- Tuesday, May 07, 2024
The ace batter is the highest run-getter in the tournament at the moment with 316 runs in five matches.
By: Shubham Ghosh
VIRAT Kohli’s good form with the bat continued in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Saturday (6) when he slammed an unbeaten 113 in 72 balls to power Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a challenging 183 for 3 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in the Rajasthan state.
The 35-year-old ace batter, who scored two fifties before the three-figure knock, picked up his century in 67 balls as his team opener after RR captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl. Kohli added 125 runs for the first wicket with his captain Faf du Plessis who made 44 in 33 balls. He is currently holding the orange cap with most runs in the tournament — 316 in five games at a strike rate of 146 plus.
It was not only his first hundred in IPL 2024 but also the tournament’s maiden ton. He extended his record tally of IPL hundreds to eight with the latest knock, two more from his closest rival Chris Gayle, who last played for Punjab Super Kings (PBKS) and is now retired.
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Four of Kohli’s eight IPL tons had come in the 2016 edition when he was the captain of Royal Challengers and had a phenomenal run in the series with 973 runs. It continues to be the benchmark in the league which is known to be a batter-friendly one.
During his knock against Rajasthan, Kohli hit four sixes that took him ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s tally of 242 sixes scored in the tournament so far. Kohli is now at the fourth position in terms of slamming sixes — with 246 in 242 matches. Former RCB player AB de Villiers (251), Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma (261) and Gayle (357) are in the third, second and top position, respectively.
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In terms of boundaries, too, Kohli went past Delhi Capitals’ David Warner who has hit 661 of them in 180 outings. Kohli now has scored 672 fours while the list is topped by Punjab Super Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan with 766.
However, despite Kohli’s show with the bat, RCB have not been able to win enough games. In the current edition, they have lost three of their first four games and need to win against Rajasthan to revive their chances to make the playoffs comfortably.
