With IPL 2026\u2019s league phase now complete, Rajasthan Royals have secured their playoff berth after beating Mumbai Indians, while Delhi Capitals\u2019 campaign ended on a brighter note thanks to a win over Kolkata Knight Riders. The league finale also shaped the Orange and Purple Cap standings, setting up a final scramble and a clear leaderboard heading into the knockout stage.<\/p>\n
RR\u2019s path to the playoffs depended on their victory over MI, and Jofra Archer delivered in a big all-round way. While his batting impact helped, the decisive factor for his cap charge was his bowling spell of 3 for 17. During the powerplay, Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir were both dismissed, and Hardik Pandya was removed later in the contest.<\/p>\n
That performance moved Archer straight up to third place in the Purple Cap race. He has leapfrogged Anshul Kamboj (CSK), Rashid Khan (GT) and Eshan Malinga (SRH). Archer is now only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB) and GT\u2019s Kagiso Rabada, who are level with 24 wickets each. Archer sits one notch below that with 21 wickets.<\/p>\n
With Bhuvneshwar, Rabada, Archer and Rashid all within striking distance, the top of the Purple Cap leaderboard is set for a tense fight in the playoffs\u2019 lead-up to the final prize.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s matches featured three squads that have not leaned heavily on individual batting standouts this season, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his mark in the afternoon-evening game and KL Rahul played a key role in the evening-night contest. One of them closed out his campaign with a strong finish, while the other fell short\u2014though Rahul still has momentum to chase the top total.<\/p>\n
Sooryavanshi first took the field against MI, but Deepak Chahar struck early and kept him under pressure. The four runs he managed only nudged his season tally to 583. At that stage, he was fourth on the run-scorers list, positioned behind GT\u2019s B Sai Sudharsan (638) and Shubman Gill (616), as well as SRH\u2019s Heinrich Klaasen, who finished the league phase with 606.<\/p>\n
Rahul, though, did not let his season end quietly. He produced a match-defining knock of 60 off 30 balls against KKR, raising his total to 593 for the tournament. That total carried him past a number of batters ahead of him\u2014including Sooryavanshi\u2014and secured Rahul the fourth spot to close out the league stage. While the order will likely shift as the playoffs begin, it remains a major late-season push from Rahul.<\/p>\n
With IPL 2026\u2019s league phase now complete, Rajasthan Royals have secured their playoff berth after beating Mumbai Indians, while Delhi Capitals\u2019 campaign ended on a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026 Purple Cap: Archer climbs as RR make Playoffs","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026 Purple Cap update: Jofra Archer surges into the top mix as Rajasthan Royals lock in the playoffs after a key win over Mumbai.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n