Pulling off the purple cap

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had two solid seasons - he took 20 wickets in 2014 and 18 in 2015 - coming into the 2016 IPL. He had shown he could get swing early on and nail his yorkers and slower balls in the end overs. So, it wasn't a surprise that he was Sunrisers Hyderabad's key bowler during their winning campaign. After Sunrisers had lost two of their first three games, Bhuvneshwar bowled a match-winning spell of 4 for 29 against Gujarat Lions to bring their season on track. He then picked up at least a wicket in all but two of Sunrisers' group games. In the elimination final, his 3 for 19 was crucial to Sunrisers' win against Kolkata Knight Riders. Although he did not pick up a wicket in the final, he was Sunrisers' most economical bowler as they defended 208 and bowled two crucial overs towards the end to seal the title.

By 2015, Dwayne Bravo had established himself as one of the finest Twenty20 bowlers in world cricket. His specialty was bowling in the end overs, when his mixture of yorkers, bouncers and dipping slower balls proved difficult to handle. He had won the purple cap in 2013, but missed the next season with an injury. In 2015, he reclaimed the cap, as Chennai Super Kings once again made it to the final. His standout performance came against Kolkata Knight Riders when Super Kings were defending a modest 134. He came into the attack with Knight Riders requiring 45 runs from five overs with six wickets in hand. He struck with his second ball, and two more wickets in his next over derailed Knight Riders' chase and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

It was only Mohit Sharma's second season in the IPL, but he had already shown his quality as a limited-overs bowler. Early in the 2014 season, he took 4 for 14 against Mumbai Indians and then followed it with five wickets in his next two games. He picked up another three-wicket haul in the group stages, against Rajasthan Royals.

Dwayne Bravo struck in every one of Chennai Super Kings' 18 games in the 2013 IPL, racking up a wicket-tally that is still the highest for any bowler in a season. He played the role of finisher to good effect too. Unfortunately for him, his best performance, 4 for 42 against Mumbai in the final, came in a losing cause, as Super Kings' batsmen could not haul down the target.

Though not officially a purple cap winner, James Faulkner deserves a mention because his 28 wickets in 2013 would have won him the cap in seven of the other eight seasons. He had barely featured in his previous two seasons in the IPL, but played 16 games for Royals in 2013. He ended up with two five-wicket hauls, both against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In 2012, Delhi Daredevils topped the table in the league stage, and Morne Morkel was one of the major reasons why. He started the season by bowling Kolkata Knight Riders' Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary with consecutive yorkers in the third over of Daredevils' first game of the season. By the end of Daredevils' sixth game, he had taken 15 wickets at 10.80. In Daredevils' final game of the league stage, he took 4 for 20 to restrict Kings XI to 141. Strangely, he was left out of the second qualifying final, which Daredevils lost to Super Kings.

The all-time leading wicket-taker in IPLs, Lasith Malinga had the first of four 20-wicket-plus seasons in 2011. Bouncers, yorkers, slower bouncers, slower yorkers - all were on show as he helped Mumbai reach the knockouts. He took 5 for 13 in Mumbai's first game. Not only did Malinga take wickets, his economy rate stood out. On eight different occasions, he completed his four overs for less than 25 runs, and he finished with an economy rate of 5.95 in the season. In the elimination final, he conceded just 19 off his four overs in Mumbai's win.

Pragyan Ojha was one of the most successful spinners in the early seasons of the IPL. He had taken 18 scalps in Deccan Chargers' successful campaign in 2009 and in 2010, he helped them reach the semi-finals. His 2 for 24 against Royal Challengers was the standout bowling performance in a match in which no other bowler conceded less than eight runs an over. Against Delhi Daredevils, he helped defend 145 with figures of 2 for 16.

Adam Gilchrist will be remembered as the face of Deccan Chargers' unexpected triumph in 2009, but RP Singh was every bit as important to their success. In the final, with Chargers defending just 143 against Royal Challengers, he took the crucial wicket of Jacques Kallis in an economical first spell. He then finished the job with two economical overs in the 18th and 20th, finishing with figures of 1 for 16 in four overs. He started the season with a four-wicket haul against Knight Riders, and then dismissed Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar off consecutive deliveries in a game against Mumbai.

Sohail Tanvir only played 11 of Royals' 16 games in 2008, but it was enough for him to be the first winner of the purple cap. His 6 for 14 against Super Kings in Jaipur remains the best bowling performance in the tournament's history. He also took 3 for 10 against Royal Challengers and 4 for 14 against Mumbai. Pakistan players did not feature in the IPL from the 2009 season, and Tanvir never had a shot at retaining his purple cap.