It won’t be a lie when someone says that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is as good as any ICC event, if not better. Like in the Champions Trophy, only top teams in the ODI format take place, IPL also has the best franchises entering with the best cricketers across the world, and the bar has gone only up in the last eighteen years of IPL’s existence.
The highest run-getter of every edition is awarded the IPL Orange Cap, while a similar feat gets a player the Golden Bat for the Champions Trophy. Virat Kohli is one of the players who have excelled in both the tournaments, and has scored truckloads of runs come the biggest stage to perform.
With that said, let us have a look at three memorable performances in the Champions Trophy by IPL Orange Cap winners:
1: Kane Williamson (2017 vs Australia)
Former New Zealand captain and star batter Kane Williamson won the Orange Cap in IPL 2018 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he had started showing great signs with the bat in 2017 as well, when New Zealand faced Australia in the Group A match of the Champions Trophy. Batting first, the BlackCaps posted 291 runs on the board in rain-affected game, courtesy of a brilliant hundred by skipper Williamson. Batting for 97 deliveries, Williamson had scored 100 runs including eight fours and three maximums.
2: Virat Kohli (in 2013 vs England)
In the Champions Trophy final vs England Kohli proved why he was tagged the ‘run machine’ very early into his career, after India faced a collapse in the middle in the match which was shortened to 20-overs-a-side due to rain. The Men in Blue lost half the side for just 66 runs, but that didn’t dent Kohli’s confidence. Alongside Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli built a solid partnership, as India were able to post 129 runs on the board at the end of the innings.
Kohli’s knock was one of the reasons that India were able to contain the Three Lions in the last-over thriller. His 43 off just 34 balls came as a blessing for the team, and the Indians won the marquee event under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Soon after this knock, Kohli emerged as India’s frontline batter, something that still continues twelve years down the line.
3. Chris Gayle (in 2006 vs England)
In the 2006 Champions Trophy clash, where Windies faced England in Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium, the Caribbean side was put in to bat first, and their opener Gayle was in full form. Taking the English attack to the cleaners, the Universe Boss, as he is fondly called, made 101 runs off 127 balls, which included 10 boundaries and a solitary maximum. With the ball, he took three of the wickets. Although West Indies lost the thriller match by three wickets, Gayle was named the Player of the Match for his contributions with both the bat and the ball.
