The Purple Cap was initiated three weeks after the Orange Cap, which probably shows the emphasis on batting IPL puts ahead of bowling – but then, that is true in any cricket contest. Sohail Tanvir was the first to win the Purple Cap. Since then, barring a few exceptions, the award has been split between CSK and the two Hyderabad franchises.
Dwayne Bravo and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have won the Purple Cap twice, while Pragyan Ojha is the only spinner to have won it. Here is the complete list.
Player | Season | Team | W | Ave | Econ | SR |
Sohail Tanvir | 2008 | RR | 22 | 12.09 | 6.46 | 11 |
RP Singh | 2009 | DCh | 23 | 18.13 | 6.98 | 16 |
Pragyan Ojha | 2010 | DCh | 21 | 20.42 | 7.29 | 17 |
Lasith Malinga | 2011 | MI | 28 | 13.39 | 5.95 | 14 |
Morne Morkel | 2012 | DD | 25 | 18.12 | 7.19 | 15 |
Dwayne Bravo | 2013 | CSK | 32 | 15.53 | 7.95 | 12 |
Mohit Sharma | 2014 | CSK | 23 | 19.65 | 8.39 | 14 |
Dwayne Bravo | 2015 | CSK | 26 | 16.38 | 8.14 | 12 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 2016 | SRH | 23 | 21.30 | 7.42 | 17 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 2017 | SRH | 26 | 14.19 | 7.05 | 12 |
Andrew Tye | 2018 | KXIP | 24 | 18.67 | 8.00 | 14 |
His best years may be behind him, but Lasith Malinga still stands tall at the head of IPL wicket-takers, though, given his fitness at this stage, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla may still catch up.
Player | Teams | W | Ave | Econ | SR |
Lasith Malinga | MI | 154 | 19.01 | 6.86 | 17 |
Amit Mishra | DCh, DD, SRH | 146 | 24.14 | 7.39 | 20 |
Piyush Chawla | KXIP, KKR | 140 | 26.23 | 7.71 | 20 |
Dwayne Bravo | CSK, GL, MI | 136 | 24.17 | 8.43 | 17 |
Harbhajan Singh | CSK, MI | 134 | 27.27 | 7.05 | 23 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | PWI, SRH | 120 | 22.44 | 7.15 | 19 |
Sunil Narine | KKR | 112 | 22.30 | 6.54 | 20 |
Umesh Yadav | DD, KKR, RCB | 111 | 28.15 | 8.32 | 20 |
R Ashwin | CSK, KXIP, RPS | 110 | 26.44 | 6.72 | 24 |
Ashish Nehra | CSK, DD, MI, PWI, SRH | 106 | 23.53 | 7.84 | 18 |
Vinay Kumar | KTK, KKR, MI, RCB | 105 | 28.24 | 8.39 | 20 |
Zaheer Khan | DD, MI, RCB | 102 | 27.27 | 7.58 | 22 |
There is no doubt that Sunil Narine has been KKR’s greatest asset over years, and here is reason why.
Only two of the nine most economic bowlers – with a 50-over cut-off – have been pacers: Glenn McGrath and Dale Steyn. Yes, that is what it takes.
Here is a list of the most economic bowlers.
Player | Teams | W | Ave | Econ | SR |
Sunil Narine | KKR | 112 | 22.30 | 6.54 | 20 |
Anil Kumble | RCB | 45 | 23.51 | 6.57 | 21 |
Glenn McGrath | DD | 12 | 29.75 | 6.61 | 27 |
Muttiah Muralitharan | CSK, KTK, RCB | 63 | 26.92 | 6.67 | 24 |
Rashid Khan | SRH | 38 | 21.47 | 6.68 | 19 |
Dale Steyn | DC, GL, RCB, SRH | 92 | 25.06 | 6.72 | 22 |
R Ashwin | CSK, KXIP, RPS | 110 | 26.44 | 6.72 | 24 |
Roelof van der Merwe | DD, RCB | 21 | 23.71 | 6.74 | 21 |
Daniel Vettori | DD, RCB | 28 | 31.39 | 6.78 | 28 |
Lasith Malinga | MI | 154 | 19.01 | 6.86 | 17 |
Johan Botha | DD, KKR, RR | 25 | 32.00 | 6.91 | 28 |
Dimitri Mascarenhas | KXIP, RR | 19 | 18.73 | 6.93 | 16 |
Put a 50-wicket cut-off, and Malinga stands way clear of others in terms of bowling average. In fact, nobody else has come within a range of 3 runs per wicket.
Here is the list of best bowling averages in IPL history. Sandeep Sharma’s inclusion may be a revelation.
Player | Teams | W | Ave | Econ | SR |
Lasith Malinga | MI | 154 | 19.01 | 6.86 | 17 |
Imran Tahir | CSK, DD, RPS | 53 | 22.26 | 8.42 | 16 |
Sunil Narine | KKR | 112 | 22.30 | 6.54 | 20 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | PWI, SRH | 120 | 22.44 | 7.15 | 19 |
Munaf Patel | GL, MI, RR | 74 | 22.94 | 7.51 | 18 |
Sandeep Sharma | KXIP, SRH | 83 | 23.13 | 7.73 | 18 |
Ashish Nehra | CSK, DD, MI, PWI, SRH | 106 | 23.53 | 7.84 | 18 |
Yuzvendra Chahal | MI, RCB | 82 | 23.56 | 7.77 | 18 |
Amit Mishra | DCh, DD, SRH | 146 | 24.14 | 7.39 | 20 |
Dwayne Bravo | CSK, GL, MI | 136 | 24.17 | 8.43 | 17 |
Mitchell McClenaghan | MI | 68 | 24.42 | 8.54 | 17 |
Only two men have taken multiple five-wicket hauls in IPL history, and they are probably not the ones you expect.
