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The IPL is all set to enter its twelfth season in less than a month's time but the complete schedule is yet to be announced because of the dates clashing with the general elections in India. Also for the first time, the World Cup will be following the IPL, resulting in the absence of many key international players.
Despite all the hurdles, the IPL is sure to take the centre stage once the on-field action starts. Several records will tumble and many others will be made. Talking about on-field actions, one of the many interesting contests in the league every season has been the race to the coveted Orange cap.
Till date, Sachin Tendulkar in 2010, Robin Uthappa in 2014 and Virat Kohli in 2016 are the only Indians to win the Orange cap. Chris Gayle and David Warner are the only ones to win it twice.
Here we look at the five instances when the Orange cap was won by a captain.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (2010)
2010 was the year when the Master Blaster announced his arrival to the IPL. After missing majority of the first season due to injury and a not-so-impressive second season, Sachin Tendulkar led his side from the front with his bat in the third season and took his side to the finals where they lost to Chennai Super Kings.
Tendulkar scored 618 runs in the season from 15 games at a strike rate of 132.61 and an impressive average of 47.53. His successful season with the bat included 5 fifties with a best score of 89*. This was the beginning of Tendulkar's stellar run in the IPL as he followed the 2010 success with his first and only T20 hundred in 2011.
By scoring the most runs in 2010, Tendulkar became the first Indian, first non-Australian and the first captain to win the Orange Cap.
#2 David Warner (2015)
The pocket-size dynamite from Australia had a stellar run with the bat in the 2015 season, where he scored 562 runs in 14 games. Sunrisers Hyderabad did not qualify for the playoffs, but that did not stop the SRH skipper David Warner from topping the list of run-getters for the season.
Warner carried the side almost single-handedly with the bat, scoring his runs at a blazing strike rate of 156.54 and an average of 43.23 with a high score of 91. This was the beginning of the streak of 3 consecutive seasons of 500 plus aggregates for Warner.
#3 Virat Kohli (2016)
The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain did not have a single T20 hundred to his name before the start of the season but ended the season with as many as 4 centuries under his belt. His 4 hundreds in a single season is still a record in the IPL. The season started quietly for RCB, but Virat Kohli with his aggressive captaincy and out-of-the-world batting stormed RCB into the finals and almost to the trophy.
Kohli scored a total of 973 runs, an IPL record, at an average of 81.08 and strike-rate of 152.03 in the season with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties. Such was the dominance that Warner, who bettered his Orange Cap winning performance of 2015 by nearly 300 runs, was still more than 100 runs behind Kohli.
#4 David Warner (2017)
The defending champions were on course for their title defence, led superbly by Warner, who had the third consecutive successful year with the bat in 2017. Sunrisers Hyderabad eventually finished fourth after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the rain-curtailed eliminator. Warner was the lone warrior with the bat in an otherwise bowling-heavy team, just like in 2015.
Warner was the best batsman of the tournament by far, so much so that the second highest run-scorer Gautam Gambhir was nearly 150 runs behind him. Warner with 642 runs was the only player to score 500 plus runs in the season. He scored at a strike rate of 141.81 and an average of 58.27. He registered 4 fifties and a scintillating 126 against KKR in the league stages.
#5 Kane Williamson (2018)
The ban on Warner proved to be a blessing in disguise for Kane Williamson. Not even a regular member of the XI previously, Williamson was handed over the captaincy in Warner's absence and the rest is history. Calmness and composure was his major strength as a skipper which led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to the finals where they lost to Chennai Super Kings.
Williamson was not only brilliant as a skipper, but he was also equally magnificent with the bat too. The most consistent batsman of the season, Williamson scored 735 runs at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 142.44. He had as many as 8 fifties in 17 games, meaning a fifty plus score in almost every second game in the season with a best score of 84.
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