IPL 2016 Purple Cap: Highest Wicket takers in IPL 9 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar tops the list
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With the advent of T20, it seems that there is no place for bowlers anymore in cricket. Batsmen rule in this game of bat versus ball, where bowlers get hit and hammered without remorse. Yet, bowlers possess a certain determination which makes them walk back and start afresh, hoping to not get hit, maybe even get a wicket after being smashed for a boundary in the previous delivery itself.
The Purple Cap holder is the bravest soul in IPL, who is awarded for his extremely gifted ability to take wickets amidst the chaos that goes on. The bowler with the highest number of wickets taken in the tournament wins the Purple cap. Bhuvneshwar Kumar who notched up 23 wickets in 16 matches with an economy rate of 7.42 was crowned the most courageous by being awarded the Purple Cap.
Chennai Super Kings, who aren’t present in this year’s IPL, rule the Purple Cap tally with 3 winners. Dwayne Bravo won it twice while Mohit Sharma jas won once. This also makes Bravo the only bowler to win the prize twice.
Hyderabad have 3 representations in R.P Singh and Pragyan Ojha, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar becoming the latest addition. Sohail Tanvir, Morne Morkel and Lasith Malinga have one each. One can conclude that Indians have done well in this department, winning the coveted cap 4 times.
IPL 2016 has seen some intelligent bowling, with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders being especially good with the ball. They have often restricted opponents on low scores, complementing their batsmen well. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shane Watson and Yuzvendra Chahal are the only ones to reach the 20 wickets mark.
The 4th spot is held by Dhawal Kulkarni. Mustafizur Rahman, who finishes at 5th position deserves a special mention and has been one of the stars this season, bowling important spells which have elevated SRH to fight for the top honour.
Bhuvi on top
On of the highly contributing factors in SRH’s success has been their bowling. Coupled with David Warner’s captaincy, the Sunrisers batting line-up has consistently delivered, enabling them to restrict the opponents to low scores.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been especially fantastic. He adopted the approach of bowling a number of yorkers towards the end of the innings which has worked magnificently and resulted in SRH winning the IPL trophy.
Chahal and Watson finish just behind
RCB teammates Shane Watson and Yuzvendra Chahal have not been in the limelight because of Kohli and ABD’s brilliance, but they have performed pretty welll. RCB have looked their strongest chasing and the bowlers have done well to ensure comparatively smaller targets for their batsmen to chase.
Shane Watson didn’t get a lot with the bat. However, with the ball, he has excelled picking up 20 wickets in the process with an economy rate of 8.58. Yuzvendra Chahal has been brilliant too, contributing 21 scalps with an economy of 8.10 runs per over.
Here are the top wicket-takers of IPL 2016:
| Players | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 17 | 23 | 7.42 | 4/29 |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 13 | 21 | 8.15 | 4/25 |
| Shane Watson | 16 | 20 | 8.58 | 4/29 |
| Dhawal Kulkarni | 14 | 18 | 7.42 | 4/14 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 16 | 17 | 6.90 | 3/16 |
| Mitchell McClenaghan | 14 | 17 | 8.17 | 4/21 |
| Dwayne Bravo | 15 | 17 | 8.82 | 4/22 |
| Sandeep Sharma | 14 | 15 | 7.32 | 2/11 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 14 | 15 | 7.80 | 3/13 |
| Andre Russell | 12 | 15 | 7.97 | 4/20 |