Where does Hardik Pandya’s 11-ball marathon rank among the longest overs – by balls – in IPL history?
The IPL game between table-topping outfits Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in May 2025 produced a thrilling finish and several records. Some of those records were wanted, while one, most certainly wasn’t.
In a game of fine margins, it was a bad night for Mumbai India’s skipper Hardik Pandya, who joined a list of four other bowlers who have sent down the longest over (in terms of balls) in IPL history.
Bowling the eighth over of the second innings, with Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler at the crease, Hardik delivered an over that was 11 balls long. Let’s check out the five instances in IPL history where that has happened—three of the five occurred this season.
Tushar Deshpande (for CSK vs LSG, 2023) – 0, 1, 2, 1LB, WD, NB, WD, 4, WD, 6, 0
Match context: Chennai Super Kings defending 172.
Bowling the fourth over, Deshpande began well with a dot ball and a single, then conceded a leg bye. But two wides and a no-ball followed, each adding an extra delivery. Struggling to find his line, he leaked a boundary off the penultimate legal delivery before the over ended with a huge six and a final dot ball for a total of 17 runs.
Impact: Despite conceding 17 runs in the over, CSK held on to win by nine runs. While this game only featured one 11-ball over, there were plenty of unusually long overs towards the tail of the innings with Deshpande sending down an eight baller in the final over to follow on from a nine baller from Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
4. Mohammed Siraj (for RCB vs MI, 2023) – 0, 1, WD, WD, WD, WD, 2, 4, WD, 4, 0
Match context: Mumbai Indians post score of 171 with Siraj bowling penultimate over.
In the 19th over, Siraj found himself bowling with Tilak Varma and Arshad Khan the batsmen in eth middle. The over stared well with a dot and single to new batsman Khan. But Tilak was in form having mounted a sensational fightback for the MI.
Siraj tried to keep the ball as far away from Varma as possible, but he couldn’t quite get it right. Four consecutive wides followed before Varma was able to lay bat on ball – that saw him grab a quick two and a four before Siraj sent down a final wide, managing a couple of wickets. The over ballooned to 16 runs as he conceded a final boundary before finishing as he started, with a dot.
Impact: MI lost as RCB chased down their score with eight wickets standing. Siraj’s over highlighted so well the fine margins between nailing the perfect wider yorker versus bowling a wide.
3. Shardul Thakur (for LSG vs KKR, 2025) – WD, WD, WD, WD, WD, 1, 1, 0, 4, 2, W
Match context: Lucknow Super Giants defend score of 238 as KKR fall narrowly short.
Shardul Thakur had already opened the bowling with a two over burst when he was brought back to bowl the 13th over with the game delicately poised. It is quite hard to know what happened next – was he stiff? Did he have a radar failure?
Was he just trying to push the margins too much. He started with five wides as he looked to get land the tricky yorker wide of off-stump. But he also had the ball slip out of his hand as things went from bad to worse.
When he eventually found some control, he conceded a single, another single, a dot and a boundary. The over ended on a high note however when another attempted yorker went awry, only to see Ajinkya Rahane lob a tame catch to Nicholas Pooran.
Impact: Despite bowling 11 deliveries the over only went for 13 runs and produced a wicket. LSG’s bowlers held their nerve in the remainder of the innings to eke out a four-run victory – proof that wickets can compensate for erratic bowling in the Indian Premier League.
2. Sandeep Sharma (RR vs DC, 2025) – WD, 0, WD, WD, WD, 1 NB, 4, 6, 1, 1, 1
Match context: Delhi Capitals score 188 for five in a game that goes to a super-over.
In what had been a good effort with the ball from the RR, it all fell apart badly in the final two over as Sandeep Sharma conceded 18 runs from 11 balls. With Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma the men in the middle, Sandeep was looking to keep a lid on proceedings after the previous over from Jofra Archer had been hit for 16. It’s worth noting that before that Sandeep had delivered a seven ball over that went for seven runs.
Sandeep sprayed it everywhere. He started with a wide as he got the wide yorker too wide. A dot ball followed before a series of three wides, including one for height, one down leg and other wide of off. Then came a no-ball before he finally got it right to end the innings with five legal deliveries.
Impact: DC posted 188/5 which the RR could only equal when they chased. Sandeep bowled the super-over for RR, but he was not able to contain KL Rahul and Stubbs as they hit the winning runs off just four deliveries.
1. Hardik Pandya (MI vs GT, 2025) – 1, 4, 1, WD, NB, WD, NB, 6, 1, WD, 0
Match context: Gujarat Titans chasing 161.
In the eighth over the chase MI skipper Pandya stepped up to bowl as he looked to keep the run-rate heading in a northerly direction. Jos Buttler and Shubman Gill were the batsmen at the crease.
Hardik looked in rhythm until the fourth delivery, when a wide signalled the start of his over of troubles. A no-ball followed, then another wide and another no-ball as he grappled with his run-up. He sprayed a boundary, conceded a single, added another wide, and finished with a dot ball – his 11 deliveries eventually conceding 18 runs.
Impact: It wasn’t because of Pandya’s hiccup that GT were able to win, but it certainly didn’t help. The final over, after a long rain delay, saw the MI penalized for a slow over rate and they were only able to place two fielders on the fence. In a game of fine margins, when you bowl a total of nine extras (in total there were three no-balls and six wides) it can come back to haunt you badly in the IPL.