepak Chahar who have become the powerplay specialist. Chahar has been the vital cog in the CSK bowling lineup in the past few years. He made his IPL debut while playing for RPS in 2016 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Later he was picked by CSK in the 2018 auction. He has taken 53 wickets in 55 matches in the tournament so far. Chahar has conceded only 35 sixes in 190.4 overs in IPL at a rate of 32.69. One thing to note here is he has bowled very little in the death overs, where batsmen actually try to hit more and more sixes. Nevertheless, Chahar has shown great skills as a T20 bowler and has done a fine job for his team. 2. Lasith Malinga – 32.87 Lasith Malinga. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Lasith Malinga is arguably the greatest overseas player in IPL history. He created his own legacy in the league, and it was difficult for even top batsmen to hit him for boundaries during his prime. Malinga featured in 122 matches in the league and picked up 170 wickets, the most by any bowler in the tournament. He made his debut for Mumbai Indians in 2009 and was part of the same franchise till his last IPL in 2019. His last delivery in the league produced the wicket of Shardul Thakur that helped MI clinch the title in 2019. Malinga conceded only 86 sixes in 471.1 overs he bowled in the league. His balls/six ratio of 32.87 makes him the second-best in this regard. Moreover, he had the primary responsibility of bowling in the death overs, and despite it, he made it hard for the batsmen to hit him for six. 1. Dale Steyn – 40.31 Dale Steyn. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Dale Steyn is considered among the greatest bowlers to have ever played the game. He displayed his skills in IPL as well while playing for 11 years in the league. Steyn picked up 97 wickets in 95 matches at an incredible economy of 6.91 and an average of 25.85. He made his debut in the league while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. He spent three years with RCB and later played for SRH and DC. He last featured in the tournament in 2020 with the RCB team. Steyn was hit for only 54 sixes in 362.5 overs he bowled in the league. His balls/six ratio of 40.31 makes him the bowler against whom the batsmen found it most difficult to hit sixes.