Five matches into the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League and we've already witnessed some gripping on-field action. Apart from multiple exciting games, IPL 2026 has seen some great individual performances with both the bat and the ball. These performances have shaped the competition's points table as well as the orange and purple cap leaderboards.
All ten IPL franchises have played one league game apiece. In the tournament opener on March 28, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru won a high-scoring clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Mumbai Indians then overcame their first-game jinx and defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders the following day.
ALSO READ: Rishabh Pant's T20 Struggles Continue With Bizzare Run-Out In IPL 2026 Season Opener For LSG
Rajasthan Royals began their campaign with a victory over the Chennai Super Kings, while the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals hammered the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Kings, respectively. Notably, four of the five matches in the competition so far have been won by the home side.
All five games have featured either a memorable batting display or a sparkling bowling performance that has made an impact. In the opener, SRH skipper Ishan Kishan continued his great form from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 and smashed 80 off 38 deliveries. But even as Kishan helped Sunrisers reach 201/9, a vintage knock of 69* from the great Virat Kohli allowed RCB to overhaul that.
The MI-KKR fixture saw a pair of half-centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51) push the visiting side to 220/4 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, an outstanding partnership between Ryan Rickleton (81) and Rohit Sharma (78) ensured that MI still prevailed at the end.
A rare low-scoring IPL game had Jofra Archer (2/19) and Nandre Burger (2/26) rock CSK hard for the Royals, who dismissed the opposition for a paltry 127. Later on, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blasted 52 off just 17 balls to seal RR's commanding win.
ALSO READ: Shami Strikes With First Ball On LSG Debut, Sends KL Rahul Back With Golden Duck
In the fourth game, Cooper Connolly's exceptional 72 helped Punjab coast home in their chase of 163 against the Gujarat Titans after spells from Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/34) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/28) set up the contest for them.
The following night, the trio of Lungi Ngidi (3/27), T Natarajan (3/29) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/31) drowned Lucknow Super Giants for 141 all out. The Delhi Capitals then chased down the total with six wickets intact after Sameer Rizvi's unbeaten 70 off 47 balls.
IPL 2026: Latest Points Table
| Position | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Tie | No-Result | NRR | Points |
| 1 | Rajasthan Royals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.171 | 2 |
| 2 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.907 | 2 |
| 3 | Delhi Capitals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.397 | 2 |
| 4 | Mumbai Indians | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.697 | 2 |
| 5 | Punjab Kings | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.509 | 2 |
| 6 | Gujarat Titans | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.509 | 0 |
| 7 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.697 | 0 |
| 8 | Lucknow Super Giants | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.397 | 0 |
| 9 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.907 | 0 |
| 10 | Chennai Super Kings | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -4.171 | 0 |
IPL 2026: Orange Cap Leaderboard
| Player | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100 | 50 |
| Ryan Rickelton (MI) | 1 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 188.37 | 0 | 1 |
| Ishan Kishan (SRH) | 1 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 210.52 | 0 | 1 |
| Rohit Sharma (MI) | 1 | 78 | 78 | 78 | 205.26 | 0 | 1 |
| Cooper Connolly (PBKS) | 1 | 72 | 72* | - | 163.63 | 0 | 1 |
| Sameer Rizvi (DC) | 1 | 70 | 70* | - | 148.93 | 0 | 1 |
IPL 2026: Purple Cap Leaderboard
| Player | Matches | Runs | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
| Jacob Duffy (RCB) | 1 | 22 | 3 | 3/22 | 7.33 | 5.5 | 8.0 |
| T Natarajan (DC) | 1 | 29 | 3 | 3/29 | 9.66 | 7.25 | 8.0 |
| Prasidh Krishna (GT) | 1 | 29 | 3 | 3/29 | 9.66 | 7.25 | 8.0 |
| Lungi Ngidi (DC) | 1 | 27 | 3 | 3/27 | 9.00 | 7.36 | 7.3 |
| Vijaykumar Vyshak (PBKS) | 1 | 34 | 3 | 3/34 | 11.33 | 8.5 | 8.0 |
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.