The Orange Cap contention list for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is getting fascinating after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul came on the list from nowhere courtesy of his blistering 103-run knock against Mumbai Indians on April 16.
Rajasthan Royals' batter Jos Buttler is leading the chart with 375 runs in six matches including 2 fifties and 2 hundreds. On the other hand, KL Rahul is hunting him down with 265 runs from seven matches.
The question now is whether or not there is another batter capable of catching up to these two. There are plenty of other batters in IPL 2022 who are putting in stellar performances but they may find it difficult to sustain consistency like Buttler and Rahul.
Why KL Rahul or Jos Buttler are hot favourites to win the Orange Cap in IPL 2022?
1. Both have been more consistent than any other batter in the league so far. Also, because they are both openers, they will have plenty of opportunities to build the innings early on and play throughout the innings.
2. Rajasthan Royals retained Jos Buttler ahead of Mega Auction, whereas Lucknow is captained by KL Rahul himself, therefore their inclusion in the squad would not be questioned.
3. Both players appear to be in good shape, don't appear to have any notable flaws, and are capable of playing both pace and spin well.
Jos Buttler's last six innings score reads 35, 100, 70*, 13, 54 and 103. Buttler has been very consistent so far in IPL 2022. He is leading the chart with the difference of 110 runs and one extra game.
As a corollary, Buttler and Rahul are hot favourites to win the Orange Cap in TATA IPL 2022.
Read More: IPL 2022, RR vs KKR, Top Performances: Buttler 103, Chahal's hat-trick catapult RR to second place
‘Kul-Cha’ likely to fight for Purple Cap
Let's see who are the probable Purple Cap candidates. As the saying goes, "Batters win games, but bowlers win tournaments."
The wickets chart is led by three Indians - Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Thangarasu Natarajan - which will delight Indian cricket fans. With an outstanding average of 10.35, Chahal has taken 17 wickets in just six matches, followed by Natarajan and Kuldeep with 12 and 11 wickets, respectively.
Royals' leg-spinner has best average (10.35) and economy (7.33) than anybody in the top wicket-takers chart in IPL 2022.
Despite the fact that Natarajan is second on the list, Kuldeep, Avesh Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga are all within a whisker of him, each with 11 wickets.
Given all of the possibilities, “Kul-Cha” might be in a far stronger position to close the Purple Cap agreement. Chahal already has 17 wickets from 6 games and Kuldeep have only played 5 games at least one lesser than others in the queue. Also, Natarajan and Avesh are prone to injury, therefore there might me a slight possibility that they might be given rest at some stage of the tournament.
Due to the fact that Hasaranga is Sri Lankan and only four foreign players can be accommodated in the playing XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) may opt for the other foreigner in their playing XI if he consistently goes for runs in the next few matches.
As a result, Kul-Cha have the best chance of obtaining the Purple Cap in TATA IPL 2022. Furthermore, if one of them succeeds, he will become only the second spinner in IPL history to win the Purple Cap, following Pragyan Ojha.
Read More: IPL 2022, Top 5 Youngsters: Ayush Badoni, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma quietly confident in progress
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