IPL 2025: O’Rourke Concedes 74, Making His Spell One of the Most Expensive

The three highest-costliest IPL spells have all been in the 2025 season. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowler Will O’Rourke posted the third-highest-IPL figures, giving away 74 runs in his four overs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Lucknow on Tuesday. Earlier this year, Jofra Archer bowled the costliest spell, leaking 76 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mohammed Shami leaked 75 runs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Hyderabad, moving second on the list. Following are some of the costliest spells in IPL history:

Will O’Rourke 2 for 74 vs RCB, IPL 2025

O’Rourke was only playing his third IPL game after replacing Mayank Yadav at LSG. He bowled the second over of LSG’s defence of 227 and was plundered for five boundaries by Virat Kohli, conceding 22 runs in that over. He came back to bowl the eighth over and was hit for a six second ball by Rajat Patidar. But O’Rourke came back with wickets in the last two deliveries of the over, getting out Patidar and Liam Livingstone to upset RCB. He leaked 17 runs in the 14th over with on-song Jitesh Sharma belting him a four and a six. With 28 needed off 18 from RCB, he was recalled to bowl the 18th over but it was not good – Jitesh hammered two fours and two sixes to end the chase and ultimately confirm RCB’s qualification for Qualifier 1.

Mohammed Shami 0 for 75 vs PBKS, IPL 2025

Shami could be India’s best new-ball bowler but Hyderabad track and PBKS batsmen are giving no quarter. Prabhsimran Singh ruined Shami’s day from his opening over itself by thrashing him for three consecutive fours. The Inside Line. Priyansh Arya, the second PBKS opener, followed that by beginning the third over by hitting back-to-back sixes off the first two deliveries and finishing the over with a four to boot before ending the over by hitting a full toss down midwicket for another six. Shami then conceded 11 in his third over and would have had his hopes high of conceding lesser in the 20th over when SRH were rebounding in the death overs. But Marcus Stoinis ruined those hopes with four sixes on the leg side smoked by him to finish the innings and provided Shami with unforgettive figures.

Jofra Archer 0 for 76 vs SRH, 2025

Having been a late inclusion in the final auction following a bit of haggling with the ECB and a pay cut in his central dealing with them, Archer’s worst start to a new IPL season with his former team Rajasthan Royals (RR) had begun. He came in as first change after SRH had already posted 55 in four overs and he was torn apart straight away by Travis Head for a 23-run over, which was inclusive of a wide. Head’s wicket didn’t alter Archer’s luck, however, as Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen drove him around for six additional fours and three sixes to propel him to the top of this list.

Mohit Sharma 0 for 73 vs DC, IPL 2024

Mohit Sharma was brought into the 12th over of the innings of the Delhi Capitals (DC) in this match of 2024. Rishabh Pant greeted him with a boundary and continued to cause damage in the next overs. When Mohit came to ball the last over of the innings, Pant set on a rampage of sixes. He destroyed the GT bowler for 6, 4, 6, 6 and 6 and set the most costly spell of an IPL bowler at the time.

Basil Thampi 0 for 70 vs RCB, 2018

An ugly Bengaluru night befell SRH’s Basil Thampi in 2018. When Moeen Ali greeted him to the attack with consecutive sixes, the tone was set for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting line-up to score freely. AB de Villiers, Colin de Grandhomme and Sarfaraz Khan then chipped in, scoring five fours and six sixes from Thampi, making it a day to forget.

Yash Dayal 0 for 69 against KKR, 2023

Rinku Singh left everyone stunned by hitting five sixes in the last over to script a record heist against Gujarat Titans (GT). And it was GT’s Dayal who suffered the most. Dayal was asked to defend 29 runs in the final over with figures already 0 for 38. But he couldn’t come up with an answer to Rinku’s six-hitting spree, finishing at 0 for 69.

Luke Wood 1 for 68 vs Delhi Capitals, 2024

Gerald Coetzee was unavailable due to a stomach bug, and his replacement, Luke Wood, had a challenging start. After conceding 14 runs from the first three balls to Jake Fraser-McGurk, Wood faced more difficulties. He was hit for two sixes by Shai Hope in his third over and then struggled further in his fourth. Tristan Stubbs capitalized on Wood’s erratic bowling, hitting four consecutive boundaries through reverse scoops and scoops, resulting in an over that cost a total of 26 runs.

Reece Topley 1 for 68 vs SRH, 2024

RCB were thrashed for the record team score in IPL history at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and it was Reece Topley who had the most pressure. Though he picked up the wicket of Abhishek Sharma, Topley’s bowling had read 1 for 43 from three overs. His last over became his nightmare when Abdul Samad slammed 4, 4, 6, 6 and 4, leading SRH to breach the record team aggregate of 263 runs.