The greatness of Virat Kohli and his IPL records
Cricket has had many top-tier players in its history, but a few have truly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. This includes Virat Kohli who is known as one of India’s best-ever players and is still performing at his peak.
Kohli is a top star that has captured the hearts of cricket fans around the world. He has done this through many mediums including his magnetic personality and of course, his play on the cricket fields. When people talk about top stars in cricket, Kohli is among the first few names that constantly comes to mind.
Kohli has earned top star billing because he has been a standout for most of his career. He has represented the Indian national team across various cricket formats and he has also thrived in the Indian Premier League, the country’s top domestic league. Now, let’s take a look at Virat Kohli IPL career records and find out why he’s such a popular player starting with his efforts for his country.
Bet on the T20 World Cup outright markets
When did Virat Kohli hit the first Test century?
While Kohli scored his first ODI century back in 2010, he got his maiden century in the Test format in 2012 in a series against Australia. This was his breakthrough in the Test format because Kohli was always seen as a top prospect. During this match, he proved that he can score a century against arguably the greatest team in the world, and he cemented his spot as a top star.
Before that 2012 match, the Aussies were the better team because they had players like Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting. They took an early lead and proved why they were the favoured team over India. However, the young Kohli managed to keep his team in the game en route to his first Test century for India.
Kohli scored 114 runs which were extremely helpful for the Indian side. However, India lost the match mostly because of the overpowering performances from Clarke and Ponting. The Aussies deserve solid respect from Indians and other cricket fans because they withstood Kohli’s onslaught using their defence.
Scoring a century against Australia is huge for Kohli because it proved that he can keep up with most top teams. People’s belief in Kohli has paid off because he’s been one of the best players in the world over the past decade.
How many centuries of Virat Kohli in IPL
At the time of writing, Kohli has the second-most centuries in IPL history. When you look at a Virat Kohli century in IPL matches, you can truly see that he is performing at the highest level.
In his stint in the IPL, he has only played for one team: Royal Challengers Bangalore. This team had a good eye for talent because RCB scouted Kohli when he was young and offered him a youth contract. He started playing for the team back in the 2008 season.
With his five centuries on the Virat Kohli all IPL century list, he is only behind Chris Gayle who holds the top spot with his six 100-run games. Back in 2016, Kohli had a run of a lifetime in the IPL as he managed to score four centuries in just the space of a month. He started his century streak on April 24, 2016, against the Gujarat Lions at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. This was not seen in domestic cricket in Kohli’s career at the time.
In just a space of a month, Kohli would continue his onslaught on defences as he scored three more centuries in Virat Kohli first IPL century against Kings XI Punjab, Rising Pune Supergiants, and another match against Gujarat.
Bet on the Test series between England and New Zealand
How many half century of Virat Kohli in IPL
As of writing, Kohli has had 43 fifties so far which further proves that he’s one of the best batsmen in IPL history. This is one of the best indicators of Kohli’s power because his performance as RCB’s top batsman and captain continues to be at a higher level than most.
Scoring a half-century compared to its full counterpart is easier but it doesn’t diminish the toughness of even reaching that number. Some pros have made it look easy including Kohli who has had more than 40 fifties during his career.
This is important because some people don’t believe that Kohli works hard for his spot. Now, more people are recognising that Kohli was such an appealing player because he is not only flashy but he always makes calculated moves that he knows can work.
If you are looking for any Virat Kohli achievement, you can see that he has been tearing it up in the IPL.
When was the last time Virat Kohli scored a century?
Kohli’s latest century in international play was back in November 2019 in the Test format. This was a match against Bangladesh where he dominated the Tigers with a masterful performance. This was also his 70th century in the Test format which further proves that he is one of the best players in the past decade.
This was not Kohli’s only century in that year because he also had a century in the ODI format in August. This came in an ODI match against the West Indies with a 114 performance.
Lastly, there was another century during that year which came in the IPL in April. Kohli scored a century in just 58 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders. This was a crucial century because RCB was losing in the match but Kohli cemented his team’s win by carrying them with his century. It was one of the Virat Kohli best innings in IPL history.
Kohli has not scored a century since 2019 but he is still a huge threat to any opponent. India and RCB are glad to have Kohli on their team because he is always performing at his peak level which leads to success. This answers the question ‘how many century of all Virat Kohli in all format?’ as he has 75 total centuries in his career with 70 of those coming in international play.
What is the highest score of Virat Kohli in IPL matches?
