IPL 2017, Leading run scorers, wicket-takers after the last league match: DD v RCB
The league stage of the tenth season of the Indian Premier League has finally come to a close. The playoff spots were not finalised until the penultimate match between the Rising Pune Supergiant and the Kings XI Punjab. However, in an anti-climax of sorts, it turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair as RPS not only made KXIP bundle up for a total of 73 runs but also chased it down in just 12 hours.
RPS is now at the second position in the points table, which gives them a nice cushion for the playoffs. Cricket is a funny game – the Steve Smith-led team had to win the match to stay alive in the tournament but now it won’t be out of the tournament even if it suffers a loss in its next match.
The second match of the day between the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore wasn’t going to affect the playoff standings in any way. However, it did offer a sense of excitement and watching Virat Kohli pumped up on the field certainly was a fulfilling sight.
RCB batted first and yet again scored a below par total of 161/6 at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi with Kohli’s innings of 58 turning out to be crucial in the end. In reply, the Delhi Daredevils kept losing wickets at regular intervals through some questionable shot selection.
The game, however, went on the last over, where RCB were the ones to hold their nerves and get the job done. Harshal Patel, who played his first match for RCB this season, went home with the man of the match award for his figures of 3 for 43.
Now that the group stage of the tournament is over, let us look at the players who managed to grab the orange and purple caps respectively.
Leading run scorers:
| Position | Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Warner (SRH) | 13 | 13 | 604 | 60.4 | 144.84 | 1 | 4 | 126 |
| 2 | Shikhar Dhawan (SRH) | 13 | 13 | 468 | 39 | 128.93 | 0 | 3 | 77 |
| 3 | Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 14 | 14 | 454 | 41.27 | 127.89 | 0 | 4 | 76* |
| 4 | Suresh Raina (GL) | 14 | 14 | 442 | 40.18 | 143.97 | 0 | 3 | 84 |
| 5 | Hashim Amla (KXIP) | 10 | 10 | 420 | 60 | 145.83 | 2 | 2 | 104* |
| 6 | Steve Smith (RPS) | 13 | 13 | 420 | 42 | 125.37 | 0 | 2 | 84* |
| 7 | Manish Pandey (KKR) | 14 | 13 | 396 | 49.5 | 128.57 | 0 | 2 | 81* |
| 8 | Rahul Tripathi (RPS) | 12 | 12 | 388 | 32.33 | 150.97 | 0 | 2 | 93 |
| 9 | Sanju Samson (DD) | 14 | 14 | 386 | 27.57 | 141.39 | 1 | 2 | 102 |
| 10 | Robin Uthappa (KKR) | 12 | 11 | 386 | 35.09 | 167.83 | 0 | 5 | 87 |
Leading wicket takers:
| Position | Player | Matches | Wickets | Overs | Runs | 5 Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) | 13 | 25 | 51.2 | 358 | 1 | 6.97 | 5 for 19 |
| 2 | Jaydev Unadkat (RPS) | 10 | 21 | 37.5 | 279 | 1 | 7.37 | 5 for 30 |
| 3 | Imran Tahir (RPS) | 12 | 18 | 47 | 369 | 0 | 7.85 | 3 for 18 |
| 4 | Mitchell McClenaghan (MI) | 13 | 18 | 50 | 461 | 0 | 9.22 | 3 for 24 |
| 5 | Rashid Khan (SRH) | 13 | 17 | 52 | 347 | 0 | 6.67 | 3 for 19 |
| 6 | Chris Woakes (KKR) | 13 | 17 | 44 | 386 | 0 | 8.77 | 3 for 6 |
| 7 | Sandeep Sharma (KXIP) | 13 | 17 | 48 | 398 | 0 | 8.29 | 4 for 20 |
| 8 | Siddharth Kaul (SRH) | 9 | 16 | 34.4 | 286 | 0 | 8.25 | 4 for 29 |
| 9 | Pawan Negi (RCB) | 12 | 16 | 32.1 | 197 | 0 | 6.12 | 3 for 10 |
| 10 | Axar Patel (KXIP) | 14 | 15 | 48 | 362 | 0 | 7.54 | 3 for 11 |
David Warner has been a provenance of drive, consistency and aggression for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His thumping strokeplay and aggressive captaincy were pivotal in SRH being one of the top four teams in the tournament. He has led the team from the front and ensured that his miserable form from the Test Series against India did not carry over into the IPL. He is a worthy holder of the orange cap and no other batsman in the tournament deserved to don it more than he does.
If Warner has been the messiah for SRH with the bat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been their torch bearer. He climbed to the top of the purple cap table in the second week of the tournament and did not let that position slip even for a second. He maintained a consistent three to four-wicket lead over the ever changing second-placed bowlers. He struggled with injury during the Indian team’s long Test season but has more than made up for it in this tournament.
Both the orange cap holder and the purple cap holder are in the SRH squad – can they bring one more trophy home?
Final Points Table:
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Net Run Rate | Points | Last Result | Next Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0.784 | 20 | Beat KKR by 9 runs | RPS |
| 2 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0.176 | 18 | Beat KXIP by 9 wickets | MI |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0.599 | 17 | Beat GL by 8 wickets | KKR |
| 4 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0.641 | 16 | Lost to MI by 9 runs | SRH |
| 5 | Kings XI Punjab | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | -0.009 | 14 | Lost to RPS by 9 wickets | - |
| 6 | Delhi Daredevils | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | -0.512 | 12 | Lost to RCB by 10 runs | - |
| 7 | Gujarat Lions | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | -0.412 | 8 | Lost to SRH by 8 wickets | - |
| 8 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | -1.299 | 7 | Beat DD by 10 runs | - |