IPL 2026 Week 2: Drama Galore; Youngsters Shine as Rajasthan Continues Dominance

The 2026 IPL is truly in full swing now. This week had it all. Nail-biting chases, controversy on and off the pitch, the spoils of rain and the next generation of players taking the spotlight.

Sunday’s double header had Sunrisers Hyderabad playing the Lucknow Super Giants followed by the derby game between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Chennai Super Kings. It was a sluggish affair between Hyderabad and Lucknow, with the former posting just 156/9 in the first innings, following their 226/8 against Kolkata, thanks to Mohammed Shami’s restrictive spell of 2/9. Supported by Aiden Markram’s 45, Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant played a patient 68* in the chase, scoring the winning boundary on the penultimate ball, giving Lucknow their first win of the season.

The M. Chinnaswamy stadium witnessed a spectacle in the later game, courtesy of Tim David and Rajat Patidar, who unleashed a barrage against CSK, scoring a whopping 250/3 for RCB. With the ball, Jacob Duffy and Bhuvneshwar Kumar killed the game for Chennai in the first three overs, completely taking out their top order. Sarfaraz Khan and young Prashant Veer made valiant efforts in the chase, which ultimately was not enough for CSK who were bowled out for 207, 43 runs short of the defending champions.

Monday had the first washout of the season between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings. Torrential rains over Eden Gardens meant the game had to be called off after just three overs, with the points shared between the two sides. It seemed rain would take another game on Tuesday between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, but the rain gods showed more generosity in Guwahati as a 11-over match went ahead. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi went on the charge in the shortened game, scoring at nearly 15 runs-per-over, an attack Mumbai couldn’t replicate, as they lost by 27 runs.

We witnessed the ultimate roller coaster tie between Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. Gujarat scored a massive 209/4, which Delhi were looking to chase down with ease as KL Rahul led the chase. But after being dismissed heartbreakingly at 92, and with six down, it looked game over for Delhi. In came chase master, David Miller taking the game to the final over. What looked like a heroic performance from Miller, took a villainous turn at the end of the game. On the second to last ball, Miller refused to take a single that would have levelled the scores, warranting a super over at the very least. In the hunt for glory, Miller was beaten on the final delivery, looking for a wide from the umpire and running out his non-striker, Kuldeep Yadav to give Gujarat the win by just one run.

On Thursday, we had the most unlikely victory coming from the most unlikely hero. Kolkata were in the hunt for their first win of the season, and seemed confident to get it after posting 181/4 against Lucknow. After a top order falter, and the end of a classy 54 from Ayush Badoni, LSG’s lower middle order seemed to lack the firepower to see the chase through, at least on paper. In comes the unlikely hero Mukul Choudhary. Staying on strike for most of final four overs, the 21-year-old from Rajasthan took on the death bowling with no pressure, smashing 54* off 27 and completing the chase for Lucknow on the final ball.

It was the Vaibhav Sooryavanshi show on Friday between Rajasthan and Bengaluru, as the 15-year-old is hell bent on breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record as India’s youngest debutant. RCB were confident with the bat as always, scoring 201/8, with captain Patidar again starring with a knock 63. Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel made the total seem absolutely menial, getting Rajasthan to 129 in just eight overs, which is when Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 78 off just 26 balls. The job mostly done, Jurel with an unbeaten 81 and Ravindra Jadeja casually got to the target with two over to spare.

200+ targets seeming like nothing is IPL tradition, and Punjab Kings followed that tradition in the first game of the Saturday double header against the Sunrisers. Abhishek Sharma got to his usual form with a destructive 74 from 28, getting Hyderabad to 219/6. Openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh saw the total as a walk in the park, scoring their own half centuries and getting Punjab more than halfway there before the tenth over. Captain Shreyas Iyer ended up seeing the chase through with his own rapid 69* off 33 to give Punjab a six-wicket win.

The Delhi Capitals purple patch truly came to an end as they fell to Chennai in the evening game on Saturday by 23 runs. Sanju Samson finally took off for CSK after a disappointing opening three games. He justified his trade-off price tag, emulating his form from the recently concluded T20 World Cup, and scoring the first century of the 2026 IPL. With his unbeaten 115*, and a supporting innings of 59 from Ayush Mhatre, CSK got to 212/2. The start from Pathum Nissanka and the late burst from Tristan Stubbs gave some hope to the Capitals, but the T20 prowess of Jamie Overton and the death bowling confidence of Anshul Kamboj bowled Delhi out for 189.

Upcoming fixtures

Monday, April 13- Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

Tuesday, April 14- Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, MA Chidambaram Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

Wednesday, April 15- Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

Thursday, April 16- Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, Wankhede Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

Friday, April 17- Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Narendra Modi Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)

Saturday, April 18- Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 3:30 PM IST (6:00 AM EST); Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, 7:30 PM IST (10:00 AM EST)