Rising Bihar-born talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stole the spotlight at the end of the IPL 2026 season, collecting a remarkable haul of awards. The 15-year-old was named the Most Valuable Player, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, the Orange Cap winner, and also took home Super Sixes of the Season. For Rajasthan Royals, he authored a tournament that reads like a record book—finishing as the leading run-getter with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, powered by exceptional power-hitting that included a record-breaking 72 maximums.
Sooryavanshi’s award sweep and record-breaking season
Sooryavanshi’s consistency and impact were evident across the competition, with his six-hitting particularly standing out as he moved past several long-standing IPL milestones. His run-scoring and boundary-making helped cement his reputation as one of the most exciting prospects in Indian cricket.
- Awards collected at IPL 2026: Most Valuable Player, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, Orange Cap, and Super Sixes of the Season.
- Rajasthan Royals return: 776 runs, the highest in the tournament, at a strike rate of 237.30.
- Six-hitting mark: 72 sixes, a new record in the league.
Youngest Orange Cap winner—beating the previous best
Beyond the volume of runs and boundaries, Sooryavanshi’s age made the Orange Cap achievement even more historic. At 15 years and 65 days, he became the youngest batter to win the Orange Cap in IPL history. The earlier record belonged to Gujarat Titans opener Sudharsan, who earned the top run-scorer award at 23 years and 231 days in 2025. In 2023, Shubman Gill had set a mark at 23 years and 263 days.
- New IPL record: Youngest Orange Cap winner — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (15 years, 65 days).
- Previous record: Sudharsan (Gujarat Titans) — 23 years, 231 days (2025).
- Another prior benchmark: Shubman Gill — 23 years, 263 days (2023).
Centuries, big milestones, and near-misses
While Sooryavanshi was close to matching Virat Kohli’s seasonal century tally of four, he fell just short. He was dismissed in the nineties three separate times—93 versus Lucknow Super Giants, 97 in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and 96 in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans. He did add one century to the campaign, striking it against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Dismissed in the nineties three times:
- 93 vs Lucknow Super Giants
- 97 in the Eliminator vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
- 96 in Qualifier 2 vs Gujarat Titans
- Century: one hundred against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Century tally comparison: missed matching Virat Kohli’s four-century season by a margin of one.
He also reached 1,000 IPL runs at record speed, getting there in just 440 balls—surpassing West Indies great Andre Russell. In terms of innings, Sooryavanshi became the second fastest to the 1,000-run milestone, achieving it in 23 innings. Shaun Marsh holds the top mark with 21 innings.
- 1,000 IPL runs (fastest by balls): 440 balls, surpassing Andre Russell.
- 1,000 IPL runs (fastest by innings): 23 innings, second only to Shaun Marsh (21 innings).
Sooryavanshi’s remarks and the IPL 2026 final story
After picking up the Most Valuable Player of the season award, Sooryavanshi spoke about handling the pressure and keeping his routines steady. He said it feels good, but that he feels a bit of pressure because of interviews. He also mentioned that he is not drinking milk these days and stressed that each match has its own demands, so the same approach cannot be used every time. He added that to remain injury-free, he needs to work on fitness, and described the support system around him—senior players, the support staff, and everyone backing him—creating a positive atmosphere.
In the IPL 2026 final, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to bat first, but Gujarat Titans managed only 155/8 in 20 overs. Washington Sundar made 50* off 37 balls with five fours, while Nishant Sindhu contributed 20 off 18 balls with three boundaries as the only batters to reach the 20-run mark. For RCB, Rasikh Dar Salam returned 3/27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2/29, and Josh Hazlewood finished with 2/37, keeping the wickets coming at regular intervals.
RCB made a solid start, building a 62-run partnership between Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli—Venkatesh scoring 32 off 16 balls with four fours and two sixes. Gujarat Titans fought back by pulling RCB to 132/5 at one stage, but Virat Kohli remained in control. He struck 75* off 42 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes, and steered RCB to victory with two overs remaining.
This was RCB’s second IPL title win and their fourth Indian franchise trophy overall, counting two Women’s Premier League (WPL) championships as well.
IPL 2026 awards (complete list)
- Player of the Match, Final: Virat Kohli
- Emerging Player of the Season: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Super Striker of the Season: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Super Sixes of the Season: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Green Dot Balls of the Season: Mohammed Siraj
- Best Catch of the Season: Manish Pandey
- Fairplay Award: Punjab Kings
- Purple Cap: Kagiso Rabada
- Orange Cap: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Most Valuable Player (MVP): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
