IPL 2022 Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings: Buttler 149 runs behind Kohli's record, Hasaranga pips Chahal - Updated after Qualifier 2
Another Jos Buttler special flew Rajasthan Royals into the final of the IPL 2022 after a 14-year exile, on Friday, May 28. The inaugural edition champions, who hadn't reached a final since 2008, trounced Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium to book a date with Gujarat Titans for Sunday.
Both captains Faf du Plessis and Sanju Samson read the pitch differently at the toss. While Sanju called it "sticky" and opted to bowl first, du Plessis said it was a "good wicket," remarking that he wanted to bat first himself. As it turned out, it was a bit of both, plus some bounce, which the Royals took advantage of.
The Royal Challengers had form and momentum behind them but on the field, they had trouble shrugging off the fatigue of two back-to-back knockout games and travel.
Last match's centurion Rajat Patidar notched 58 (42) and du Plessis got a jaded 25 (27) in the first innings. But all other batters failed to even reach 25 runs against a superb display from Prasidh Krishna (3/22) and Obed McCoy (3/23).
Buttler showed once again why he's the best T20 batter in the world, at the moment. He romped to his fourth hundred of IPL 2022 like it was nothing, scoring 106 off 60 balls, finding the right bowlers, the right moments, and right shots, like he has done most of the year.
The bowling side seemed knocked out as early as when the Royals got 67 in the powerplay overs, and only played catchup till the inevitable result.
IPL 2022 Orange Cap list updated
Jos Buttler maintains his top spot in the “Orange Cap” race 🏏
#IPL #IPL2022 #hallabol #RCB https://t.co/agAIUtcX3K
Buttler took his season tally to 824 runs, putting his stamp of authority on the IPL 2022 Orange Cap race.
The Englishman is now just 24 runs behind David Warner in the list of batters with most runs in an IPL season. The Aussie opener sits at the second position on the list, behind the peerless Virat Kohli.
Although it's unlikely to achieve that against the tournament's second-best bowling attack, 150 in the final will allow him to break Virat Kohli's six-year-old record of 973 runs in the freakish 2016 season.
Whether or not he gets there, Buttler can be proud to be the first batter to even threaten to come near that milestone. While he continued his dominance at the top, his skipper, Samson, sneaked into the No. 9 position in the rankings with his supporting act of 23 (21). He's the second-highest run-getter for the franchise.
Meanwhile, for the Royal Challengers, du Plessis' got a consolatory boost from No. 8 in the table to No. 4. The South African didn't find much run-scoring support from his teammates throughout the season and now ends with 468 runs from 16 games.
IPL 2022 Purple Cap list updated
The IPL 2022 Purple Cap table saw major changes. The Royals' Yuzvendra Chahal donned the cap before the match but he failed to add to his tally of 26 against his former team. The Royal Challengers' leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga's wicket of Samson then got him level with the Indian in the second innings.
Hasaranga has maintained a better economy rate (7.54) than Chahal (7.92) which allowed him to end the season as the top wicket-taker. The latter faces no other competition and can snatch the Purple Cap back by either picking up a wicket or by conceding an economy rate of less than or equal to 7.1 in the final.
Prasidh, who picked up the important wickets of Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, and Wanindu Hasaranga, also got a much-deserved entry into the top-10. He's now placed 10th with 18 wickets, tied with the Titans' star leg-spinner Rashid Khan.
We tried our best not to let you down. 
🏻
An unforgettable season with so many unforgettable moments.
We cannot thank you enough for your support, 12th Man Army. ❤️ We tried our best not to let you down.
We’ll be back to #PlayBold next year. 🙌🏻
#WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB #PlayOffs #RRvRCB https://t.co/xg5yoZZi7Z
For the Royal Challengers, the ever-consistent Hazlewood was the lone warrior with his spell of 2/23. It didn't win his team the match but helped him end the season placed sixth in the Purple Cap chart.
His bowling partner Harshal Patel toiled hard but had no wickets to show for it. IPL 2021's Purple Cap winner thus dropped from sixth to a disappointing seventh in the last match of IPL 2022.