IPL 2020 Orange Cap: Shubman Gill’s match-winning knock moves him to seventh but a new leader imminent

After an all-round effort from the bowlers, the Kolkata Knight Riders rode Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 70 off 62 balls to post their first win of IPL 2020, as they beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Despite losing Sunil Narine in just the second over, Gill didn’t shy away from playing his natural game and kept the scoreboard ticking, in the process stitching together a 92-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Eoin Morgan.

The 21-year-old opener moved up to seventh on the IPL 2020 'Orange Cap’ list with a cumulative total of 77 runs from two matches. He was dismissed for seven runs in their opening fixture against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.

A new entrant into the top 5, however, is SRH’s Manish Pandey with 85 runs from two games. Pandey, who is in fifth position, followed up his 33-ball 34 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore with 51 off 38 balls on Saturday.

Though both his knocks came in losing causes, Pandey has mostly cemented the No. 3 spot in SRH's batting line-up.

IPL 2020 Orange Cap list

Just a meagre 20 runs separate the top 2 on the IPL 2020 'Orange Cap' list (Image Credits: Sportskeeda)

There weren't any further changes at the top of the list as Faf du Plessis continues to be the holder of the IPL 2020 ‘Orange Cap’ with 173 runs under his belt. His position, however, will be under threat on Sunday as Rajasthan Royals take on the Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.

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Second-placed KL Rahul will be looking to make the most of the comparatively smaller dimensions and overtake du Plessis’ at the summit of the list. Mayank Agarwal, Rahul’s opening partner, is also not far behind and would look to better his tally of 115 runs from the first two matches.

In the RR dugout, Sanju Samson and Steve Smith will be hoping to climb the charts after thrashing the CSK bowlers in their opening match at the same venue.

While eleventh-placed Smith opened the innings and scored a 47-ball 69, Samson’s whirlwind knock of 74 off 32 balls has him eighth on the list.

It would be surprising if Chris Gayle replaces either Glenn Maxwell or Nicholas Pooran in the KXIP playing eleven. If the Jamaican starts the game and gets going, there could be some serious changes on the list coming soon.