April 11 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Rajasthan Royals’ spin wizard Yuzvendra Chahal claimed the top spot in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap list after picking two crucial wickets in his match against the Gujarat Titans on Wednesday. Chahal dismissed Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar at pivotal junctures of the match. Although the right-handed spinner could not manage to take the table toppers to their fifth consecutive win, he managed to top the table of highest wicket-takers with 10 wickets from five matches.
GT bowler Mohit Sharma also paved his way back to the top 5 after his only wicket of Riyan Parag on Wednesday; he now sits at the fourth spot with 8 wickets. Player of the match Rashid Khan who anchored his team to a dramatic last-ball victory also picked one wicket and now stands at no.11.
The RR bowlers were able to fetch more wickets than the GT bowlers while defending their 195-run total on the board. Despite their courageous efforts, in the end, bottom-order batsmen Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan pulled off a classic victory with Rashid hitting a four off the final delivery.
With this win, the former champions also brought RR’s unbeaten run to an end and managed to move to the fifth spot in the points table.
With Chahal claiming the top spot, Chennai Super Kings bowler Mustafizur Rahman has slipped to the second spot while Arshdeep Singh (Punjab Kings), Khaleel Ahmed (Delhi Capitals), and Kagiso Rabada (Punjab Kings) have been solid at third, fourth and fifth spots respectively.
More contenders on Thursday
MI bowlers Gerald Coetzee (no. 8) and Jasprit Bumrah (no.17) will be looking to climb up the ladder in their clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. Both the bowlers have been decent in their team’s bowling unit so far with seven and five wickets respectively.
As for the RCB, they will be backing their left-arm pacer Yash Dayal who is currently on no.21 with five wickets. Both teams are currently languishing in the bottom half of the table with only one win.
While the five-time former champions Mumbai Indians are currently on no.8, RCB on the other hand are at no.9.
