The Orange cap is presented to the leading run scorer in the IPL. It was first introduced a week into the inaugural season of the IPL back in 2008, and can be compared to the yellow, green or polka-dot jerseys in the Tour de France.
The batter with the most runs in the tournament in the course of a season gets to wear the Orange Cap while fielding (or batting, if he chooses to bat in a cap). The eventual winner is confirmed after the final, even though that particular player may not appear in it.
Brendon McCullum became the first player to wear the Orange Cap, but he was not the winner that season. That honour went to Shaun Marsh, the first of four Australians to clinch the honour. Matthew Hayden won it the following year, and it was the turn of Michael Hussey in 2013. And David Warner won it in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Chris Gayle of Jamaica is the only other player to win it twice, back to back in 2011 and 2012.
Apart from 2018 when the New Zealander Kane Williamson clinched the award, all the other winners have been Indian. The first home winner was the great Sachin Tendulkar in 2010, and he was followed by Robin Uthappa four years later.
In 2016 Virat Kohli took the honours and, most recently it went to Ruturaj Gaikwad of the Chennai Super Kings.
Kohli’s achievement in 2016 deserves special mention. Playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he scored 973 runs that season, by far the most runs scored by any man in an IPL season.
By contrast, Warner had won it scoring 409 runs fewer in 2015.
In terms of teams, players from Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the award four times, and those representing Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings have claimed it three times each.
However, Uthappa (in 2014) and Gaikwad (2021) are the only Orange Cap winners to feature in the side that won the IPL. That suggests that it is bowlers, not batters, who have the greater influence on the outcome of matches.