Bengaluru: Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has equalled erstwhile Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Suresh Raina's tally of most catches in the world's biggest franchise league competition Indian Premier League (IPL).
Kohli reached the milestone during a clash between RCB and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday. He took the catch of southpaw Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 30 balls), who pulled one straight into the hands of the former at deep mid-wicket.
Raina, who played his last match in 2021, has taken 109 catches in 205 IPL games while Kohli (109 catches) took 240 matches to equal the former's record. Notably, apart from Kohli and Raina, only one player has crossed the 100 catches landmark. Former Mumbai Indians (MI) player and current batting coach Kieron Pollard is the third and the only overseas cricketer to achieve 100 catches milestone in the cash-rich league.
Former MI skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been playing in IPL since its inception, is just one short of the 100 catches landmark. The 36-year-old has taken 99 catches in 244 matches of the cash-rich league.
Apart from this, the 35-year-old (19) is placed third in the most run-outs by a player list, led by former CSK skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja with 23 runouts each in the lucrative tournament.
Coming to the match, Virat Kohli amassed 83 runs but didn't get the support from the other batters as KKR restricted RCB to 182 for six. But then, Sunil Narine, who played his 500th T20 game, hammered RCB bowlers all over the park to post the highest powerplay total of the season. He amassed 47 runs off 22 balls including two fours and five sixes. Venkatesh and Shreyas Iyer took KKR over the line and helped KKR become the first team to secure victory away from home this season, ending a nine-match streak.
Read More
