Purple Cap Race: Bhuvneshwar Retains Top Spot

New Delhi, May 14 (HS): The race for the Orange Cap and Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 continues to grow increasingly thrilling. Significant changes were observed in both leaderboards following the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) played in Raipur on Wednesday.

RCB star batsman Virat Kohli smashed a brilliant century against KKR, propelling his team to a target of 193 runs. With this innings, Kohli has risen to the third position in the Orange Cap list.

Virat Kohli has scored 484 runs in 12 innings this season at a strike rate of 165.75. Ahead of him are only Gujarat Titans' Sai Sudharsan (501 runs) and Sunrisers Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen (508 runs).

In the Orange Cap race thereafter, Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma stands fourth with 481 runs. Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul is fifth with 477 runs, while Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill occupies the sixth spot with 467 runs.

In the bowlers' standings, RCB's experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken the lead in the Purple Cap race. He claimed 1 wicket against KKR, bringing his total to 22 wickets.

With this performance, Bhuvneshwar has overtaken Gujarat Titans' Kagiso Rabada, who has 21 wickets.

Chennai Super Kings' Anshul Kamboj holds the third position in the Purple Cap list with 19 wickets. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants' Prince Yadav, Gujarat Titans' Rashid Khan, Kolkata Knight Riders' Kartik Tyagi, and Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ishan Malinga each have 16 wickets recorded.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar