National, 24th November 2020: Red Bull athletes Kagiso Rabada and Indian batsman KL Rahul topped the Indian Premier League wicket-taking and run-scoring charts respectively as the tournament reached its conclusion. Here is all you need to know:
Red Bull athlete and South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was awarded the tournament’s Purple Cap for taking 30 wickets for runners-up Delhi Capitals, who lost out to Mumbai Indians in the final in Dubai.
Meanwhile, star Indian batsman and Red Bull athlete KL Rahul was given the Orange Cap with 670 runs for the side he captained, King Punjab XI.
Red Bull athlete Kagiso Rabada added a further wicket in the final while his closest challenger for the top spot, Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah, of the Mumbai Indians, finished with three wickets less.
The 25-year-old took his 30 wickets in 17 matches, eclipsing the 25 wickets he had taken in 25 matches in last year’s IPL.
A prolific run score in this format of the game, Red Bull athlete KL Rahul averaged more than 50 for the third straight IPL, a career-best average of 55.83 runs with a best individual score of 132 not out.
His tally of 670 runs – with a strike rate of 129.34 – was the highest tally of his seven-year IPL career, eclipsing his previous best 659 recorded in 2018.
King Punjab XI’s captain and wicketkeeper first made his mark on the international stage at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup. He has become a regular feature for the international side at Test, ODI and T20 level.
Rabada, meanwhile, first made his mark at the same Under-19 World Cup but four years later before making his international debut in July 2015. He topped the ICC ODI and Test bowling rankings by the age of 22 and become the youngest man to take 150 Test wickets.
Here are a few interesting facts about KL Rahul:
Rahul represented India in the 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and also made his first-class debut for Karnataka in the same season.
After an injury-ridden year, he rediscovered his form through Red Bull Campus Cricket in 2013, where he finished as top-scorer of the tournament. He went on to get drafted by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2013 IPL season and scored 1033 runs in the domestic season to power Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy title.
He was called up to the India senior team in 2014 for a tour of Australia where he scored a century in just his second Test match in Sydney Cricket Ground.
He became the first Indian to score an ODI century on debut in 2016 and capped it off with his first T20I century later in the same year. With his T20I ton, he broke the record for fastest centuries in all three formats of the game having done so in just 20 innings.
In his incredible year of form over 2019-20, he broke many records and set many personal milestones. These include his first World Cup century (111runs in 118 balls against Sri Lanka), his 1000th T20I run (against West Indies on 6th December), his 1000th run in ODIs (against Australia on 17th January), the 4000th T20 run of his career (against New Zealand on 31st January), and he moved up to rank 2 in ICC rankings for T20I batsmen in February 2020.
He is also an avid fitness fan and enjoys working out to stay in the best shape for his sport.
He loves tattoos. He considers his body to be a canvas and the tattoos to be telling the story of his life. Some of his favourite tattoos include a lighthouse, a key with ram horns (for his star sign Aries), 284 in Roman numerals since he is the 284th cricketer to play for India, his dog Simba on his back, and his parents’ names on his wrists.
You can find more information on KL Rahul here: https://www.redbull.com/in-en/
Interesting facts about Red Bull athlete Kagiso Rabada:
When Rabada is not knocking wickets down, he has a fine ear for music. He regularly produces and creates music in his downtime, has worked with Da Capo in the Red Bull Studios and can occasionally be caught DJing at events. Rabada accredits his love of music to his upbringing & home environment with dad, Dr Mpho Rabada and brother Atlegang, being musically astute as well.
Bursting onto the cricket scene during the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2014, Rabada quickly rose up the ranks and was offered a contract by local outfit, the Highveld / Imperial Lions soon after the tournament concluded, wrapping it up as his team’s leading wicket taker.
Rabada made his One Day International debut against Bangladesh on 10 July 2015.
In July 2016, he became the first cricketer to win six awards at Cricket South Africa's (CSA) annual dinner, including Cricketer of the Year.
By January 2018, he had topped both the ICC ODI bowler rankings and the ICC Test bowler rankings aged then only 22. That same year he became the youngest bowler to take 150 wickets in Tests (23 years and 50 days) and mirrored his 2016 feat of six awards at CSA's annual dinner, including Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer and ODI Cricketer of the Year.
In July 2018 during the first test against Sri Lanka, Rabada surpassed the record of Harbhajan Singh to become the youngest ever bowler to take 150 wickets in Test cricket and also became the third fastest South African to reach 150 test wickets in terms of matches.
Rabada co-hosts ‘The Viral Wellness’ with high school friend Cameron Scott. Created through South Africa’s lockdown in 2020, the current affairs podcast touches on topics that revolve around health, economics and mental wellbeing.
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