IPL 2021: Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings after PBKS vs KKR match (updated)

Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan remains in possession of the IPL 2021 Orange Cap with 259 runs under his belt. There wasn’t any change at the top of the Purple Cap list either, as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seamer Harshal Patel maintains a 4-wicket lead with 15 scalps to his name.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain KL Rahul has sealed the 2nd spot in the Orange Cap 2021 list. He scored a scratchy 20-ball 19 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tonight and furthered his tournament tally to 240 runs at an average of 48.

From the winning side, KKR opener Nitish Rana was dismissed for a golden duck, but he remained 8th having scored 186 runs from 6 games thus far. Rahul Tripathi jumped up 7 spots to break into the top 10 of the batting charts. He stroked a counter-attacking 42 off 31 balls to take his season haul to 168 runs.

KKR's Varun Chakravarthy joined MI's Rahul Chahar as the only two spinners in the top 10 of the Purple Cap list [Credits: IPL]

Meanwhile, there were three new entrants in the top 10 of the IPL 2021 Purple Cap list. The KKR duo of Prasidh Krishna and Varun Chakravarthy occupy the 6th and 8th slots, separated by PBKS’ Mohammed Shami in 7th.

Krishna leapfrogged 13 spots to move up to 6th in the bowling charts. The 25-year-old returned figures of 3 for 34 against PBKS tonight to extend his tally to 8 wickets for this edition. Chakravarthy and Shami both scalped one wicket apiece tonight. They are tied on 7 wickets, with the speedster edging ahead courtesy a better economy rate.

IPL 2021 action will remain in Ahmedabad as second-placed Delhi Capitals take on third-placed RCB on Tuesday (April 27). While RCB batter Glenn Maxwell will vie for a spot among the top 3 of the Orange Cap list, DC pacer Avesh Khan will want to close in on the IPL 2021 Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel.

Click here for IPL live cricket streaming details.

---

Morgan, bowlers help KKR win for the first time in five games

Eoin Morgan controlled the chase with an unbeaten 47 off 40 balls [Credits: KKR]

A change in venue brought about a change of fortunes for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as Eoin Morgan led from the front to arrest their four-match losing streak. They beat the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets in Match 21 of IPL 2021 at the Motera in Ahmedabad on Monday (April 26).

The win lifts KKR off rock bottom and pushes them into the fifth position, while the KL Rahul-led side dropped to sixth in the table. Both teams, though, have won just two of their six games played so far.

After KKR skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first, openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave PBKS a steady start by putting on 36 runs during the mandatory field restrictions.

But with two balls left in the powerplay, fast bowler Pat Cummins (2 for 31) dismissed Rahul (19 off 20), triggering a slide which all but put the Kings out of the contest. While Shivam Mavi (1 for 13) made the most of the new ball, the spin duo of Sunil Narine (2 for 22) and Varun Chakravarthy (1 for 24) negated the dew and pulled the strings in the middle period as PBKS huffed and puffed to 98 for 8 in the 19th over.

However, Chris Jordan – playing his first game of the season – smashed Prasidh Krishna (3 for 30) for two sixes in the last over to score a quickfire 30 off 18. He helped the KL Rahul-led side reach 123 for 9 at the end of 20 overs.

In reply, KKR once again endured a horrible start as the PBKS pacers ripped through their top order and reduced them to 17 for 3 in the first three overs. Captain Morgan and Rahul Tripathi then steadied the ship by forging 66 runs off just 42 balls.

But the tide again threatened to turn when Tripathi (41 off 32) and Andre Russell (10 off 9) perished with KKR needing 25 runs off the remaining five wickets. Morgan (47* off 40) kept his calm, and along with Dinesh Karthik (12* off 6), polished off the chase with 20 balls to spare.