IPL 2021: Gaikwad wins Orange cap race, du Plessis 2nd; Rahul down to 3rd

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad surpassed Punjab Kings skipper (PBKS) KL Rahul in the race for the Orange Cap on Friday, with the veteran South African just falling short of his young partner’s tally for the season. 

Before the IPL 2021 final at the Dubai International Stadium against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Rahul led the scoring charts with 626 runs from 13 innings. Gaikwad started the game in second with 603 runs, while du Plessis was in a distant third with 547 runs. 

However, the duo led the onslaught against the KKR bowlers in the final, stitching a 61-run opening partnership to give CSK the perfect platform to launch towards a bog total from. 

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Gaikwad continued a spectacular IPL 2021 campaign, scoring 32 runs from 27 deliveries before Sunil Narine broke the partnership for KKR’s first breakthrough. That innings, which included three fours and a six, took his tally to 635 runs from 16 innings averaging 45.35 – nine clear of Rahul to claim the Orange Cap. 

However, du Plessis’ rampage saw him smashing 86 runs from 59 deliveries to nearly overtake Gaikwad and claim the Orange Cap. However, the South African was caught on the last delivery of the innings, by Venkatesh Iyer off Shivam Mavi, as he looked to clear the long-on boundary for six runs and end the innings on a high. 

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The knock took du Plessis’ tally to 633 runs for the season from 16 innings at an average of 45.21, two behind his young opening partner.

However, the duo have been at the heart of CSK’s turnaround in IPL 2021, scoring a combined 1,268 runs between them to lead CSK waltz to the final.