Orange Cap in IPL 2026: Abhishek Sharma plays cat and mouse with Heinrich Klaasen for top spot in list of most runs

Abhishek Sharma played cat and mouse with Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Heinrich Klaasen for the Orange Cap in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) as the duo destroyed Delhi Capitals with raining sixes at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Tuesday. The Orange Cap is given to the player with most runs in IPL. Before the start of the game, Klaasen was leading the Orange Cap list with 283 runs.

But Abhishek's 135 not out in just 68 balls raced him stop the table with 323 runs from seven games. The South African tried his best to keep the lead with two fours and a six in the final over bowled by Mukesh Kumar, but Abhishek's single boundary on the fourth ball of the 20th over enough for the Indian open to clinch the cap from his teammate.

Sent into bat first, Abhishek was in red-hot form as he smashed sixes at will. Despite the departure of his opening partner Travis Head for 37 in the ninth over, the Indian left-hander went on his business with utter disdain to race to his first fifty in 25 balls. He took just 22 balls to complete his second, this registering his second IPL hundred. Notably, his first also came at this venue.

During his stay in the middle, Abhishek smashed 10 fours and 10 sixes. On the other hand, Klaasen remained not out at 37 off just 13 balls in an absolute carnage with three sixes and three fours. The Protea batter currently has 320 runs in his tally.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Virat Kohli and teen Rajasthan Royals sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi occupy the third, fourth and fifth spots respectively. In fact, only Abhishek and Klaasen are the two batters with 300-plus runs so far.

Abhishek's captain Ishan Kishan moved to the sixth place in the list after his knock of 25 runs. RCB captain Rajat Patidar is seventh, followed by Punjab Kings duo Cooper Connolly and Priyansh Arya at eighth and 10th positions respectively. Rajasthan Royals' Yashasvi Jaiswal is placed ninth.

Updated IPL 2026 Orange Cap after SRH vs DC

The innings also saw Abhishek reach another significant milestone, as he completed 350 sixes in T20 cricket. He also completed 2000 IPL runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad, joining David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson in the elite list.

In the all-time list, West Indies' Chris Gayle leads with 22 centuries, followed by Pakistan's Babar Azam (12) and Australian David Warner (10), while Abhishek now joined a group featuring players such as South African duo of Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw and Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan.