IPL 2017: Highest run scorers, wicket-takers after Rising Pune Supergiant vs Kolkata Knight Riders

There was a time when 300 plus was considered to be a par score in ODI cricket and 180 plus was a winner in T20 matches. That’s hardly the case anymore, isn’t it? Big batsmen striding in with even bigger willows and hitting them for the biggest shots is the skeleton of criket’s batting scenario today.

Chasing 182 in 20 overs on the controversial pitch of the MCA cricket stadium in Pune, the Kolkata Knight Riders were up against a pretty uphill task. Or so it would seem. The visitors not only beat the Rising Pune Supergiant by scoring 184 in their own backyard, but also did it in just 18.1 overs.

The Gautam Gambhir-led team has not looked back since the uncommon loss to the Gujarat Lions and have shown depth, strength and passion in everything that it has done.

Last night, KKR beat RPS by seven wickets while ensuring that their net run rate has taken a huge hike with the victory. Robin Uthappa, after being dropped by Jaydev Unadkat at 12, went onto score 50 off just 26 deliveries to take his side home with a hefty sum of deliveries still left to be bowled.

Gambhir donned the role of the anchor of this chase with a calmer half century. Captain Steve Smith continued his good run for Pune by scoring an unbeaten half century but the score he helped build up wasn’t good enough to stop the mighty onslaught from the Knight Riders.

Let us look at the leading run scorers and wicket takers after last night’s result.

Leading run scorers

Gambhir is at the top of the pile when it comes to runs scored

Position	Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s	Highest
1	Gautam Gambhir(KKR)	8	8	305	50.83	136.77	0	3	76*
2	Hashim Amla(KXIP)	7	7	299	59.8	145.85	1	2	104*
3	David Warner(SRH)	7	7	282	56.4	129.36	0	2	76*
4	Steve Smith(RPS)	7	7	275	55	135.47	0	2	84*
5	Suresh Raina(GL)	7	7	275	55	146.28	0	2	84
6	Robin Uthappa(KKR)	8	7	272	38.86	165.85	0	3	87
7	Nitish Rana(MI)	8	8	266	38	135.03	0	3	62*
8	Brendon McCullum(SRH)	7	7	264	37.71	149.15	0	2	72
9	Manish Pandey(KKR)	8	7	260	86.67	141.3	0	2	81*
10	Shikhar Dhawan(SRH)	7	7	235	33.57	118.09	0	1	70

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Leading wicket takers

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is still some way ahead

Position	Player	Matches	Wickets	Overs	Runs	5 Wickets	Economy	Best Figures
1	Bhuvaneshwar Kumar(SRH)	7	16	28	176	1	6.29	5 for 19
2	Mitchell McClenaghan(MI)	8	12	32	279	0	8.72	3 for 24
3	Chris Morris(DD)	6	12	22	152	0	6.91	4 for 26
4	Imran Tahir(RPS)	8	10	31	264	0	8.52	3 for 28
5	Chris Woakes(KKR)	8	10	25	243	0	9.72	3 for 6
6	Rashid Khan(SRH)	7	10	28	195	0	6.96	3 for 19
7	Yuzvendra Chahal(RCB)	7	10	23.3	159	0	6.77	3 for 16
8	Andrew Tye(GL)	4	9	16	120	1	7.5	5 for 17
9	Pat Cummins(DD)	6	9	23.1	172	0	7.42	2 for 20
10	Jasprit Bumrah(MI)	8	9	32	256	0	8	3 for 24

If there is one significant point that we can take from both the tables through the last one week is that the margin for change in the orange cap table is extremely high whereas the alterations in the purple cap table are extremely small. For example, Brendon McCullum was the bearer of the orange cap just a couple of days back but today, he’s at the 8th position. Even Gautam Gambhir, who got the orange cap today, is just six runs ahead of second-placed Hashim Amla, who is in turn 17 runs ahead of third-placed David Warner. Hence, every match is affecting the leading run scorers’ list exponentially.

Things are quieter on the bowling side of things. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has been the top wicket taker for ages and is there to stay for at least one more day. In spite of the SRH-RCB clash being washed out, his position is still safe and gives him a constant breathing room to sustain his purple cap. A few names have swapped places but the core bowlers have stayed where they are in the table.

Let us look at the points table now.

Position	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	No Result	NRR	Points	Last Result	Next Opponent
1	Kolkata Knight Riders	8	6	2	0	1.15	12	Beat RPS by 7 wickets	DD
2	Mumbai Indians	8	6	2	0	0.51	12	Lost to RPS by 3 runs	GL
3	Sunrisers Hyderabad	8	4	3	1	0.48	9	Match washed out against RCB	KXIP
4	Rising Pune Supergiant	8	4	4	0	-0.7	8	Lost to KKR by 6 wickets	RCB
5	Kings XI Punjab	7	3	4	0	-0.3	6	Beat SRH by 6 wickets	SRH
6	Royal Challengers Bangalore	8	2	5	1	-1.2	5	Match washed out against SRH	GL
7	Delhi Daredevils	6	2	4	0	0.85	4	Lost to KXIP by 26 runs	KKR
8	Gujarat Lions	7	2	5	0	-0.8	4	Lost to KKR by 82 runs	RCB

KKR were playing catch up with Mumbai Indians for the past couple of weeks. Thanks to their win today and MI’s loss a few of days back, both to RPS, they have finally overtaken MI to grab the first spot, owing to the huge NRR boost they got last night. The one extra point seems to be working well for SRH right now but will soon seem like a bane if RPS gets another win under the belt before they do. KXIP, RCB, DD and GL are all in worrysome positions and their playoff chances are looking meeker by every passing game.

Raina and Kohli will tussle for brightening their teams’ chances in the only game today. Let’s hope they present us with some exciting action.