3 minute read
The Rajasthan Royals sit top of the Indian Premier League standings following four wins from five games as they continue their pursuit of a second title.
Reigning Orange Cap holder – the award for the highest run scorer – Jos Buttler is leading the way for Rajasthan with 204 runs through five matches, and he is ably supported by Shimron Hetmyer (183 runs) and Sanju Sampson (157 runs).
They also have the joint-leader in the Purple Cap stakes – the award for leading wicket taker – with Yuzvendra Chahal taking 11 wickets so far in the tournament, alongside Lucknow Super Giants paceman Mark Wood.
The performance of Rajasthan has them priced as 3/1 favourites to win the competition.
Following RR is a host of teams who have secured three wins in the early weeks of the tournament. Lucknow (13/2), Chennai Super Kings (5/1), Gujarat Titans (9/2), Punjab Kings (14/1) and Mumbai Indians (12/1) have six points on the table through five games.
Three teams have two wins in the IPL so far – Kolkata Knight Riders (28/1), Royal Challengers Bangalore (14/1) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (20/1). However, it already looks like a season to forget for the Delhi Capitals (100/1) who have lost all five of their contests to date.
In the MVP index, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Faf du Plessis currently leads the way with 118 points. He has 259 runs at an average of 64.75 - which leads the way in the Orange Cap stakes too – and has three half centuries to his name.
Following Du Plessis are a number of Indian talents – Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab), Mohammed Shami (Gujarat), Mohammaed Siraj (Bangalore) and Azar Patel (Delhi) rounding off the top five in the MVP market.
Orange Cap wise, Du Plessis is followed by Venkatesh Iyer (234 runs, Kolkata), Shikhar Dhawan (233 runs, Punjab), Shubman Gill (228 runs, Gujarat) and David Warner (228 runs, Delhi).
For the Purple Cap, Chahal and Wood (11 wickets) are joined at the top of the standings by Rashid Khan (Gujarat). Then follow Mohammad Shami (10 wickets, Gujarat), Tushar Deshpande (10 wickets, Chennai) then Ravi Bishnoi (Lucknow), Mohammad Sirak (Bangalore) and Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) all on eight wickets.
The 14-game IPL season will continue until May 21 before four teams enter the end of competition play-offs. The 1st and 2nd placed teams play in Qualifer 1 while the 3rd and 4th placed teams play in the Eliminator.
The winner of Qualifier 1 advances straight to the IPL final, while the loser plays the winner of the Eliminator for the other place in the final. The IPL final is set to take place on May 28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
