IPL 2026 top 5 moments : Like finding a needle in the haystack

More than 2000 boundaries.  The same number of sixes. Yet the IPL 2026 felt exhaustive. An overdose of T20 cricket, gargantuan scores being chased down and the pitches came under some criticism. Yet, like, light at the end of the tunnel, there were 5 moments that caught my attention. Moments that proved as to why the IPL is a different beast after 19 seasons. 

5 : Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain run riot against RR

Rajasthan Royals didn’t look to lose a single game after 4 riveting victories in the initial phase of the IPL. Until the game against the Sunrisers arrived. Chasing a modest target of 217, they were on course until Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain arrived.

Reducing the royals to 9/5, they were rocked by the duo of Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain who not only bundles out the inaugural champs for 159 and almost dented their playoffs momentum.

4:  Shubman Gill makes a 700 plus runs statement

Not making it to the Indian national team was a disappointment for Shubman Gill. And he responded. Like a man on a mission, he piled up another 700 run season and single handedly took GT to their third final in 5 years

Gill, along with Sai Sudarshan made sure that the titans’ heavy lifting was done by the Top 3, with Butler being the third wheel. They eventually lost steam in the final, but Gill, yet again proved that an India call up isn’t far away.

3 :  Vaibhav Sooryavanshi…. Remember the name…

A 15 year old boy from Bihar. A glint in his eye.  A mission to dominate the world's biggest league. And guess what??? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked up the orange cap, the all new Tata Sierra and all the possible praises as he scored a riveting 776 runs at a strike rate of 232.

Three 90 plus scores, which could have been 100s including a magnificent 97 in the eliminator proved that the next decade will belong to him. Sachin Tendulkar, Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting  were some of the prominent names that heaped praises on this stylish southpaw, and as we all know, this is just the beginning.

2 : The great wall of Punjab collapses.

They didn’t lose in April. They didn’t win in May. They chased 264, they defended 254. Yet the Punjab Kings somehow bottled a  tournament that they were supposed to win. Rajasthan derailed their train with a fascinating run chase from which they never recovered and even a win against LSG in their final game couldn’t save their campaign. 

Shreyas Iyer, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Cooper Connoly shined for them in all the games, but it was their bowling which let them down. Arshdeep had a season to forget, Chahal was underutilised, Bartlet, Ferguson and the others were more miss than hit, and ultimately, that was that for a riveting campaign that turned ridiculous.

1 : The streets of Bengaluru go crazy again.

They were trolled for 17 years. Massively trolled. Then the switch to Rajat Patidar as captain. Then that 2025 campaign. RCB, to be honest, looked like the only team to win the title this year as all the departments were taken care of. 

They added Venkatash Iyer to their already firing batting line up, added Jacob Duffy to their robust bowling line up and kept decimating their opponents one by one. Their dressing room conversation about a historic hat trick of titles has already flooded social media, and its only apt that with the kind of cricketing weapons they process, the dream is well and truly on.