IPL 2021 Orange Cap: Nitish Rana leads the race despite super Sanju Samson ton vs PBKS

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) got underway on Friday. In just one week since its commencement, the lucrative league has treated the cricketing community with some sensational cricket. The opening few games have seen batsmen smashing runs galore and the race for the IPL 2021 Orange Cap is getting intense with each passing day.

Nitish Rana IPL 2021: KKR batsman claims Orange Cap after scoring fifty against Mumbai Indians

On Tuesday, Nitish Rana claimed the IPL 2021 Orange Cap after he scored an impressive fifty against Mumbai Indians in Match 5 of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Nitish Rana IPL 2021 stint started on a scintillating note as he scored a match-winning 80 off 56 balls in KKR's opening encounter vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The southpaw followed it up by scoring 57 off 47 balls against Mumbai Indians, thus smashing back-to-back fifties and claiming the coveted IPL 2021 Orange Cap in the process. Rana has now scored 137 runs in two matches at an average of 68.50 and a strike rate of 133.01. The KKR batsman is followed by Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson who has played just one game.

The sensational knock by Sanju Samson vs PBKS puts him in the second spot in the IPL 2021 Orange Cap list. The Kerala-based batsman scored a stunning 119 off 63 balls and almost single-handedly guided his team to a win only to fall short by four runs. The Sanju Samson vs PBKS knock received a lot of plaudits from the cricketing fraternity with several fans and former cricketers calling it one of the best IPL innings ever.

Samson is followed by KL Rahul who also impressed one and all with his brilliant 91 off 50 balls against RR. KL Rahul will have an opportunity on Friday to claim the IPL 2021 Orange Cap when his side takes on Chennai Super Kings in Match 8 of IPL 2021 in Mumbai. The PBKS skipper who won the Orange Cap last year would look to retain the coveted honour this year as well by scoring runs in abundance and thus guiding his team to their maiden IPL title.

IPL 2021 Match 5: KKR vs MI scorecard

Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, April 13. Mumbai Indians were bundled out for 152 runs in the match. Suryakumar Yadav was the top scorer for MI with 56 runs while Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers for KKR as he registered stunning bowling figures of 5/15.

KKR could manage 147 runs in response and lost the fixture by 10 runs. Nitish Rana once again impressed with the bat as he slammed 57 runs. MI leg-spinner Rahul Chahar bagged 4/27 against KKR. 

SOURCE: KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS INSTAGRAM