Kohli to Rahul to Vaibhav to Abhishek: How one Sunday flipped the Orange Cap four times | Cricket News
On Saturday night, Virat Kohli was sitting comfortably at the top of the Orange Cap standings after his match-defining 81 against the Gujarat Titans. But in a dramatic turn of events on Sunday, the leaderboard saw multiple shifts, pushing him down to fifth place by the end of the day.The day began with KL Rahul storming to the top in the afternoon, courtesy of a sensational unbeaten 152 against the Punjab Kings. By evening, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi overtook him with his second century of the IPL. However, the final twist came at night when Abhishek Sharma claimed the Orange Cap with a match-winning 57 against the Rajasthan Royals.Abhishek Sharma is the new Orange Cap holder in IPL 2026 after his match-winning fifty against Rajasthan Royals. In eight matches, he has amassed 380 runs at an average of 54.29 and an explosive strike rate of 212.29.Vaibhav Sooryavanshi now sits second on the list with 357 runs from eight matches. After his sensational century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has averaged 44.63 while maintaining a staggering strike rate of 234.87.Interestingly, KL Rahul also moved to 357 runs following his unbeaten 152 against Punjab Kings but is now third on the Orange Cap list. However, Sooryavanshi is ahead due to his superior strike rate.Heinrich Klaasen is placed fourth with 349 runs at an average of 49.86 and a strike rate of 149.79. Virat Kohli rounds off the top five with 328 runs at an average of 54.67 and a strike rate of 163.18.In a single day packed with extraordinary performances, the Orange Cap changed hands multiple times, highlighting just how competitive and unpredictable IPL 2026 has become.
Here are the top leading run scorers in IPL 2026:
| Rank | Player | Team | Runs | Matches | Innings | Strike Rate | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abhishek Sharma | SRH | 380 | 8 | 8 | 212.29 | 54.29 |
| 2 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | RR | 357 | 8 | 8 | 235.00 | 44.63 |
| 3 | KL Rahul | DC | 357 | 7 | 7 | 188.00 | 59.50 |
| 4 | Heinrich Klaasen | SRH | 349 | 8 | 8 | 150.00 | 49.86 |
| 5 | Virat Kohli | RCB | 328 | 7 | 7 | 163.00 | 54.67 |
| 6 | Ishan Kishan | SRH | 312 | 8 | 8 | 199.00 | 39.00 |
| 7 | Shubman Gill | GT | 297 | 6 | 6 | 149.00 | 49.50 |
| 8 | Sanju Samson | CSK | 293 | 7 | 7 | 179.00 | 58.60 |
| 9 | Prabhsimran Singh | PBKS | 287 | 7 | 6 | 193.00 | 57.40 |
| 10 | Shreyas Iyer | PBKS | 279 | 7 | 6 | 186.00 | 69.75 |
