April 26 turned into a banner day for bowlers in IPL 2026, with 26 wickets falling across two matches, including a Super Over. The Purple Cap race saw a notable shake-up, while the Orange Cap standings remained unchanged at the top of the table.
Purple Cap: Rabada’s swing-and-bounce spell
Kagiso Rabada produced a devastating spell of 4-0-25-3 as Gujarat Titans (GT) secured an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
With the match played in the afternoon, the Chepauk pitch appeared to have retained more moisture than usual. The expectation was that the surface might deteriorate quickly under extreme summer conditions. Instead, the extra moisture offered meaningful assistance to the faster bowlers, and Rabada made the most of it.
- Rabada repeatedly troubled batters with extra bounce and pace.
- His speeds hovered around 145 kph throughout his spell.
- He has now moved into a joint-third position on the Purple Cap list with 13 wickets from eight innings.
- CSK’s Anshul Kamboj and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Eshan Malinga remain the joint leaders with 14 wickets each.
Orange Cap: No change at the top, but the chasing pack moved
On the Orange Cap front, there was no movement at the very top following a busy run of results that began with “Super Saturday.” Virat Kohli, who had been on 320 runs, slipped from first to fifth within 24 hours after Punjab Kings (PBKS) thrashed Delhi Capitals (DC) by posting 265 and after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) successfully chased 229 against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
As the evening unfolded in Delhi, DC opener KL Rahul took over the No. 1 spot with an unbeaten 152—also the highest individual score by an Indian in T20 cricket. Rahul’s total of 357 runs across seven innings lifted him to the summit, but it did not last long.
In Jaipur, teenage standout Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replied in style, blasting a 37-ball 103 to reach 357 runs as well. He grabbed the Orange Cap due to a superior strike rate.
Meanwhile, about an hour later, SRH opener Abhishek Sharma moved to the top of the batting leaderboard temporarily with a 29-ball 57.
Where the batting leaderboard stands after the dust settled
- With his fourth fifty-plus knock in eight innings, Abhishek Sharma leads the batting charts on 380 runs.
- Abhishek is 23 runs ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and KL Rahul, who are both on 357.
- Heinrich Klaasen improved his position into the top five by scoring 29 in SRH’s victory; he sits on 349 runs.
- Klaasen is just ahead of Shubman Gill (330) and Virat Kohli (328).
Additional awards and season markers
- Tournament MVP
- Best batting strike-rates
- Most catches
- Most 50+ scores
