The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) has kicked off with some impressive individual performances in the opening three matches of the Twenty20 league.

On the opening day in Bengaluru on March 28, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered an easy six-wicket victory, chasing a 200-plus target over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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The next day, another team succeeded in chasing down over 200.

Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets. Then, on Monday (March 30), Rajasthan Royals (RR) demolished MS Dhoni-less Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets.

Also read: IPL 2026 complete guide

Here are five players who have hogged the limelight so far in IPL 2026.

Jacob Duffy (RCB)

New Zealand paceman Jacob Duffy made a dream debut in IPL with 3/22 in 4 overs. Taking the new ball for RCB, he stopped SRH’s big hitters in the powerplay, dismissing openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, in one over. He later added Nitish Kumar Reddy’s scalp.

Duffy, who was bought by RCB for Rs 2 crore at the IPL 2026 mini-auction, bowled four overs unchanged and was later substituted for Devdutt Padikkal, who came in as the impact player.

Devdutt Padikkal (RCB)

The left-handed Devdutt Padikkal came in as an impact player and smashed 61 off just 26 balls with seven fours and four sixes. He and Virat Kohli (69 not out off 38) helped RCB complete the 202-run chase in 15.4 overs on their home ground. Padikkal and Kohli had a match-winning 101-run partnership for the second wicket.

Rohit Sharma (MI)

Veteran batter Rohit Sharma kicked off his IPL 2026 in style by hitting a 38-ball 78 with six fours and six sixes. Thanks to Rohit and Ryan Rickelton’s (81 off 43) 148-run opening stand in just 11.5 overs, powered MI to a convincing win over KKR. MI chased down 221 in 19.1 overs for the loss of four wickets.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR)

RR batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to make headlines with his audacious strokeplay. The 15-year-old blitzed a 15-ball half-century as RR thrashed CSK by eight wickets. After bowling out CSK for a paltry 127, Sooryavanshi’s 52 off 17 (4×4, 5×6) took RR home in Guwahati.

Nandre Burger (RR)

RR paceman Nandre Burger was outstanding with 2/26 in four overs as he derailed CSK’s innings. He first removed Sanju Samson for six and later sent back Ayush Mhatre for a golden duck as CSK were reeling at 19/3 in 3.1 overs. They never recovered from the early blows.