It’s getting tight at the top of the bowling charts. Chennai Super Kings’ right-arm seamer Anshul Kamboj claimed 3 for 32 against Mumbai Indians on Friday night in Chennai, and those wickets were enough to pull him alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar on 17 scalps for the season.
Bhuvneshwar, who had moved clear only 24 hours earlier when Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost to Gujarat Titans, still keeps the actual cap thanks to a tidier economy rate – 7.54 runs an over compared with Kamboj’s 8.49. “The cap looks good but I’d rather the two points,” Bhuvneshwar said after the Titans defeat, keeping the focus on results rather than ribbons.
Kamboj was typically understated too. “We’ve all got plenty of overs left, so I’m not reading too much into numbers yet,” he told the host broadcaster, though he did admit the scrap with Bhuvneshwar is “great fun”.
Just behind the front pair sit Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals) and Eshan Malinga (Sunrisers Hyderabad) on 15 wickets each, with Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans) rounding out the top five on 14. A further half-dozen bowlers are already into double figures, suggesting we might see the leaderboard flip a few more times before the play-offs.
On the batting side nothing shifted at the very summit. Delhi Capitals captain KL Rahul still wears the Orange Cap with 433 runs, followed closely by Sunrisers duo Abhishek Sharma (425) and Heinrich Klaasen (414). Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (404) completes the quartet past 400. Virat Kohli (379), Shubman Gill (373), B Sai Sudharsan (328) and Prabhsimran Singh (346) are the men in pursuit.
Sanju Samson had a quiet night – out for 11 – but his tidy campaign keeps him ninth overall, one spot ahead of Sunrisers’ Ishan Kishan. “All you can do is cash in when you’re set,” Samson said afterwards, shrugging off the low score.
Former India quick Zaheer Khan, analysing on television, reckons the Orange Cap table will tighten as pitches tire. “Run-scoring generally slows when the square starts wearing, so bowlers come back into it,” he noted, pointing to the value of economy rate – the average runs conceded per over – in the Purple Cap tussle.
We’re only just crossing the half-way line, yet both caps already look like they might change hands several times more. For now, though, Bhuvneshwar keeps the purple fabric; Rahul clings to the orange. Neither seems especially bothered – at least, that’s what they’re telling us.
