The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 gave the cricket aficionados some exhilarating moments that will stand the test of time. Apart from records being
broken left, right, and centre, the intensity even from teams that had been eliminated with a few games to spare was always high.
The competition between teams was so high that the last spot in the playoffs was decided on the final day of the league phase. For fans who love high-scoring cricket, IPL 2026 had it all. This year's tournament made the record for the most 200-plus totals, successful 200-plus chases, most boundaries, most sixes, and many more.
Here are the top 5 most memorable moments of IPL 2026
5. Fight till the finish
While the top three playoff spots were sealed pretty early, the fight for the last position continued till the very end. In the last week of the league phase of the tournament, five teams – Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings – were in contention.
Eventually on the last day of the league stage, the Royals and the Knights were the teams remaining in contention. Riyan Parag's men won the penultimate fixture against the Mumbai Indians in the afternoon, which made the Knights' evening game versus the Delhi Capitals inconsequential.
4. Mukul Choudhary's late brilliance vs KKR
Mukul Choudhary announced himself on the IPL stage after scoring a clutch half-century in the Lucknow Super Giants' away fixture against the Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Chasing a 182-run target, Lucknow were in dire straits at 128/7 in 16 overs. However, Mukul went berserk at the back end of the innings to bring the visitors back in the game.
Mukul hit two sixes in the final over off Vaibhav Arora and gave his team hopes of a famous win. With one run needed off the last ball, Mukul failed to connect but scampered through for a bye to give his team two points.
3. Virat Kohli takes his team home
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the IPL final on the back of a brilliant display from Virat Kohli. On a tricky surface, Kohli looked solid as the defending champions had to chase down a 156-run target. RCB did lose wickets through the middle overs, but the former India captain never allowed the opposition bowlers to dominate whenever he got strike.
In the end, Kohli finished unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes. He was eventually awarded Player of the Match for his gutsy effort under pressure. Fans will remember this crucial knock from the veteran for a very long time.
2. PBKS break own record of highest successful run-chase in T20s
The Punjab Kings had chased down a colossal 262-run target at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2024, and this became the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket. Two years later, Punjab bettered their own record, this time against the Delhi Capitals.
Punjab chased down a 265-run target with six wickets and seven balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. KL Rahul scored 152* off 67 balls, but that knock went in vain. Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer was dropped twice in two overs by Karun Nair, and the right-handed batter went on to make them pay.
1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes youngest to win Orange Cap, breaks Chris Gayle's 14-year record and many more
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a dream of a season and won fans all over the world. Many people said on social media that they restarted watching cricket after hearing about Sooryavanshi's stellar display with the willow.
During the tournament, Sooryavanshi broke several records. One of them was Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in an IPL season (59 in IPL 2012). The Bihar batter amassed 72 sixes in 16 innings. At the end of the final, he won the Orange Cap, Most Valuable Player award, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, and Super Sixes of the Season.