When you look at the Virat Kohli IPL career total runs, he has had five centuries in the IPL because of his stellar performances. Four of the five centuries came back in 2016 which was arguably Virat Kohli best IPL season. He was a standout for India in multiple formats but his performance in the match against Kings XI Punjab was the highlight.
He managed to score 113 against Kings in a crucial win for RCB’s playoff hopes. Their run towards the playoffs was filled with tough matchups but this Kings game was arguably their toughest challenge because the pressure was mounting on them. Thankfully, RCB had the Virat Kohli best score in IPL with 113 runs against a daring challenger in Kings.
This was also the personal best of Virat Kohli fastest century in IPL as he scored 113 runs in just 47 balls faced. That was the 14th-fastest century behind multiple players including Gayle who had 174 runs in just 30 balls faced.
It deserves a spotlight because it is arguably Kohli’s best-ever game. He has had stellar performances in international play but the way he carried RCB to a victory under dire circumstances was nothing short of amazing.
Even the Virat Kohli captaincy record in IPL was criticised but he has proven he deserves the praise with his leadership and performances like this game. They were under heavy rain and Kohli himself was suffering from split webbing and played with seven stitches. His performance proved that he can lead his team to a comfortable victory and help his team reach playoffs.
Make inplay bets on cricket matches
Virat Kohli most runs against which team in IPL
In the 28 matches that he played against Chennai Super Kings, Kohli has been amazing with consistency. He has had nine half-centuries against CSK which is the most against any team in the IPL. He has scored a total of 949 runs against them with an average of 39.54 per match.
Kohli has been a nightmare for CSK fans because he is not only a strong player but he inspires the rest of his team to perform on the same level. That is the sign of a great captain which is why the Virat Kohli captaincy record in IPL matches has been good. Kohli’s stint with RCB has been successful albeit without a title. He served as a captain for a long time while balancing his role as a star player but he decided to step down from his role after the 2021 season.
The top Virat Kohli records in IPL
As one of the top players in the IPL history, Kohli holds loads of records in the domestic league. He joined RCB back in 2008 and he has not played for other teams. He was a young and aggressive player back then but thankfully, he matured and became one of the most talented players to be in the IPL. Now, let’s take a look at some of the records that Kohli has set in his IPL stint.
Kohli was the first player to get 6,000+ runs - With multiple centuries and fifties under his name, it’s not surprising to see that Kohli has 6,000+ runs during his IPL career. The only player who has kept up with him is Shikhar Dhawan who got more than 6,000 runs.
He has the most matches for a single team - With 217 games for RCB under his belt, the number of Virat Kohli IPL matches played makes him a record-holder for the most games with just one team.
Kohli is the fastest to score 5,000 IPL runs - During the 2019 IPL season, Kohli secured the 5,000-run mark. With his stellar performance early in his career, Kohli managed to overcome Suresh Raina to become the fastest to reach 5,000 runs.
Kohli’s consistency proves he’s a top-tier player
With what you have seen from the stats and the Virat Kohli IPL century highlights, you can infer that Kohli is arguably one of the best players to ever play cricket. Apart from his early days, Kohli has proven that he can be a patient player who knows when to step up. He doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him as he keeps proving that he is one of the best players in the sport.
Kohli is regarded as the most prominent star in the cricket world because when you talk to any casual cricket fan, you will most likely hear Kohli’s name. This is similar to what happens in basketball when LeBron James or Michael Jordan are the names that people usually think of when that sport comes up as a topic.
Kohli is still playing the highest level of cricket. He remains to be among the leaders of India’s national team which is always a top contender in most international competitions. This should be a good sign for Kohli and his fans because most people believe in his skill set to thrive in most cricket matches.
Why the Virat IPL century stats matter
In the cricket world, most fans would point to entire teams as the models for success. However, certain players have truly captured fans’ hearts because of their top-tier performances. The likes of Brian Lara, MS Dhoni, Shane Warne, Virat Kohli himself, and many more are considered top stars.
Go to Sportsbet.io for your cricket betting fix
If you are interested in betting on Kohli’s matches or any other cricket tournament, you should check out Sportsbet.io. This platform is one of the best that you can use for cricket betting—the biggest series and matches are always available here. Sportsbet.io also has an online casino section that you can use to play your favourite online casino games like slots and roulette.
For updates on cricket and other sports, go to Sportsbet.io
Words: Cholo Martin
Image: Alamy
