Bengaluru (Karnataka): Veteran Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli added another feather to his cap, becoming the first Indian player to amass 700-plus runs in a season twice in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. He reached the incredible feat during the game between RCB and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Saturday.
Virat, who holds the orange cap being the leading run-getter of the season, crossed the 700-run landmark for the second time after the 2016 edition of the cash-rich league. With the blistering 47-run knockoff of 29 balls, he has racked up 708 runs at an average of 64.36 and a strike rate of 155.60. Notably, this is his highest strike rate in an IPL season ever.
In 2016, the 35-year-old had amassed 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08 and a strike rate of over 152, with four centuries and seven fifties. Virat is the second player overall to reach the 700-run mark in a single IPL edition on two or more occasions, with former RCB batter Chris Gayle doing so twice as well. The West Indies legend scored 733 runs in IPL 2012 and 708 runs in IPL 2013.
Virat also ended the league stage of IPL 2024 with 37 sixes, the most by a batter this season. Virat's all-time high tally of sixes in an IPL season was 38 maximums back in 2016.
Virat also continued his fine run of form in the IPL on May 18, a date which has been special for RCB and Virat, since they have won every game ever played on this date. With scores of 56*(29) vs CSK, Bengaluru (2013), 27*(29) vs CSK, Ranchi (2015), 113(50) vs Punjab Kings Bengaluru (2016), and 100 (63) against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hyderabad (2023) on this date, in five innings, he has scored 343 runs at an average of 85.75, with two centuries and a fifty.
Earlier, in the match, Kohli also became the only second batter after Shikhar Dhawan (768) to complete 700 fours in the history of the IPL. He missed out on the opportunity to become the first batter to complete 8,000 runs in the cash-rich league.
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