IPL 2020 Purple Cap: Kagiso Rabada is the current holder on an extremely crowded list
It was an all-round bowling performance from the Delhi Capitals (DC) as they registered their second successive victory in IPL 2020 and moved to the top of the points table after beating the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 44 runs at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.
Kagiso Rabada not only prevented CSK from cutting loose in the powerplay overs but also killed the run-chase by accounting for Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja towards the end. He returned with impressive figures of three for 26 from four overs.
The South African speedster picked up two wickets in their opening fixture against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) before single-handedly winning DC the Super Over. In the process, Rabada sits pretty at the top of the IPL 2020 ‘Purple Cap’ list with five wickets from two matches.
By virtue of Rabada’s phenomenal average of 10.80, CSK’s Sam Curran – five wickets from three games – is second on the list. The English all-rounder was the pick of the CSK bowlers last night as he gave away just 27 runs from four overs, including removing DC captain Shreyas Iyer in the penultimate over.
IPL 2020 ‘Purple Cap’ list
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) duo of Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell, and Yuzvendra Chahal – all three on four wickets apiece – complete the top 5 in the race for the IPL 2020 ‘Purple Cap’.
After getting smashed for 55 runs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday, CSK leggie Piyush Chawla was back amongst the wickets last night. He broke the 94-run opening stand before removing Man of the Match Prithvi Shaw and finishing with figures of two for 33 from four overs. He is eighth on the IPL 2020 ‘Purple Cap’ list.
One spot below him is his CSK teammate Lungi Ngidi, who followed up his three wickets on the opening night against the Mumbai Indians (MI) with expensive figures of one for 56 against RR.
The focus shifts to Abu Dhabi tonight as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) square off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) – the only two teams yet to get off the mark in IPL 2020.
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Quite naturally, neither of the two have a bowler contesting for the ‘Purple Cap’ currently. But, both franchises have enough quality in their bowling attack to move up the bowling charts.
The sluggish wickets of Abu Dhabi and the tightly-packed list will aid the likes of Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Rashid Khan to even break into the top 3.