IPL 2024 Points Table: Knights climb to top spot, Pant's Delhi fall behind

Sunil Narine (Pic: AFP)

West Indies' Sunil Narine smashed 85 to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to the second-best ever IPL total of 272-7 in a crushing 106-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.

The mammoth score came just a week after Sunrisers Hyderabad posted the highest ever innings total of 277-3. Kolkata, IPL champions in 2012 and 2014, remain unbeaten from three matches this season after they bowled out Delhi for 166 in 17.2 overs to top the 10-team table. Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant made 55 off 25 balls, his second successive fifty, and Tristan Stubbs hit 54 but the rest of the batting flopped.

The venue was Delhi's adopted home ground due to the upcoming general elections in India but Narine and Kolkata made it their own. "Cricket is all about batting, so to contribute with the bat is pleasing but I also enjoy my bowling," Narine, an all-rounder more renowned for his bowling who returned figures of 1-29 with his spin, said after being named man of the match.

Also Read: Fans and frolic at Churchgate

Narine, 35, smashed Delhi seamer Ishant Sharma for 26 runs in an over as he raised his fifty in 21 balls and put on 104 runs with teenage debutant Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who hit 54. There was no respite for the bowlers as Narine's departure off Mitchell Marsh in the 13th over brought in Andre Russell for another punishing knock. Russell hammered 41 off 19 balls and then Rinku Singh threatened to help KKR surpass Hyderabad's record total with his eight-ball 26. South African quick Anrich Nortje sent back Rinku at the end of the 19th over and Ishant bowled Russell with a toe-crushing yorker at the start of the 20th as Kolkata fell just short of the record. The innings featured 18 sixes and 22 fours. Delhi were never in the chase after they lost four wickets, including Marsh out for a duck off fellow Australian Mitchell Starc, inside five overs.

Pant and Stubbs put on 93 runs for the fifth wicket before both fell to spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who took three wickets. Medium-pacer and impact substitute Vaibhav Arora also claimed three wickets.

IPL 2024 Points Table: Updated Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings

The race for Orange Cap continues to intensify with Virat Kohli maintaing the top spot with 203 runs after four matches, while Riyan Parag is second with 181 runs to his name. SRH's Heinrich Klassen is third with 167 runs in three matches.

Mustafizur Rahman continues to be the leading wicket-taker of IPL 2024, with seven wickets from three matches for CSK to rise to the summit in Purple Cap standings. Khaleel Ahmed, Mayank Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal have accounted for six wickets each so far.

Without much ado, let's dwell on what the IPL 2024 Points Table looks like ahead of the encounter between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.