Wednesday brought no reshuffle at the top of the Purple Cap standings, but the race for the Orange Cap saw a new leader take charge. The shift came after Virat Kohli’s decisive knock against Lucknow Super Giants as Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased a modest target at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Quick facts: Orange Cap
- Virat Kohli moved to the top of the run-scorers’ list.
- Kohli made 49 off 34 balls vs Lucknow Super Giants.
- RCB chased 147 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
- Kohli’s season tally reached 228 runs after the innings.
- Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad) sits second with 224 runs.
Orange Cap leaderboard
Virat Kohli climbed to first place in the Orange Cap race after scoring 49 off 34 deliveries against LSG. The knock played a key role in RCB’s successful chase of 147 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kohli, brought in as an Impact Player for the first time in the tournament, finished as the top scorer for Bengaluru and pushed his season total to 228.
Heinrich Klaasen, the wicketkeeper-batter for Sunrisers Hyderabad, remains just behind in second spot with 224 runs. With the margin tight, the top of the batting chart continues to stay fiercely competitive as the season progresses.
RCB’s Impact Player first
The innings also marked a first for Kohli in terms of role for RCB, with the franchise using him as an Impact Player at this stage of his IPL journey. He was not named in the team’s starting XI when RCB chose to bowl first earlier in the week, and he was also absent from the field in their previous match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Kohli said he felt soreness in his knee during that earlier game, and he hadn’t been at full fitness in the build-up to Wednesday’s contest either. Despite those concerns, he delivered the kind of knock that shifted the Orange Cap conversation immediately.
Other movers in the batting charts
Rajat Patidar, captaining RCB in the match, advanced to third place after striking 27 off 13 balls against LSG. Alongside Kohli and Klaasen, Patidar joins Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the only batters to have crossed the 200-run mark this season.
Purple Cap leaderboard
While the Orange Cap changed hands, the Purple Cap top spot remained unchanged on Wednesday. Chennai Super Kings seamer Anshul Kamboj continues to lead on ten wickets, level with Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna.
Rajasthan Royals’ wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and LSG’s Prince Yadav are close behind with nine wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya sit in the next bracket, having collected seven wickets apiece after five matches.
Spin and strike trends
Krunal Pandya is currently the only fingerspinner among the top ten wicket-takers this season, highlighting how rare that wicket-taking role has been at the very top so far.
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