Orange Cap race: Abhishek, Sooryavanshi, Rahul take top three spots

The Orange Cap was worn by three different batters across Saturday, before eventually settling on the SRH opener's head

ESPNcricinfo staff

Published: Apr 26, 2026, 12:31 AM (3 hrs ago)

April 25 turned out to be a Super Saturday of a different level as 986 runs were scored across the two games - a record for a single date in the IPL. Expectedly, there was big movement on the Orange and Purple Cap tables too. Here's where we stand

Virat Kohli (320 runs) slipped from first to fifth within 24 hours as Punjab Kings (PBKS) razed down 265 against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) chased 229 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday.

As the sun was setting in Delhi, it was DC opener KL Rahul who took the No. 1 spot with his unbeaten 152, the highest score by an Indian in T20 cricket history. With 357 runs in seven innings, Rahul moved to the top spot, but stayed there for less than two hours. Over in Jaipur, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck a 37-ball 103 to also reach 357 runs - the same tally as Rahul - and grabbed the Orange Cap by virtue of a higher strike-rate. An hour later, SRH opener Abhishek Sharma had moved atop the batting table with a 29-ball 57.

With a fourth fifty-plus score in eight innings, Abhishek now leads the batting charts with 380 runs, 23 more than Sooryavanshi and Rahul. Heinrich Klaasen consolidated his place in the top five by moving up to No. 4 by scoring 29 in SRH's win. With 349 runs, he sits just in front of Kohli.

SRH's Sri Lankan seamer Eshan Malinga took 2 for 38 against RR and is now hot on the heels of Chennai Super Kings' Anshul Kamboj. Malinga dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Donovan Ferreira. Both bowlers have 14 wickets, although Kamboj retains the Purple Cap because of a better economy rate (8.95 vs 9.44).

RR seamer Jofra Archer bowled a menacing spell (2 for 34) but could not end up on the winning side. However, he moved up joint-third on the bowling charts with the key wickets of Travis Head and Ishan Kishan. He has 13 wickets, like Lucknow Super Giants' Prince Yadav. Gujarat Titans seamer Prasidh Krishna rounds up the top five with 12 wickets.

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