Along with the winner of the IPL, people are also interested in knowing the orange cap and the purple cap winners of the IPL. The orange cap of the IPL has been dominated by overseas players with David Warner winning it thrice, Chris Gayle winning it twice and some more Australians like Shaun Marsh, Mike Hussey, and Matthew Hayden have won it. Generally, 600 runs are enough to win the orange cap but there are times when batsmen have scored 600 runs and still haven’t got the orange cap. But who are the Indians who have scored more than 600 runs in an IPL season? Let’s have a look at seven Indians who have crossed the 600 mark in an IPL season.
7. Sachin Tendulkar – 618 runs
Sachin Tendulkar is the first Indian to cross 600 runs in one IPL season. He achieved this feat in IPL 2010 when he captained Mumbai Indians and they reached the Finals for the first time. He scored 618 runs in 15 innings at an average of 47.53 and a strike-rate of 132.61 which included five fifties. The strange part is that in the whole season he hit only three sixes which nowadays batsmen hit in one game. But still, he managed to score more than 600 runs which is a commendable achievement.
6. Robin Uthappa – 660 runs
Robin Uthappa was in great form in the 2014 IPL season. His batting was one of the main reasons that Kolkata Knight Riders managed to win the IPL for the second time in three years. He scored 660 runs in just 16 innings at an average 44 and a strike-rate of 137.78 which included five fifties. He won the Orange Cap in that season and he is the only player to win the orange cap from the team that lifted the trophy. No other player has managed to win the IPL and the orange cap in the same season.
5. Ambati Rayudu – 602 runs
Ambati Rayudu came at Chennai Super Kings and his fortunes just changed. He was successful at Mumbai Indians but MI always used him as a floater whereas at CSK he was asked to open the batting. In IPL 2019, he scored 602 runs in 16 innings at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 149.75 which included one century and three fifties. Rayudu and Watson were phenomenal for CSK while opening the batting. Rayudu made a comeback to the Indian side after his stunning IPL in 2018.
4. Rishabh Pant – 684 runs
Rishabh Pant who is struggling to score a fifty in this IPL has smashed all the bowlers just a couple of years ago. In IPL 2018, when Delhi Capitals finished last, he scored 684 runs in 14 innings at an average of 52.61 and a strike-rate of 173.6. He smashed an unbelievable century against the bowling line up of SRH which included Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan. He hasn’t been able to replicate even half of 2018’s performance in this year’s IPL.
3. Shikhar Dhawan – 603 runs
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most consistent performers in the IPL. Earlier for SRH and now for DC, he has scored tons and tons of runs while opening the batting. Even in this IPL, he has scored 603 runs in 16 innings at an average of 46.38 and a strike-rate of 145.65. He smashed two consecutive centuries which has never been done in the IPL. Towards the latter part of this IPL, he is single-handedly carrying the DC’s batting. He is back in the Indian T20 side after his stunning performance in this year’s IPL.
2. KL Rahul – 670 runs & 659 runs
KL Rahul has scored more than 600 runs twice in the IPL in the last three seasons and the year in which he didn’t cross 600 he scored 593. He is becoming a run-machine for Kings XI Punjab while opening the batting. In IPL 2018, he scored 659 runs in 14 innings at an average of 54.91 and a strike-rate of 158.41. In IPL 2020, he had his best season as he scored 670 runs in 14 innings at an average of 55.83 and a strike-rate of 129.34 which included a stunning century against RCB. Even though he has scored 600 runs twice this is the first time he will win the orange cap.
1. Virat Kohli – 634 runs & 973 runs
Virat Kohli is the first Indian to cross 600 runs twice in the IPL. In 2013, when Chris Gayle was smashing all bowlers, even he scored 634 runs in 16 innings at an average of 45.28 and a strike-rate of 138.73. In IPL 2016, he decided to go way beyond this number as he scored 973 runs in 16 innings at an average of 81.08 and a strike-rate of 152.03 which included four centuries and seven fifties in one season. At one stage it seemed as if he could cross 1000 runs in one season. He was just unstoppable and the record of 973 runs might never be broken in the IPL.
