On April 25, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hit his second century of IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Jaipur, and the innings changed the Orange Cap race. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener scored 103 off 37 balls, and while his team lost the game, he has now climbed to second in the season’s run-scorers’ table, just behind his opponent of the night.
Sooryavanshi’s innings was a display of aggression from the start. Sooryavanshi faced five balls from Praful Hinge and hit four consecutive sixes, setting the tone for what followed. He reached his half-century in 15 balls and his century in 36, with five fours and 12 sixes to his name, before being dismissed by a Sakib Hussain yorker in the 14th over.
IPL 2026: Latest Orange Cap Table Top 5
| Position | Player Name | Matches | Runs | Strike rate |
| 1 | Abhishek Sharma (SRH) | 8 | 380 | 212.29 |
| 2 | V Sooryavanshi (RR) | 8 | 357 | 234.86 |
| 3 | KL Rahul (DC) | 7 | 357 | 187.89 |
| 4 | H Klaasen (SRH) | 8 | 349 | 149.78 |
| 5 | V Kohli (RCB) | 7 | 328 | 163.18 |
Abhishek Sharma Holds Orange Cap as Sooryavanshi Closes In
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 380 runs from eight matches, following up his 57 off 29 balls in SRH’s successful chase.
Sooryavanshi is next with 357 runs from eight matches, but the difference in their strike rates is glaring: Sooryavanshi’s 234.86 to Abhishek’s 212.29.
KL Rahul is also on 357 runs after his unbeaten 152 against the Punjab Kings, but is placed behind Sooryavanshi because of a lower strike rate. Virat Kohli, who was leading the runs for much of the early part of the season, is fourth on 328 runs at a strike rate of 163.18.
The top four is a study in contrast; Kohli and Rahul are scoring runs at a high average, while Sooryavanshi and Abhishek are scoring them at a rate that keeps the pressure on the bowlers from the very first ball.
A Century That Wasn’t Enough to Win the Match
Sooryavanshi made 103 off 37 balls, while his teammates and extras combined for 125 off 83, underscoring how lopsided the contribution was in the Rajasthan Royals innings. Dhruv Jurel contributed 51 off 35 and shared a 112-run second-wicket stand with Sooryavanshi, but the rest of the batting never fired.
Sunrisers needed 229 to win and got there in 18.3 overs, with Ishan Kishan’s 74 off 31 and Abhishek’s 57 steering the chase comfortably. The two left-handers put on 132 off 55 balls, outpacing the Sooryavanshi-Jurel partnership in both volume and tempo.
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Records Keep Falling for a 15-Year-Old
This century was only Sooryavanshi’s second-quickest in the IPL. His maiden hundred against the Gujarat Titans last year came off 35 balls, which remains the fastest. He now holds both the second and third spots on the all-time list of fastest IPL centuries.
He also reached 1000 T20 runs in fewer balls than anyone in T20 history during this innings — a milestone that placed him in a category of his own regardless of age. Eight matches into IPL 2026, he has 357 runs, one hundred, two fifties, and a strike rate of 234.86.
With the league phase far from over, Abhishek Sharma leads the race, but Sooryavanshi, Rahul, and Kohli are all within striking distance. On current form, the Orange Cap is still anyone’s to take.
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