Rabada moves up the IPL Purple cap list
The South Africa quick picked up 3 for 25 against CSK on Sunday
ESPNcricinfo staff
Published: Apr 27, 2026, 2:37 AM
April 26 turned out to be a really good day to be a bowler in IPL 2026. Twenty-six wickets fell across the two matches played on Sunday, including a Super Over. Here’s where we stand on the Purple cap table. There was no movement on the Orange cap front.
Kagiso Rabada picked up 4-0-25-3 to lead Gujarat Titans (GT) to an eight-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Given the game was taking place in the afternoon, the groundstaff at Chepauk appeared to have left a little too much moisture in the pitch, fearing that it might breakdown a little too quickly in the extreme summer heat. What happened in the end was, the moisture on offer provided extra help for the quick bowlers and Rabada exploited it brilliantly. He generated speeds in the range of 145 kph and consistently troubled them with his extra bounce. He is now joint-third on the Purple cap list with 13 wickets from eight innings. CSK’s Anshul Kamboj and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Eshan Malinga are on top with 14 wickets each.
Super Saturday witnessed Virat Kohli (320 runs) slipping from first to fifth within 24 hours as Punjab Kings (PBKS) razed 265 against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) chased down 229 against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
As the sun was setting in Delhi, it was DC opener KL Rahul who had taken the No. 1 spot with his unbeaten 152, the highest score by an Indian in T20 cricket. With 357 runs in seven innings, Rahul moved to the top spot, but stayed there for less than two hours.
Because 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 better strike rate.
An hour later, SRH opener Abhishek Sharma had moved to the top of 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 when he scored 29 in SRH’s win. With 349 runs, he sits just in front of Shubman Gill (330) and Kohli (328).
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