A pair of Sunday fixtures – Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata and Punjab Kings v Lucknow Super Giants in Mohali – shook up both individual leaderboards. The Orange Cap (most runs) remains relatively settled, but the Purple Cap (most wickets) has a new challenger.
Purple Cap – wickets in the bank
Prince Yadav proved the tidiest bowler in an otherwise run-soaked evening at Mohali. His 2 for 25, squeezed out while 454 runs flew off other bats, means the Punjab Kings seamer has now struck in every one of his six outings. He joins Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna on 11 wickets but owns the better economy rate – 8.15 runs per over compared with Krishna’s 8.71.
Anshul Kamboj stays on top with 13 wickets. Royal Challengers Bengaluru veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar (ten) and Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (also ten after one scalp at Eden Gardens) follow. Jofra Archer sits on eight, the same tally as Kartik Tyagi, whose 3 for 22 against Rajasthan was KKR’s bright spot on an otherwise forgettable afternoon.
Orange Cap – runs continue to pile up
Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Shubman Gill (Gujarat) and Virat Kohli (RCB) still occupy the first three slots, none having played on Sunday. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 46 for Rajasthan was enough to reclaim fourth.
Punjab Kings’ Australian import Cooper Connolly is into sixth after a punishing 87 from 46 balls – his second sizeable effort this season – drawing level on 223 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Priyansh Arya’s hurricane 93 from 37 lifted him past 200 and took the league total of 200-plus run-scorers to 15.
A few extra numbers
• Highest strike rates: Klaasen’s 203.8 remains the benchmark.
• Most sixes: Gill leads with 23.
• Best economy (min 10 overs): Kamboj’s 6.12 is still the figure to beat.
• Sharpest bowling strike rate (balls per wicket): Bishnoi sits at 10.8.
What next? Hyderabad meet Mumbai on Tuesday, while Delhi host Chennai 24 hours later. By mid-week both tables could look different again – though, as coaches like to remind us, these caps count for little if the team isn’t winning.
