Heinrich Klaasen’s impressive IPL 2026 campaign ended with Sunrisers Hyderabad’s playoff eliminator loss to Rajasthan Royals, while Kagiso Rabada remains in contention for the Purple Cap. Picture: NOAH SEELAM / AFP
Image: NOAH SEELAM / AFP
Any hopes of Heinrich Klaasen finishing as the top run scorer in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) were extinguished on Wednesday, as his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the playoff eliminator in New Chandigarh.
Klaasen had been in the running to win the Orange Cap for most runs in the season, as he is currently in third place with 624 runs. Teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leads the way with 680. The 15-year-old prodigy almost single-handedly swung the encounter with an incredible 97 from 29 balls before he departed.
RR posted a mammoth 243/8 batting first, and SRH gave it a good go but could only manage 196 all out.
Klaasen himself turned in a rare failure this season as he was out 18 in the seventh over to leave SRH 81/5.
Batting in the middle order, his run-scoring feats this term have been even more impressive. Klaasen’s runs have come at an average of 48 and a strike-rate of 160. In his 15 matches, Klaasen notched up six half-centuries with a top score of 69 and was one of the main reasons SRH made it to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada still has a good chance of finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the competition in the race to win the Purple Cap.
As the top two finishers in the group stage, RCB and GT had the luxury of playing Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final while the loser remains alive in the competition.
GT will now play in Qualifier 2 on Friday, taking on RR.
It means GT still have a chance in the competition, and if they win the next clash, they will advance to the final having played an extra match.
That’s crucial for Rabada, as he is still tied with RCB’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar for most wickets in the competition with players having struck 26 times each.