It has been an exceptional Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season for some of the bowlers, with the beaten finalists Gujarat Titans (GT) dominating the top three positions on the Purple Cap. The battle for the Purple Cap saw a three-way horse race between teammates Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma, but only one winner was possible, and that was Shami with 28 wickets to his name.
IPL 2023 paved the way for two teams in the fight for the prestigious crown, where Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the coveted trophy with a five-wicket victory. The box office match took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 29 (Monday).
Let's take a look at the list of leading-wicket takers in IPL 2023:
1. Mohammed Shami: Gujarat Titans' right-arm fast bowler took home the Purple Cap after finishing on the losing sid in the IPL 2023 Final. He led the chart with 28 wickets in 17 matches at an economy rate of 8.03.
2. Mohit Sharma: With his three wickets in the final and his five-wicket haul in Qualifier 2, the Gujarat pacer climbed to second place. Mohit has bagged 27 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 8.17.
3. Rashid Khan: The Gujarat Titans leg-spinner is the third bowler from the side to finish in the top five of the bowler's rankings. He has 27 wickets in 17 matches at an economy rate of 8.23.
4. Piyush Chawla: Mumbai Indians' leg-spinner finished the tournament with 22 wickets in 16 matches at an economy rate of 8.11 with the ball.
5. Yuzvendra Chahal: Rajasthan Royals' leg-spinner finished the tournament with 21 wickets in 14 matches. He had an economy rate of 8.17 with the ball.
About the IPL 2023 GT vs CSK Final
In the first innings, young and uncapped batter Sai Sudharsan led the charge as GT set CSK an imposing target of 215 in the IPL 2023 final. His innings finished at 96 runs off just 47 balls, at a strike rate of 204.25 with 8 fours and 6 sixes to his name. He failed to complete his century after being caught LBW by CSK pacer Matheesha Pathirana.
Sudharsan stepped up to the occasion after the early wicket of the in-form Shubman Gill, who is also the current Orange Cap holder as well. After the bright start that openers Wriddhiman Saha and Gill gave GT, hitting 62 runs in the Powerplay.
However, Ravindra Jadeja got the breakthrough in the seventh over with a brilliant stumping by MS Dhoni. He managed 39 off 20 balls, but his wicket gave way to Sudharsan, who came close to becoming just the third player to hit a century in an IPL final.
After a long rain interruption, the match restarted at 12:10 with a revised target of 171 in 15 overs. The side started on a roar with CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway making the most of the conditions. They set up an opening wicket partnership of 74 runs before Gaikwad was caught by Rashid Khan off Noor Ahmad's bowling, scoring 26 runs in 16 balls.
Conway was the main aggressor and managed 47 off 25 balls before Noor struck again as the New Zealander holed the ball straight to Mohit Sharma.
Then coming to the party was Shivam Dube (32* off 21) and Ajinkya Rahane (27 off 13). The duo had a very important partnership of 39 runs from 23 balls which took CSK closer to the target.
After Rahane's wicket, Ambati Rayudu (19 off 8) took over as MS Dhoni was caught out for a Golden Duck. Many thought it was game over for CSK but Sir Ravindra Jadeja (15 off 6) had other plans. He hit a six and a four in the final two balls of the match to seal Chennai Super Kings' fifth IPL trophy.
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