In the match between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Punjab Kings in the IPL on Tuesday, Kagiso Rabada has not only stopped Vijay Rath of Gujarat, but also has become challenger for the purple cap. The pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who are leading the race for the Purple Cap, will now have a neck to neck competition which will make the IPL more exciting and interesting.
Kagiso Rabada has presented his claim for the Purple Cap by dismissing four players from Gujarat in this match. Also, in the previous match, Kagiso Rabada bagged four key wickets but in a losing cause. His last two match performance makes it that he was taken 8 wickets in two matches which is quite a big jump in the wickets column.
Immediately Kagiso Rabada has entered the list of highest wicket taker bowlers. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal could not do anything special in the last match, so now the purple cap race has also become exciting in itself. So far, if we talk about the claimants of Purple Cap, then the list is something like this:
1. Yuzvendra Chahal – 19 wickets in 10 matches (Rajasthan Royals)
2. Kuldeep Yadav – 17 wickets in 9 matches (Delhi Capitals)
3. Kagiso Rabada – 9 matches 17 wickets (Punjab Kings)
4. T Natarajan – 17 in 9 matches Wickets (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
5. Umesh Yadav – 15 wickets in 10 matches (Kolkata Knight Riders)
If we talk about the record of taking four or more wickets in IPL history, then these records are in the name of Sunil Narine, Sunil has done this work 8 times in 143 innings. After him Malinga has done 7 times, Rabada 6 times and Amit Mishra has done this feat 5 times. Let us inform that Rabada has taken eight wickets in his last two matches.
It will get more exciting if we another a new name emerging in the list of highest wicket takers. At earlier stage, Umesh Yadav had complete dominance in the purple wickets column. Then, he had couple of dull matches where he failed to pick wickets. Now, he has entered in the list again with 4 wickets in the last two matches.