EXPLAINED: Why Riyan Parag Was Given Orange Cap Over Virat Kohli Despite Equal Runs?

IPL 2024: Both Virat Kohli and Riyan Parag have 181 runs in this season so far.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) young batter Riyan Parag produced another match-winning and eye-catching knock when his team played against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium. Parag at the end of the game got the purple cap once again after match no.14 of the IPL 2024 season.

Parag and Kohli both have 181 runs in the IPL so far, but Parag clinched the Orange Cap due to his superior strike rate of 160 compared to Kohli's 141. According to IPL rules, when two players have the same run tally, the one with the higher strike rate takes precedence. (IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya Breaks Silence On MI's Consecutive Losses Amid Constant Booing By Mumbai Crowd)

In previous seasons, RR predominantly deployed Parag as a finisher, often slotting him in at positions 6 to 8. However, after witnessing his outstanding performance at number 4 in domestic cricket, RR entrusted him with the same role in the IPL 2024. (BCCI Makes 2 Changes In IPL 2024 Schedule; KKR Vs RR, GT Vs DC Matches Moved To New Dates)

“When I play domestically, this is the exact type of situation I go in to bat so when Jos [Buttler] bhai got out and Ash [R Ashwin] bhai got out a little after, I was like 'this is what I do, this is what I've been doing for the last six months playing domestic cricket'. So it was pretty simple to calculate everything," Parag said after another stellar knock,

“I have had three to four years of not performing at all or even performing if it's one match a season and you really go back to your hotel room and you think… that when you know you can do something and the performances are not coming, you get back to the drawing [board]. I tried finding what was wrong, and I figured out that I was not practicing at this level enough." the right hander added.