If someone told you at the beginning of the IPL 2024, that ‘bowler’ Sunil Narine, who has a batting average of 16 in the tournament over the years, will be in the running for the Orange Cap, you would just laugh it off. But that has become a reality now, as the West Indian is in the third place now, for batsmen with most runs in this year’s IPL — with 276 runs in six matches, including a ton in Tuesday’s match vs Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 109.
Sunil Narine Challenges Virat Kohli for Orange Cap
That also means that Narine is the highest run-scorer for his franchise in IPL 2024. The next on the list is Phil Salt, who is on the 18th spot overall with 201 runs in six encounters. That just shows how good Narine has been with the bat this year. In fact, he is in within touching distance of surpassing Virat Kohli, who is the current orange cap holder.
In seven match, Kohli has 361 runs at an average of 72. The best part is, Narine has played a match less than Kohli, that makes his performance even better.
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Another Surprise in Top 3 for Orange Cap
Narine isn’t the only surprise in the top 3. It constitutes Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag as well, who is second on the list. Till now, he has played seven matches and scored 318 runs at an average of 63, where he has slammed three fifties as well. His performance has been a revelation this year, since prior to this year, he had only two fifties in his career. But it is not a flash in the pan success, as he finished as the highest run-scorer for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year.
But, coming back to the point, it has been an IPL of major surprises, where none of the other top batsmen like KL Rahul, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Faf du Plessis have been consistent enough to be in the running for the orange cap. That alone makes it a special IPL.
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