Eshan Malinga Tops Purple Cap Over Bhuvneshwar Kumar With 15 Wickets
Eshan Malinga moved past bhuvneshwar kumar to lead the IPL 2026 Purple Cap race after Sunrisers Hyderabad faced Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. His 1 for 29 in four overs lifted him to 15 wickets, one clear of the pack that had been clustered on 14.
Malinga took the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav and kept his numbers tight even as Mumbai Indians reached 243/5. Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 123 powered that total, but the Sunrisers pacer still left the match with the standings change that mattered most to the race for the tournament’s top wicket-taker.
Wankhede Stadium wicket race
The Purple Cap order had been separated by fine margins before Malinga went ahead. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jofra Archer and Anshul Kamboj were all tied on 14 wickets, and economy rate decided their order: Bhuvneshwar second at 7.61, Archer third at 8.27 and Kamboj fourth at 8.56.
That made Malinga’s move to 15 wickets more than a single-match jump. It pushed him above a crowded group that had not left much room for error, with Prince Yadav of Lucknow Super Giants next on 13 wickets. Kagiso Rabada also had 13, but his 9.48 economy rate trailed Yadav’s 8.06.
Eshan Malinga and 15 wickets
Prasidh Krishna sat on 12 wickets, Ravi Bishnoi on 11, and Mohsin Khan and Krunal Pandya on nine each. Malinga’s 7.20 economy rate now sits on top of a race where the lead can change quickly, especially when several bowlers are already bunched within a wicket or two of the top.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, the result is a clear individual edge inside a tight bowling table, and for Malinga it creates a new benchmark after a spell that did not need a haul to change the standings. The pressure now shifts to the next set of matches, where the chase for 15 wickets and beyond will keep every over attached to the Purple Cap picture.
