Orange Cap ke liye race mein abhi Gujarat Titans (GT) ka B Sai Sudharsan top pe hai, 679 runs ke saath. Uske peeche GT ka Shubman Gill (649 runs), Mumbai Indians (MI) ka Suryakumar Yadav (640 runs), aur Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ka Mitchell Marsh (627 runs) hain. RCB ka apna bhai Virat Kohli, 602 runs ke saath fifth spot pe hai, par bhai ka form itna tight hai ki woh kabhi bhi game palat sakta hai.
Kohli, jo 2016 (973 runs) aur 2024 (741 runs) mein Orange Cap jeet chuka hai, bada match-winner hai. Qualifier 1 mein usko 78 runs chahiye Sudharsan ko cross karne ke liye aur Orange Cap apne naam karne ke liye. Yeh uske liye bilkul possible hai, kyunki bhai ne haal hi mein LSG ke khilaaf 30 balls mein 54 thok ke apna aathwa fifty banaya, aur IPL mein sabse zyada fifties (62) ka record bhi apne naam kar liya. Uska average 60.88 hai, strike rate 145.35, 51 fours aur 19 sixes ke saath – yeh banda full fire pe hai!
Par yeh itna simple nahi. Sudharsan aur Gill (GT) Eliminator mein MI ke khilaaf khel rahe hain, to unko bhi runs add karne ka chance hai. Suryakumar bhi Eliminator mein hai, to woh bhi khatra hai. Agar RCB Qualifier 1 jeet jata hai, to Kohli ko final mein ek aur match milega apna score badhane ke liye. Agar haar gaye, to Qualifier 2 aur final – do matches – mein chance hai. Race tight hai, bhai, par Kohli ka swag aur pressure mein khelne ka style usko Orange Cap dilwa sakta hai. Qualifier 1 mein agar bada score kiya, to baat ban jayegi!
Purple Cap Ka Hungama: Hazlewood aur Arshdeep Ka Dhamal
Purple Cap ke liye bhi scene full intense hai. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ka Noor Ahmad 24 wickets ke saath top pe hai, uske peeche GT ka Prasidh Krishna (23 wickets), aur MI ka Trent Boult (19 wickets). RCB ka Josh Hazlewood aur PBKS ka Arshdeep Singh dono 18-18 wickets ke saath fourth aur fifth pe hain, aur Qualifier 1 mein dono ke paas chance hai leaderboard pe chhalaang lagaane ka.
Josh Hazlewood: Yeh Aussie pacer RCB ke liye bada hero hai. Season ke shuru mein shoulder injury ke wajah se thodi games miss kiye, par 10 matches mein 18 wickets leke dikhaya ki uska dum kya hai. Uska strike rate 12.27 hai – top ten bowlers mein sabse best. Best figures 4/33 aur economy rate 8.44 – yeh banda ek baar set hua to batsmen ki waat laga deta hai. Noor Ahmad ko cross karne ke liye usko Qualifier 1 mein 6 wickets chahiye, jo thoda mushkil hai, par 3-4 wickets ka spell bhi usko Boult (19 wickets) se aage le ja sakta hai aur Krishna (23 wickets) ke kareeb pahuncha sakta hai. RCB ne confirm kiya hai ki Hazlewood playoffs ke liye wapas aa gaya hai, to expect karo bada dhamaka!
Arshdeep Singh: PBKS ka yeh left-arm pacer bhi kam nahi hai. 48.2 overs mein 18 wickets, average 23.00, aur strike rate 16.11 – solid performance hai. Uska best 3/16 hai, do baar teen wickets liye, aur ek maiden over bhi daala. MI ke khilaaf 2/28 ke spell ne usko fifth spot dilwaya. Uska economy rate 8.56 thoda zyada hai Hazlewood se, par bada match ho to Arshdeep full pressure handle karta hai. Qualifier 1 mein agar bada spell daala, to Boult ko peeche chhod sakta hai aur Krishna-Noor ke kareeb aa sakta hai.
Purple Cap ka scene thoda tricky hai kyunki Noor Ahmad ka CSK aur Krishna ka GT Qualifier 1 mein nahi hain, par GT Eliminator mein khel raha hai, to Krishna ko wickets add karne ka mauka milega. Boult bhi Eliminator mein hai, to woh bhi aage badh sakta hai. Hazlewood aur Arshdeep ke liye Qualifier 1 bada important hai – jeetne wali team final mein jayegi (ek aur match), aur haarne wali team Qualifier 2 khelegi (do aur matches). Ek bada spell leaderboard ko pura hila sakta hai!
Qualifier 1 Ka Scene
Qualifier 1 mein PBKS, jo league stage mein 22 points ke saath top pe tha, aur RCB, jisne LSG ko 6 wickets se hara ke playoffs mein jagah banayi, aamne-saamne hain. PBKS ka squad balanced hai, Shreyas Iyer ke 514 runs aur Arshdeep ke bowling ke saath, aur Mullanpur mein home advantage bhi hai. RCB ka bharosa Kohli ka batting aur Hazlewood ka bowling hai. Match ka result na sirf final ka rasta decide karega, balki Orange aur Purple Cap ka hisaab bhi badal sakta hai. Kohli ke liye high-scoring game bada chance hai, aur agar pitch bowler-friendly hui, to Hazlewood aur Arshdeep chha jayenge.
Qualifier 1 mein Kohli, Hazlewood, aur Arshdeep ke liye bada mauka hai apna naam Orange aur Purple Cap ke liye banane ka. Kohli ka run-chase ka josh, Hazlewood ka wicket-lene ka style, aur Arshdeep ka pressure mein khelna – yeh sab is match ko full mazedaar bana rahe hain. Mullanpur mein aaj raat dhamaka hone wala hai, to apni aankhein khuli rakho aur dekho kaun leaderboard pe chha jata hai!
