Bhuvneshwar stays ahead of Rabada in IPL 2026 Purple Cap race
Virat Kohli scored a 25-ball 43 in RCB’s 92-run win over GT in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 to move up to fourth place on the Orange Cap table
ESPNcricinfo staff
Published: May 27, 2026, 3:22 AM (23 hrs ago)
It was a no-contest in Qualifier 1, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) steamrolled Gujarat Titans (GT) for a 92-run win to get themselves a ticket to the final of IPL 2026. But in the contests within the contest – the Orange and Purple Caps, especially the second – there was fiery stuff. Here’s how.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kagiso Rabada, well clear of the chasing pack, started the game with 24 wickets apiece, and ended the game with 26 each.
Rabada went first, got the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer in the second over and, later, that of Krunal Pandya in the 17th. It wasn’t a happy night for him, though, as he was one of the most expensive of the GT bowlers, conceding 54 runs in his four overs for an economy rate of 13.50.
Bhuvneshwar had a happier time of it all around. Shubman Gill fell to him in the fourth over, and he came back to send Rahul Tewatia back in the 19th to finish with 2 for 28 from his four.
The difference in the two bowlers’ economy rates wasn’t unexpected. Bhuvneshwar has gone at 8.00 this season, while Rabada is at 9.48. Which is why Bhuvneshwar continues to wear the Purple Cap.
Of the others in action, while Jason Holder sent back Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in the same over to return 2 for 39, and get to 15 wickets for the season in just nine games (putting him in 12th place), while Rasikh Salam, the RCB change quick, had another good day, returning 2 for 24 and taking his tally up to 16, and the tenth position.
It wasn’t a day to remember for B Sai Sudharsan and Gill, the GT openers, who scored 14 and 2 respectively, but they have done so well all season that they continue to be at the top of the table. Sai Sudharsan is No. 1 with 652 runs, and Gill is No. 2 with 618.
Kohli played his part in taking RCB to a mammoth 254 for 5 with a 25-ball 43, and that took his aggregate up to 600, and past KL Rahul of Delhi Capitals (DC) to No. 4 on the table, with Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) between him and the top two.
Jos Buttler closed in on the 500-run mark with an 11-ball 29, getting to 498 runs and the 12th place, while Rajat Patidar, the star of the night for his 33-ball 93 not out, got to the 14th place with 486 runs.
