The IPL’s individual honours tables rarely sit still for long, yet after Match 24 the very top remains as you were. Virat Kohli still owns the Orange Cap, Prasidh Krishna and Anshul Kamboj still share the Purple. Even so, the chasing pack is tightening – not least thanks to Punjab Kings’ dismantling of Mumbai Indians on Thursday night.
Orange Cap – pressure from the Kings
Prabhsimran Singh walked off the field at Mohali with 80 from 39 deliveries, his clean hitting off both pace and spin nudging him to fifth on the run-scorers’ list with 211 in four knocks. Shreyas Iyer, whose 66 off 35 was brisk without ever looking frantic, now sits sixth on 203. Only Kohli, Heinrich Klaasen, Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan separate the PBKS pair from top spot.
Iyer’s post-match assessment was blunt. “Runs on the board matter, not the table right now,” he told the host broadcaster. “But yes, it’s nice to contribute.”
The consistency of the Kings’ top order has been striking: Prabhsimran’s tournament scores read 37, 43, 51, 80, while Iyer’s card shows 18, 50, 69*, 66. Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, leader only a week ago, has slipped to seventh after a first-ball duck against Sunrisers.
Purple Cap – Krishna, Kamboj unshaken
Little movement here. Gujarat Titans quick Prasidh Krishna and Chennai Super Kings left-armer Anshul Kamboj remain out in front with ten wickets apiece, closely followed by Lucknow’s Prince Yadav and Rajasthan leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi on nine.
Shardul Thakur’s dismissal of Iyer – a slower ball into the pitch that ballooned to mid-off – lifted the Mumbai all-rounder to tenth spot. He joins RCB’s Jacob Duffy and KKR’s Vaibhav Arora on six wickets each.
Former England seamer Isa Guha, speaking on television, reckoned the table may yet turn quickly. “We’re only a third of the way in. One four-for and suddenly someone lurking in mid-table is wearing the cap,” she noted.
Key numbers at a glance
• Kohli leads the Orange Cap with 243 runs.
• Krishna and Kamboj share the Purple on ten wickets.
• Prabhsimran’s strike-rate: 172.95, highest among the top ten batters.
A word on context
In a 70-match league the caps can be a distraction – a brisk fifty or a spell of 3 for 20 can shuffle everything overnight. Still, milestones do matter. They give batters and bowlers a visible, and sometimes very public, gauge of form. For Punjab, two men near the top suggests the collective plan is working. For Mumbai, stuck in the bottom half, it is a reminder that their marquee names have ground to make up, and quickly.
