Virat Kohli hammers his 54th IPL fifty, clocks unique record
Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli played a match-winning knock against Gujarat Titans in Match 45 of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). Extending his stellar form in the season, the batting talisman made an unbeaten 70 off 44 balls (6 fours, 3 sixes). En route, he became the first batter to complete 500 runs in the season. Here we look at his stats.
Kohli paces his knock to perfection
Chasing 201 in Ahmedabad, RCB lost their skipper Faf du Plessis (24) in the fourth over. Nevertheless, Kohli joined forces with centurion Will Jacks (100*) as the duo added 166* runs for the second wicket. Kohli was the aggressor in the partnership early on before Jacks went berserk. Both batters returned unbeaten as RCB crossed the line in 16 overs.
500 runs in the season for Kohli
With this knock, Kohli became the first batter to complete 500 in IPL 2024 (50s: 4, 100s: 1). He averages a brilliant 71.42 as his strike rate reads 147.49. He is also the overall highest run-getter in IPL history with 7,763 runs in 247 games at 38.43. He registered his 54th half-century (100s: 8). He now tallies 302 runs versus GT, striking at 151.
Other records scripted by Kohli
Kohli completed 500 runs for the seventh time in an IPL season, the joint-most for any batter. He joined David Warner. The RCB star has crossed the 50-run mark in each of his four innings versus GT. Kohli and Jacks's 166*-run stand is now the highest partnership against the Titans in IPL. They went past RR batters Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag (130 runs).
12,500 T20 runs loading for Kohli
Playing his 386th T20 match (369 innings), Kohli owns 12,494 runs at 41.92. He hammered his 95th fifty (100s: 9). Kohli owns a strike rate of 133.94 in T20s. He is line to become the first Indian and fourth overall batter to complete 12,500 runs in the format. Kohli would join Chris Gayle (14,562), Shoaib Malik (13,360), and Kieron Pollard (12,900).
How did the game pan out?
GT openers Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Shubman Gill (16) departed early before Sai Sudharsan (84*) and Shahrukh Khan (58) rescued them with an 86-run stand. The Titans finished at 200/3 in their 20 overs. In reply, du Plessis departed early for RCB. However, Jacks and Kohli's unbeaten 160-run partnership meant RCB crossed the line without any hassle.
Unique record for Kohli
As per ESPNcricinfo, 61 runs scored by Kohli against the GT spinners on Sunday is now the most he has scored against spin in a T20 innings. It surpassed the 54 runs Kohli scored during his maiden T20I hundred in 2022 against Afghanistan.
