Virat Kohli made history on Monday, March 25, becoming the first Indian hitter to achieve 100 50-plus runs in T20 cricket. The hero accomplished the feat during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Virat Kohli hit a fiery 77 runs off 49 balls. RCB won by 4 wickets against PBKS in match 6 on Monday. His knock had 11 fours and 2 sixes. RCB chased down 177 in 19.2 overs.
The 35-year-old Kohli scored his 92nd fifty in T20s. He has 8 T20 hundreds too – 7 in IPL, 1 for India versus Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai.
Following his performance on Monday, Kohli is now ranked third among hitters with the most 50-plus scores in T20 cricket. The Indian star has precisely 100 50-point scores in 377 games.
West Indies great Chris Gayle leads the list with 110 50-plus hits from 463 games, while Australian run-machine David Warner is second with 109 from 371 games.
Virat Kohli is succeeded by former Pakistan captain Babar Azam (98 from 290 games) and England’s white-ball skipper Jos Buttler (86 from 404 games).
Kohli (173) surpassed Suresh Raina (172) as the Indian outfield with the most catches in T20 cricket after catching Jonny Bairstow in the RCB versus PBKS IPL 2024 match.
In the RCB versus PBKS game, Punjab scored 176-6 after batting first, with skipper Shikhar Dhawan top-scoring with 45 off 37 and Shashank Singh making a brilliant cameo of 21* off 8.
Virat Kohli’s exquisite half-century set the tone for RCB’s chase, despite the fact that wickets fell at the other end. Bengaluru ultimately crossed the finish line thanks to impressive cameos from veteran keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (28* off 10) and Impact Player Mahipal Lomror (17* off 8).
“Don’t get overexcited; it’s just two games” – Virat Kohli downplays getting Orange Cap
After his strong performance against PBKS, Kohli secured the Orange Cap for IPL 2024’s leading run-scorer. However, he didn’t place much importance on this achievement, stating that the tournament had merely begun:
“Don’t get overexcited, it’s just two games. I know what this (orange cap) means. It’s been going on for years. People talk a lot about playing the sport.
“At the end of the day you don’t talk about the achievements, stats or numbers but the memories. It’s what Rahul Dravid says. The friendship, love, appreciation, backing has been amazing and is what you’ll miss and never forget.”
Virat Kohli
The former RCB captain Virat Kohli has scored 98 runs in two IPL 2024 games, averaging 49 and with a strike rate of 142.03.