Saturday’s IPL 2026 double-header served up one of the most thrilling Orange Cap battles the tournament has seen. Virat Kohli entered the day as the holder before KL Rahul knocked him off the perch with a commanding performance in the DC vs PBKS clash. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi then announced himself in spectacular fashion, clobbering a 36-ball century against SRH, his second IPL hundred, in the process becoming the youngest cricketer in history to reach 1000 runs in T20 cricket, a knock that temporarily handed him the season lead. However, Abhishek Sharma ensured the cap would not stay with the teenage sensation, firing a blistering 57 against Rajasthan Royals to leapfrog everyone and close out the evening as the tournament’s top run-scorer. At stumps, Abhishek sat on 380 runs for the season while Sooryavanshi and Rahul finished level in joint second position on 357 runs apiece.
Context on both games
Following the high-stakes encounter between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the IPL 2026 leaderboard has seen significant shifts. Sunrisers Hyderabad moved into third place after Rajasthan Royals failed to defend a total of 228, with SRH now leading RR on net run rate despite both teams holding 10 points.
Earlier in the day, the league-leading Punjab Kings maintained their position at the top of the table after completing a record-breaking run chase against the Delhi Capitals. The Capitals remain in the sixth position following their 4-run loss.
IPL 2026 Points Table (Updated)
POS TEAM PL W L NR NRR PTS
1 Punjab Kings 7 6 0 1 1.333 13
2 Royal Challengers Bengaluru 7 5 2 0 1.101 10
3 Sunrisers Hyderabad 8 5 3 0 0.815 10
4 Rajasthan Royals 8 5 3 0 0.602 10
5 Chennai Super Kings 7 3 4 0 0.118 6
6 Delhi Capitals 7 3 4 0 -0.184 6
7 Gujarat Titans 7 3 4 0 -0.790 6
8 Mumbai Indians 7 2 5 0 -0.736 4
9 Lucknow Super Giants 7 2 5 0 -1.277 4
10 Kolkata Knight Riders 7 1 5 1 -0.879 3
Orange Cap Standings: Most Runs in IPL 2026
The lead for the Orange Cap changed hands multiple times on Saturday. KL Rahul initially took the lead from Virat Kohli during the first match of the double-header. Later, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi claimed the top spot after scoring his second century of the season for RR. However, by the end of the evening, SRH’s Abhishek Sharma surpassed everyone to finish the day as the leading run-scorer.
POS PLAYER INNS RUNS SR
1 Abhishek Sharma (SRH) 8 380 212.29
2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) 8 357 234.86
3 KL Rahul (DC) 7 357 187.89
4 Heinrich Klaasen (SRH) 8 349 149.78
5 Virat Kohli (RCB) 7 328 163.18
Purple Cap Standings: Most Wickets in IPL 2026
Anshul Kamboj continues to lead the wicket-taking charts. Following the recent matches, Eshan Malinga of SRH has climbed to the second position, while Jofra Archer moved into third place. Prince Yadav of LSG currently sits in fourth.
POS PLAYER INNS WICKETS ECON
1 Anshul Kamboj (CSK) 7 14 8.95
2 Eshan Malinga (SRH) 8 14 9.44
3 Jofra Archer (RR) 8 13 8.03
4 Prince Yadav (LSG) 7 13 8.38
5 Prasidh Krishna (GT) 7 12 10.34
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals
Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down a massive target to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets. Ishan Kishan led the way with 74 runs, supported by Abhishek Sharma’s 57 and a decisive closing cameo from Heinrich Klaasen. This overshadowed a brilliant performance by RR’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who recorded the third-fastest century in IPL history as the Royals posted 228.
Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings
In the day’s opening match, KL Rahul made history by scoring 152*, the highest individual score by an Indian in the IPL. Alongside Nitish Rana’s 91, the Capitals set a target of 264/2. The Punjab Kings achieved a stunning comeback victory by 6 wickets, fueled by a fast start from Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, and anchored by captain Shreyas Iyer’s 71.
