Three men who have been around the top of the Orange Cap table for the best part of IPL 2026, even getting to the top from time to time, were in action when Gujarat Titans (GT) met Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2. Here’s what happened there, even as we got a a new No. 1 on the Purple Cap list.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill were all out in the middle in New Chandigarh on Friday night, and each of them rose to the occasion.
Sooryavanshi went first, a match after threatening to break the record for the fastest century in IPL history, before falling for a 29-ball 97. He was slower this time, circumstances keeping him in check to an extent, but he still hit 96 in 47 balls, missing getting to his second century of the season. But that didn’t stop him from finishing his season with 776 runs, scored at an incredible strike rate of 237.30.
But the star of the evening was Gill, who led GT’s chase with 104 off 53 balls. That took his total for the season up to 722 runs, still 54 behind Sooryavanshi’s mark, but unlike Sooryavanshi, Gill has the final left to play.
Which is the case with Sai Sudharsan too. Sai Sudharsan looked in great touch, putting together a 167-run stand with Gill for the opening wicket in the chase and scoring 58 in 32 balls himself before, for the second time in as many matches, he was out hit wicket. He got to 710 runs at the end of it.
When GT take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final on Sunday, Gill and Sai Sudharsan will have that cap in mind, along with the IPL trophy. The double delight might be too far away for Virat Kohli, though, the most prolific RCB batter currently being on 600 runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has finally been removed from the perch, and it’s his closest competitor for the season, Kagiso Rabada, who now wears the Purple Cap after picking up the wickets of Dhruv Jurel in the second over of the RR innings and, in the 18th, that of Sooryavanshi. Rabada now has 28 wickets, two clear of Bhuvneshwar, with the two set to go head-to-head in the final.
Another bowler who had a shot at getting to the top after picking up three-wicket hauls in back-to-back matches, Jofra Archer, returned 1 for 45 against GT, finishing the season with 25 wickets and the third spot on the table.
While Rashid Khan went wicketless in Qualifier 2, and was expensive – 2-0-45-0 – Jason Holder did remarkably well in the face of Sooryavanshi’s onslaught, returning 2 for 27 from four overs.
