NEW DELHI: Their
IPL 2018 campaigns ended on contrasting notes on Sunday, but one common strand joined
Delhi Daredevils
’ flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman and
Kings XI Punjab
’s Australian import
Andrew Tye: they each held the Orange Cup and
Purple Cap
, respectively.
Points TableWhile it is unlikely that Pant will still have the
Orange Cap
in his possession when the
IPL ends next Sunday, pace bowler Tye could receive the Purple Cap for good when the 11th season of the league comes to a close given the gap between him and his nearest competitors for the prize.
Pant’s final innings of the tournament was 64 off 44 balls in the already eliminated Daredevils’ 11-run win that dragged defending champions Mumbai Indians out with them, and took his run tally to 684 - which is the most scored b a wicketkeeper in any IPL season. However, it is unlikely that Pant will have the Orange Cap for long, given that Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson has 661 runs and at least two matches left in the tournament.
KXIP opener KL Rahul exited the tournament with 659 runs from 14 innings, currently placing him at third position on the batting charts. Another batsman with at least two matches left in IPL 2018 is Chennai Super Kings opener Ambati Rayudu with 586, and a strong finish to the season could see him vie with Williamson for the Orange Cap.
A wicketless final match for KXIP still left Tye at the top of the bowling table with 24 wickets, and given that his nearest rivals Umesh Yadav (20 wickets) and Trent Boult and Hardik Pandya (18) are also out of the tournament, chances are good that the Australian pacer holds onto the Purple Cap.
The two biggest candidates to snatch it from him are the SRH pair of Siddarth Kaul (17) and Rashid Khan (16), but they would need to have bumper performances to do so. They could, given that SRH have at least two matches left in SRH - and a third, should they reach the final.
SRH will face CSK in Tuesday’s Qualifier 1, the loser of which will play the winner of the Eliminator. Whoever wins Qualifier 2 will progress to Sunday’s IPL final at the Wankhede Stadium.