IPL 2019: Virat Kohli becomes the tournament's leading run-getter
What's the story?
Virat Kohli surpassed Suresh Raina's record to become the leading run-getter in Indian Premier League history, during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on Friday.
The RCB captain led from the front, scoring 84 runs off 49 balls and along with AB de Villiers added 108 runs for the 2nd wicket. Kohli looked in sensational form and got out in the 18th over, helping RCB post a big total of 205 for 3 in 20 overs.
However, his effort went in vain as Andre Russell played one hell of a knock, scoring 48 off 13 balls to help KKR win the match by 5 wickets.
The background
RCB have had a disastrous start to IPL 2019, losing all four of their matches before the encounter against KKR. Sitting at the bottom of the IPL points table, they desperately needed their captain Kohli to come good with the bat.
In the 2016 edition, Kohli scored 973 runs from 16 matches with 4 centuries to help RCB reach the final of the tournament, and the fans have been hoping for a repeat of that performance in 2019.
RCB have reached the IPL final thrice - in 2009, 2011 and 2016. Kohli was one of the leading run-getters in the 2018 edition as well, with 530 runs from 14 matches.
The heart of the matter
During his 84-run knock, Kohli became the highest run-getter in the tournament's history with 5110 runs from 168 matches (160 innings), which includes 4 centuries and 35 half-centuries. In this year’s edition, Kohli also became the second batsman to reach 5,000 runs in the tournament, after Suresh Raina.
Raina is second in the list of top run-getters with 5086 runs, followed by Rohit Sharma with 4600 runs, David Warner with 4278 runs and Robin Uthappa with 4275 runs.
Kohli has also become the second Indian batsman after Suresh Raina to score 8,000 runs in T20 cricket.
What's next?
RCB will take on Delhi Capitals in their next match on 7th April at the same ground, still in search of their first win of the 2019 season. Needless to say, Kohli will be crucial to their chances of doing so.