Did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi just win IPL 2026 orange cap? Gill and Sudharsan fall short in final

Ahmedabad: Rajasthan Royals sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi capped off a record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign by officially clinching the Orange Cap, becoming the youngest player ever to finish as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

The 15-year-old’s triumph was confirmed during the IPL 2026 final after Gujarat Titans openers Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill failed to score enough runs to overtake his tally. Sudharsan managed just 12 off 12 balls, while Gill was dismissed for 10 off eight deliveries, ending their pursuit of the tournament’s highest individual run tally.

Meanwhile, the only player still in contention for the Orange Cap is Virat Kohli, who needs 177 more runs in the final to top the run-scoring charts, having already accumulated 600 runs so far in the tournament.

All-Time Orange Cap Winners

Recent winners include Sai Sudharsan (2025, 759 runs), Virat Kohli (2024, 741 runs; 2016, 973 runs), and Shubman Gill (2023, 890 runs). Other notable winners include Jos Buttler (2022), Ruturaj Gaikwad (2021), and multiple winner David Warner (2015, 2017, 2019)

Historic performance

Sooryavanshi finished the season with a staggering 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and an extraordinary strike rate of over 237. He also smashed a record 72 sixes during the tournament, surpassing Chris Gayle’s long-standing IPL record of 59 sixes in a single season.

The teenager’s fearless batting became one of the defining stories of IPL 2026. He cleared the boundary once every 4.31 balls, producing a level of power-hitting rarely seen in T20 cricket. His campaign included one century and five half-centuries, while he repeatedly dismantled some of the league’s best bowling attacks.

Despite the Rajasthan Royals falling short of the final, Sooryavanshi’s performances stood out throughout the season. In Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans, he scored a brilliant 96 off 47 balls, but the effort ended in heartbreak as Gujarat chased down 215 to book a place in the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The youngster was visibly emotional after Rajasthan’s exit, with television cameras capturing him sitting in the dugout with the Orange Cap covering his face as Gujarat celebrated their victory.

Earlier in the playoffs, Sooryavanshi had also hammered a breathtaking 97 off just 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator, further cementing his reputation as one of cricket’s brightest young stars.

His remarkable season also saw him become the fastest batter to reach 1,000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced, achieving the milestone in just 440 deliveries. He reached the landmark in only 23 innings, placing him among the fastest players in league history.

At an age when most cricketers are still playing age-group cricket, Sooryavanshi has already rewritten IPL record books. With the Orange Cap secured and multiple batting records shattered, the Rajasthan Royals prodigy leaves IPL 2026 as the undisputed breakout star of the season.