Rajasthan Royals star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already secured the IPL 2026 Orange Cap even before the end of the final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans. The young batting star finished the season as the league's top run-scorer after the Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan did not carry over his total from their summit clash.
As per the IPL tradition, the Orange Cap is awarded to the player who scores the most runs during the season. At the time of the final, Sooryavanshi was leading the list with 776 runs from 16 innings. But Gill and Sudharsan were still in the race, so the final match was very much at stake, and the final match was key.
Sooryavanshi climbed to the top of the Orange Cap rankings by Qualifier 2 against the Gujarat Titans, where he played a sensational knock of 96 runs. Rajasthan Royals were eliminated by that defeat, but his impressive score kept him well ahead of the chasing pack.
By the time of the final, Gill had 722 runs, and Sudharsan had 710 runs. To surpass Sooryavanshi's total, Gill required 55 runs and Sudharsan 67 runs in the title clash.
But both Gujarat Titans batters fell short of the target. Captain Gill scored only 10 runs before being dismissed, while Sudharsan's innings ended at 12 runs. So Gill ended the season with 732 runs and Sudharsan 722 runs, both behind Sooryavanshi's amazing 776 runs.
Without any other player to match him, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was confirmed as the 2026 IPL Orange Cap winner. He is also the youngest batter in IPL history to win the prestigious award, making him the youngest in IPL history to win the prize; this is another one of the first steps in a breakthrough season for the Rajasthan Royals prodigy.
