IPL 2017: Leading Run-Scorers, Top Wicket-Takers, Averages and More T20 Stats
Nitish Rana fired Mumbai Indians to a win on Sunday and himself to the top of the Indian Premier League's run scorers' standings, scoring 53 from 36 balls to lead his side past Gujarat Lions.
Imran Tahir of Rising Pune Supergiant failed to do the same in the quest for the purple cap, taking just one wicket in a win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad remains the IPL's top wicket-taker with 10.
Here's a look at the top runs scorers after Sunday's doubleheader:
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| 1 | Nitish Rana | 5 | 5 | 193 | 38.60 |
| 2 | Gautam Gambhir | 4 | 4 | 182 | 91.00 |
| 3 | Steven Smith | 4 | 4 | 180 | 60.00 |
| 4 | David Warner | 4 | 4 | 165 | 55.00 |
| 5 | Kieron Pollard | 5 | 5 | 164 | 32.80 |
| 6 | Brendon McCullum | 4 | 4 | 153 | 38.25 |
| 7 | Manish Pandey | 4 | 3 | 152 | 152.00 |
| 8 | AB de Villiers | 3 | 3 | 137 | 68.50 |
| 9 | Suresh Raina | 4 | 4 | 136 | 68.00 |
| 10 | Sanju Samson | 3 | 3 | 134 | 44.66 |
The top wicket-takers:
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 4 | 16 | 0 | 89 | 10 |
| 2 | Imran Tahir | 5 | 20 | 0 | 161 | 8 |
| 3 | Andrew Tye | 2 | 8 | 0 | 51 | 7 |
| 4 | Chris Morris | 3 | 10 | 0 | 63 | 7 |
| 5 | Rashid Khan | 4 | 16 | 0 | 103 | 7 |
Indians and Gujarat both have two players among the 10 best run-scorers in the IPL so far, and it was Rana and his team-mate Kieron Pollard who grabbed the win on Sunday.
Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina added 64 and 28 runs, respectively, to Lions' total of 176. Parthiv Patel lost his wicket early to start the chase, but fortunately for Indians, Rana and Rohit Sharma (unbeaten 40) got the chase on track, and Pollard (39 from 23) did his part in the final overs.
Per cricket writer Freddie Wilde, Indians love to bowl first:
The 53 runs scored were Rana's most in the IPL so far, but his average remains well behind that of Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders. He, McCullum, Pollard and the IPL's other more explosive batsmen are expected to overtake Rana in the race for the orange cap.
Kumar, on the other hand, is the favourite to add yet another purple cap to his collection after winning the award last year. The Hyderabad man has already claimed 10 wickets after taking 23 in 2016.
His current closest rival is Tahir, who only managed to take oneย wicket on Sunday. It was a big one, however, as he dismissed AB de Villiers in the middle overs in a move that all but ended Bangalore's hopes of a comeback.
At the time, Royal Challengers were already well behind the required run rate, and the rest of the lineup couldn't turn the situation around. Per Wilde, that was in large part thanks to Ben Stokes, who played a sensational match:
Delhi Daredevils' Chris Morris has already grabbed seven wickets in three matches and may be Kumar's main competition at this point, while the likes of Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders and RCB's Samuel Badree always have to be in consideration. The latter claimed the single wicket against Hyderabad but should do better moving forward.
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