IPL 2018: 5 interesting facts about the Orange Cap

Indian Premier League introduced the concept of ‘Orange Cap’ a week after the inception of the tournament. The player with the most number of runs to his name on each day of the season will enter the field by wearing the designated cap. The overall leading run-scorer at the end of the tournament will receive the actual ‘Orange Cap’ on the day of final.

"Cricket is often remembered and recorded as statistics and not by material distinctions. The DLF Indian Premier League will create a distinction for the best performing batsman, which will be cherished and valued by each player through this initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to be innovative, create another unique piece of history that sets the DLF Indian Premier League apart from the crowd, and to reward outstanding achievements by the players." - The then IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said on the initiative

Rishabh Pant is presently leading the run chart in this season with 521 runs in 11 games. Let us look at some of the interesting facts about the cap.

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#1 First player to wear the cap

Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear the orange cap

Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear the cap. Because of his breathtaking knock of 158 on the season opener, the New Zealander topped the run chart at the first week of the inaugural season. Michael Hussey was second on the list. Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden shared the third place at the conclusion of the first week.

#2 Different players to win the award

David Warner won the award in 2015 and 2017 editions of the tournament

So far, only eight different players had received the ‘Orange Cap’ award in the history of the competition. Chris Gayle and David Warner were the only players to win this award twice. Sachin Tendulkar was the first Indian player to earn his honor in 2010. Only three Indian players had received this award in the last ten editions of the competition. Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli were the other two Indians.

#3 Numbers game

Virat Kohli hit four tons in the 2016 season

Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore won the award by scoring a mammoth 973 runs in just 16 innings during the 2016 season. In contrast, David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad won the award by scoring only 562 runs in the 2015 edition.

Among the current teams, RCB players have won the award for the most number of times (thrice). Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad players have won the award twice. Barring Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals players, rest of the teams have won the award at least once.

#4 Retaining the cap

Chris Gayle was the only player to retain the orange cap

Chris Gayle was the first and the last player to retain the cap successfully. In the 2011 season, Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Chris Gayle as a replacement player for the injured Dirk Nannes. The Jamaican scored 608 runs from just 12 innings. His teammate Virat Kohli was second on the list. However, Kohli had scored only 557 runs in 16 innings.

In the 2012 season, RCB retained Gayle. Gayle resumed the season from where he left in 2011. This time he scored 733 runs in 14 innings. As usual, the second player on the list (Gautam Gambhir) had scored just 590 runs from 17 innings. Chris Gayle became the first player to score 700+ runs in a single IPL season. On course, he also became the only player to retain the ‘Orange Cap.’

#5 Orange Cap in winning cause

Robin Uthappa played a pivotal role in KKR's 2014 winning campaign

A batsman with a mountain of runs in a tournament should always end up in the winning side. However, that is not the norm with the Indian Premier League. Only once a batsman with the ‘Orange Cap’ helped his side to complete the tournament as ‘Champions.’

Robin Uthappa of Kolkata Knight Riders was the only player to achieve this rare feat. In the 2014 season, Uthappa’s sublime form helped KKR to win their second trophy in three years. During the seven edition of the tournament, Uthappa scored 660 runs from 16 innings. In the process, he became the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to win the orange cap.