Virat Kohli Claims Orange Cap After Stellar Performance in IPL

Bengaluru. The race for the Orange Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken a new turn following Wednesday's match.

Delivering an outstanding performance against Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli has climbed to the top of the list of highest run-scorers. While chasing a target of 147 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli secured the Orange Cap after playing a crucial innings of 49 runs off 34 balls.

Kohli's total run tally for this season has reached 228. He has surpassed Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen, who is in second place with 224 runs. Interestingly, this is the first time in his IPL career that Kohli was fielded as an 'Impact Player'.

After the match, Kohli mentioned that he did not take the field for fielding due to a knee issue and not being in full health. Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar has moved up to third place in the list with 211 runs after playing a short but explosive innings of 27 runs.

So far, only Kohli, Klaasen, Patidar, Ishan Kishan, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi have crossed the 200-run mark.

In terms of bowling, there was no change in the race for the Purple Cap on Wednesday. Chennai Super Kings pacer Anshul Kamboj and Gujarat Titans' Prasidh Krishna remain at the top with 10 wickets each. They are followed by Rajasthan Royals' Ravi Bishnoi and Lucknow's Prince Yadav with 9 wickets each.

Similarly, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya have 7 wickets each. Krunal Pandya has managed to be the only finger spinner to feature in the top 10 list of highest wicket-takers this season.