Shubman Gill’s match-winning century kept him in contention to take the Orange Cap, while Kagiso Rabada moved ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to claim the Purple Cap.
Three players who have stayed near the top of the IPL 2026 Orange Cap standings for most of the season were involved when Gujarat Titans (GT) faced Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill all had a major role in New Chandigarh on Friday night, while the Purple Cap race also saw a change at the top.
Orange Cap Leaderboard
Sooryavanshi, Sudharsan and Gill were all in the middle during Qualifier 2, and each delivered under pressure.
Sooryavanshi batted first, one match after coming close to breaking the record for the fastest century in IPL history before being dismissed for 97 off 29 balls. This time, he had to work harder because of the match situation, but still produced 96 from 47 deliveries and narrowly missed a second century of the season.
That innings took him to 776 runs for IPL 2026, scored at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30, and ensured he finished his campaign with a commanding lead in the Orange Cap race.
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Gill, however, was the standout performer of the evening. He guided GT’s chase with 104 from 53 balls, lifting his season tally to 722 runs. He remains 54 runs behind Sooryavanshi, but unlike the Rajasthan Royals opener, Gill still has the final to play.
Sudharsan is also still in the race. He looked fluent during GT’s chase, adding 167 runs for the opening wicket with Gill and making 58 from 32 balls. For the second match in a row, though, he was dismissed hit wicket. His innings took him to 710 runs for the season.
When GT meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final on Sunday, both Gill and Sudharsan will have the Orange Cap in sight along with the IPL trophy. A double prize may be much harder for Virat Kohli, with RCB’s leading run-scorer currently on 600 runs.
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Purple Cap Leaderboard
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has finally lost top spot in the Purple Cap race, with his closest rival Kagiso Rabada moving ahead after Qualifier 2.
Rabada dismissed Dhruv Jurel in the second over of Rajasthan’s innings and later removed Sooryavanshi in the 18th over. Those wickets took him to 28 for the season, two clear of Bhuvneshwar, with both bowlers set to face each other in the final.
Jofra Archer, who also had a chance to push for the top after taking three-wicket hauls in consecutive matches, returned 1 for 45 against GT. He ended his season with 25 wickets and finished third on the table.
Rashid Khan went wicketless in Qualifier 2 and had an expensive outing, returning 2-0-45-0. Jason Holder, however, performed strongly despite Sooryavanshi’s assault, finishing with 2 for 27 from his four overs.
