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Virat Kohli once again proved why he remains one of the most reliable players in T20 cricket by moving to the top of the Indian Premier League 2026 run charts and securing the Orange Cap. With 228 runs in just five innings, Kohli took his team Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the top of the points table after their 5-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening.
What makes Kohli’s orange cap even more interesting is the fact that he is currently not at full fitness. In the Most Match interview, the chaser, who scored 49 off 34 balls, the highest score of the game, revealed that he is still recovering from a sore knee and has been suffering from the weather for several days. Nevertheless, he stepped in as an impact player for the first time in his IPL career and led his team in pursuit of a below-par 147-run target.
2️⃣ of the top 3️⃣ run-getters this season are our own. 😎
We look forward to seeing them run wild all season long! 🙌🧿#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/XRrvWFL1E9
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 16, 2026
RCB vs LSG: Virat Kohli’s injury
“Yes, [I’m feeling] “Much, much better than the last game,” Kohli said. “I’m still not at 100%. My knee hurt a bit last game. I’ve also been in poor health for four or five days now. So yeah, I’m just trying to do my best again.”
Kohli fired in the second innings, racing to 34 off just 14 balls in the powerplay before adjusting his pace as the pitch slowed down.
Earlier in his IPL career, Virat Kohli completed two seasons as an Orange Cap holder. In 2016, the year Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished runners-up, Kohli scored 973 runs in 16 games, which is still the highest number of runs by a player in a single IPL season, including four centuries.
In 2024, the RCB star held the Orange Cap again and scored 741 runs at an average of 61.75.
However, in 2026, Kohli will be chased by many loyal supporters in the race for the Orange Cap. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klaasen is just four runs behind Virat and is in second place with 224 runs.
Highest run scorers of IPL 2026
Below is the list of the top ten run-scorers of the IPL 2026 season so far.
| rank | player | Running | team | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virat Kohli | 228 | RCB | 5 |
| 2 | Heinrich Klaasen | 224 | SRH | 5 |
| 3 | Rajat Patidar | 222 | RCB | 4 |
| 4 | Ishan Kishan | 213 | SRH | 5 |
| 5 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | 200 | RR | 5 |
| 6 | Sanju Samson | 185 | CSK | 5 |
| 7 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 184 | RR | 5 |
| 8 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | 182 | KKR | 5 |
| 9 | Dhruv Jurel | 176 | RR | 5 |
| 10 | Jos Buttler | 176 | GT | 4 |
