IPL 2023: Indian stars crowd the race for Orange and Purple Caps

The IPL 2023 has run its course for one-third of the tournament and the race for the Orange Cap (highest run-getter) and Purple Cap (highest wicket-taker) is beginning to hot up. With no team playing more than five to six matches each till Wednesday, there is little to choose from at the top of the table—though it is heartening to see Indian stars crowding the top 10 in each category.

Faf du Plessis, the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and a pillar of their batting, wears the Orange Cap at the moment with an aggregate of 259 runs from five matches (strike rate 172.66), while England pace bowler Mark Wood of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has the Purple Cap with 11 wickets from four matches (economy rate 8.12).

There are, however, six Indian batters among the top 10 scorers, with centurion Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) in third position with 234 runs, Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab Kings) fourth at 233, Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans) fifth at 228, Virat Kohli (RCB) seventh at 220 runs, young Tilak Varma (Mumbai Indians) ninth at 214 runs and K.L. Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) at 194 runs. 

The contest for the Purple Cap among the bowlers is turning out to be a more intense one, with the economy rate determining a number of rankings across the same number of wickets. There are eight Indian bowlers jostling for space in the top 10, with an assortment of seamers and spinners. Wood and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan are the only two overseas professionals there.

The following figures clarify the situation further: There are three bowlers on 11 wickets, with only the economy rate separating them. Yuzvendra Chahal, the Indian leggie who moved over to the Rajasthan Royals in the mega auction last year, lies in second position (8.25), followed by the canny Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans, 8.30). Mohammed Shami, the senior Indian pace bowler who plays for the Titans, is fourth on the table with 10 scalps (8.35), while Tushar Deshpande (Chennai Super Kings) is fifth with the same number of wickets but an economy rate of 11.40.

The fifth through tenth positions are occupied by Indian bowlers. Ravichandran Ashwin (Royals) is in sixth position, with eight wickets and an economy rate of 6.75. Ravi Bishnoi (LSG), Mohammed Siraj (RCB) and Arshdeep Singh (Punjab Kings) lie in the seventh, eighth and nine positions, respectively, all with eight wickets but varying economy rates. Veteran Mumbai leg spinner Piyush Chawla is tenth on the table, with seven wickets and an economy rate of 7.15.

It’s still early days, but the way Kohli has been hitting the ball so far has been heartening for the legion of fans this master batter has garnered. Carrying over his resurgent form from international cricket, where he ended his nearly three-year drought of centuries last year, the former RCB captain has been revelling in the role of opener with Faf. He looks well poised to surpass his 341 runs from 16 matches last year, with a current strike rate of 115.98.

Kohli's form has been in sharp contrast to that of 'Hitman' this season: Rohit Sharma is languishing at the twenty-fourth spot among the batters, with an aggregate of 135 runs from five innings, an average of 27.00 (strike rate 136.36). The upcoming weeks will tell us if the Mumbai skipper, the third-highest run-getter in IPL history after Kohli and Dhawan, can get his act together soon.