Abhishek Sharma has jumped to the top of the IPL 2026 run-scoring list after an unbeaten 135 powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to 242 for 2 and a comfortable win over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday night. The left-hander batted through the full 20 overs for the first time in his T20 career, collecting nine fours and 11 sixes on the way to the fifth-highest individual score in the tournament’s history. The innings, his ninth T20 hundred and fourth of this IPL season overall, moved him to 323 runs from seven knocks at a strike-rate of 215.33.
Team-mate Heinrich Klaasen is breathing down his neck on 320 runs. The South African’s 37* from just 13 balls, stitched together with Abhishek in a 66-run, 32-ball stand, kept Sunrisers joint-second on the table.
Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill sits third with 265 runs from five visits to the crease, striking at 151.42. Behind Gill come Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The rest of the top ten, in order, are Ishan Kishan (Sunrisers), Rajat Patidar (RCB), Cooper Connolly, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Priyansh Arya.
Purple Cap picture
Eshan Malinga’s 4 for 32 against Capitals – his third T20 four-fer – took him to 12 wickets at 18.08, pushing the left-arm seamer into a share of second place with Titans quick Prasidh Krishna. Malinga mixed heavy-length balls with the odd yorker, conceding just one boundary in his final two overs.
Chennai Super Kings seamer Anshul Kamboj still wears the Purple Cap with 13 dismissals, though his margin is now slim. LSG’s uncapped Prince Yadav follows on 11 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB), Kagiso Rabada (GT) and Ravi Bishnoi (RR) are locked together on ten scalps each, with economy rates all hovering around the nine-runs-per-over mark – serviceable in a season where 200-plus totals have become almost routine.
Key numbers at a glance
• Highest strike-rate (min. 100 balls): Abhishek 215.33
• Most sixes: Abhishek 29, Klaasen 27
• Best economy (min. 10 overs): Ravi Bishnoi 7.80
• Best bowling strike-rate: Anshul Kamboj 8.9
The campaign swings back into action on Thursday when Rajasthan host Mumbai. With the table already bunching in the middle, a single big night with bat or ball could yet shuffle both leaderboards again.
