Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan has taken the Purple Cap from Mumbai Indians stalwart Jasprit Bumrah after recording figures of 2/35 in the 2016 champions’ one-run win over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in the 2024 IPL on Thursday. Natarajan ended a 134-run stand between Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal by blasting away the latter’s stump in a moment that was a turning point in RR’s chase of 202. He later got the important wicket of Shimron Hetmyer.
Another big moment in the RR innings was the first over itself, in which senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Jos Buttler and captain Sanju Samson for ducks. He then got the wicket of Rovman Powell off the last ball of the match, thus ensuring that RR didn’t reach the target despite needing just 13 to win in the last over.
Parag scored a a blistering 77 off 49 balls at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, hitting four sixes and eight fours to take his overall runs tally this season to 409 in 10 matches. The right-hander’s exploits, however, were not enough to take RR over the line. Needing two to win off the last delivery, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/41) trapped Rovman Powell (27) with a full toss to leave RR stranded at 200 for seven while chasing a target of 202.
Opting to bat, Nitish Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) produced explosive fifties, while Heinrich Klassen made an unbeaten 19-ball 42 to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to 201 for three. Things were looking up when Bhuvneshwar removed Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for ducks in the opening over to leave RR at 1 for 2.
However, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (67) and Riyan Parag (77) came up with counterattacking fifties on way to a massive 134-run partnership to lay the foundation of the runchase. But once the duo was back in the hut, Shimron Hetmyar (13) hit a four and a six as it seemed like a regulation chase but T Natarajan got rid of Hetmyar, who perished at long-on and then skipper Pat Cummins removed Dhruv Jurel, who was caught at deep square leg in the 19th over.
Purple Cap List IPL 2024 after SRH vs RR
It has been a lean season in terms of wickets for Bhuvneshwar, with Thursday’s player of the match performance taking him to just eight for the year. That isn’t the case for Natarajan, who has taken 15 wickets at an economy rate of 8.96 in eight innings. Bumrah is now second with 14 wickets at a majestic economy of 6.40 in 10 innings. CSK’s Mustafizur Rahman and PBKS’ Harshal Patel are both tied on 14 wickets. Mustafizur’s economy of 9.26 puts him at third, while Harshal (10.24) is fourth. Mustafizur’s teammate Matheesha Pathirana rounds off the top five with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.68.
