Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah both have been surreal this season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Sitting first and second respectively in the leading wicket-takers list in the ongoing IPL, the spotlight will again be on two of the tournament’s best bowlers. With the IPL 2020 final upon us, the two will go head-on to decide who gets to don the Purple Cap, which is awarded to the bowler with the most wickets in the tournament. Here’s a short analysis of how the two have performed so far.
While Bumrah picked up pace after a couple of matches into the tournament, Rabada has been on top of the wicket-takers list for a long time until Thursday when Bumrah briefly dethroned him. Bumrah grabbed the top spot when his side Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer then toppled Bumrah following an impressive display in Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The South African pacer picked up 4 wickets to take his tally to 29, two more than his Indian counterpart.
Rabada was the Purple Cap holder for the longest time in IPL 2020 before Bumrah trumped him, albeit for a short time. However, out of the last 4 games for Delhi Capitals, Rabada was uncharacteristically wicketless in three of them.
Come Tuesday when the two clash again in the most important game of the tournament, both will look to walk away with the Purple Cap. While Rabada is leading the race with 29 wickets from 16 games at an economy rate of 8.23, Bumrah slowly climbed the ladder to be second with 27 wickets from 14 games at 6.71. Both the pacers have equal number of four-wicket hauls (two each) with Rabada’s best figures being 4/24 and Bumrah’s 4/14.
Rabada and Bumrah have been their respective captains’ go-to bowlers in the tournament, coming on at crucial stages of a match and obliging more often than not with wickets, to dent the opposition.
Four-time champions Mumbai Indians are playing in their sixth final and will be looking to add a record fifth title, while Delhi Capitals are playing in their first IPL final.