Player | Teams | W | Ave | Econ | SR | 5WIs |
James Faulkner | GL, KXIP, PWI, RR | 59 | 30.13 | 8.69 | 21 | 2 |
Jaydev Unadkat | DD, KKR, RR, RPS, RCH | 68 | 26.77 | 8.39 | 19 | 2 |
When it comes to 4 or more wickets in an innings, Narine has a significant lead – more so given that he has been a late entry.
Andrew Tye’s record makes excellent reading: he has only 36 wickets, but that includes 4 four-wicket hauls.
Player | Teams | W | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 4 | 4+ |
Sunil Narine | KKR | 112 | 22.30 | 6.54 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
Lasith Malinga | MI | 154 | 19.01 | 6.86 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Andrew Tye | GL, KXIP | 36 | 16.36 | 8.00 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
L Balaji | CSK, KXIP, KKR | 76 | 26.68 | 8.04 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Ravindra Jadeja | CSK, GL, KTK, RR | 93 | 30.20 | 7.76 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Amit Mishra | DCh, DD, SRH | 146 | 24.14 | 7.39 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Anil Kumble | RCB | 45 | 23.51 | 6.57 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Munaf Patel | GL, MI, RR | 74 | 22.94 | 7.51 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Bhuvneshwar K | PWI, SRH | 120 | 22.44 | 7.15 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Tanvir’s 6/14, set in the first edition, still remain the best bowling figures in IPL history. Adam Zampa is the only other bowler to have taken 6 in an innings. Here is the list of all 5-wicket hauls.
Player | O | M | R | W | Team | Against | Venue | Season |
Sohail Tanvir | 4 | 0 | 14 | 6 | RR | CSK | Jaipur | 2008 |
Adam Zampa | 4 | 0 | 19 | 6 | RPS | SRH | Vizag | 2016 |
Anil Kumble | 3.1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | RCB | RR | C Town | 2009 |
Ishant Sharma | 3 | 0 | 12 | 5 | DCh | KTK | Kochi | 2011 |
Lasith Malinga | 3.4 | 1 | 13 | 5 | MI | DD | Delhi | 2011 |
Ankit Rajpoot | 4 | 0 | 14 | 5 | KXIP | SRH | Hyd | 2018 |
R Jadeja | 4 | 0 | 16 | 5 | CSK | DCh | Vizag | 2012 |
J Faulkner | 4 | 1 | 16 | 5 | RR | SRH | Hyd | 2013 |
Amit Mishra | 4 | 0 | 17 | 5 | DD | DCh | Delhi | 2008 |
Andrew Tye | 4 | 0 | 17 | 5 | GL | RPS | Rajkot | 2017 |
Harbhajan S | 4 | 0 | 18 | 5 | MI | CSK | Mumbai | 2011 |
Sunil Narine | 4 | 0 | 19 | 5 | KKR | KXIP | Kolkata | 2012 |
Bhuvneshwar K | 4 | 0 | 19 | 5 | SRH | KXIP | Hyd | 2017 |
James Faulkner | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5 | RR | SRH | Jaipur | 2013 |
Munaf Patel | 4 | 0 | 21 | 5 | MI | KXIP | Mohali | 2011 |
L Balaji | 4 | 0 | 24 | 5 | CSK | KXIP | Chennai | 2008 |
D Mascarenhas | 4 | 0 | 25 | 5 | KXIP | PWI | Mohali | 2012 |
Jaydev Unadkat | 4 | 0 | 25 | 5 | RCB | DD | Delhi | 2013 |
Jaydev Unadkat | 4 | 1 | 30 | 5 | RPS | SRH | Hyd | 2017 |
Mishra is the only bowler to take 3 IPL hat-tricks, while Yuvraj Singh has 2. One curious entry on the list is that of Rohit Sharma, who does not bowl anymore.
Player | Team | Against | Venue | Season |
L Balaji | KXIP | CSK | Chennai | 2008 |
Amit Mishra | DCh | DD | Delhi | 2008 |
Makhaya Ntini | KKR | CSK | Kolkata | 2008 |
Yuvraj Singh | RCB | KXIP | Durban | 2009 |
Rohit Sharma | MI | DCh | Centurion | 2009 |
Yuvraj Singh | DCh | KXIP | Johannesburg | 2009 |
Praveen Kumar | RR | RCB | Bangalore | 2010 |
Amit Mishra | KXIP | DCh | Dharamsala | 2011 |
Ajit Chandila | PWI | RR | Jaipur | 2012 |
Sunil Narine | KXIP | KKR | Mohali | 2013 |
Amit Mishra | PWI | SRH | Pune | 2013 |
Axar Patel | GL | KXIP | Rajkot | 2016 |
Samuel Badree | MI | RCB | Bangalore | 2017 |
Andrew Tye | RPS | GL | Rajkot | 2017 |
Jaydev Unadkat | SRH | RPS | Hyderabad | 2017 |
There was no hat-trick in IPL 2018. Perhaps it’s time.