Khaleel Ahmed climbed to second position in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap race with seven wickets, but failed to prevent a defeat for Delhi Capitals. The pacer took a wicket as DC restricted Mumbai Indians to 234/5 in 20 overs on Sunday. Chasing 235, DC could only reach 205/8, losing by 29 runs.
Meanwhile in the other fixture on Sunday, Lucknow Super Giants defeated Gujarat Titans by 33 runs. Chasing 164, GT were bowled out for 130 in 18.5 overs. Sai Sudharsan top-scored for GT with a knock of 31 runs off 23 balls. Meanwhile, Yash Thakur took five wickets for LSG. Initially, LSG posted 163/5 in 20 overs, courtesy of a half-century from Marcus Stoinis (58). For GT’s bowling department, Darshan Nalkande and Umesh Yadav bagged two wickets each.
Speaking after the match, Thakur said, “Happy with this five-wicket haul and Man of the Match award. I had planned against Gill, I stuck to my plan, KL Rahul had advised me to do so and it paid off. Unfortunately Mayank Yadav got injured, so KL said it was my day and asked me to make the most of it. We are winning the first game against GT in IPL history, very happy with it. Really enjoyed Gill’s wicket, the most memorable of all.”
RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal currently leads the Purple Cap race with eight wickets and is closely followed by Khaleel. GT’s Mohit Sharma (7) is third, CSK’s Mustafizur Rahman is fourth (7) and MI pacer Gerald Coetzee (7) is fifth in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap race.
Purple Cap legacy
Last year, Mohammed Shami won the Purple Cap with 28 dismissals. He is missing IPL 2024 due to injury. Sohail Tanvir won the Purple Cap in the inaugural season in 2008, with 22 wickets. Meanwhile, RP Singh became the first Indian to clinch the award in 2009, with 23 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only player to win back-to-back Purple Caps, achieving it in 2016 and 2017.
