Orange-Puple Cap Race: IPL 2026 has now reached its final stage. Sunrisers Hyderabad is out of the tournament after losing in the eliminator, while now only Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore are left in the race for the title. RCB has already made it to the final, while Qualifier-2 will be played between Rajasthan and Gujarat on May 29.
At this crucial juncture of the tournament, while the fans’ eyes are on the fight for the trophy, the race for the Orange Cap and Purple Cap is also creating tremendous excitement. Especially Rajasthan Royals’ young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi has changed the whole picture with his explosive game.
In the eliminator match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Vaibhav Suryavanshi batted in such a way that surprised the entire cricket world. The young batsman scored 97 runs in just 29 balls, in which there was rain of fours and sixes.
After this innings, Suryavanshi directly reached number one in the Orange Cap leaderboard from seventh place. Now he has 680 runs in his name in 15 matches. The most striking thing was his strike rate, which stood at 242.85 – higher than any other top batsman in the current season.
His aggressive batting pushed a legend like Virat Kohli out of the top-5.
| rank | player | Team | Run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaibhav Suryavanshi | RR | 680 |
| 2 | Sai Sudarshan | GT | 652 |
| 3 | heinrich classen | SRH | 624 |
| 4 | Shubhman Gill | GT | 618 |
| 5 | Ishaan Kishan | SRH | 602 |
Virat Kohli has reached sixth position with 600 runs. However, as RCB has reached the finals, he still has a chance to make a comeback.
Talking about bowlers, the battle for the Purple Cap has also become very interesting. RCB’s experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar still remains on top with 26 wickets.
However, Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans is also very close with 26 wickets. Bhuvi is currently ahead due to better economy and average. Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer is in third place with 24 wickets and if he performs well in Qualifier-2 and the possible final, he can win the Purple Cap.
| rank | player | Team | Wicket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 26 |
| 2 | Kagiso Rabada | GT | 26 |
| 3 | jofra archer | RR | 24 |
| 4 | Anshul Kamboj | CSK | 21 |
| 5 | Ishaan Malinga | SRH | 20 |
Qualifier-2 and the final matches are now going to be very important not only for the teams but also for the race for individual awards.
While Suryavanshi will face challenge from Sai Sudarshan and Shubman Gill in the Orange Cap, the battle for the Purple Cap can go till the last ball between Bhuvneshwar, Rabada and Archer.
This season of IPL 2026 will be remembered for a long time for the rise of young players, aggressive batting and brilliant performances by fast bowlers.
