IPL 2021: Virat Kohli becomes the first batsman to score 6,000 runs in the tournament
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has become the first player in IPL history to aggregate 6,000 runs in the competition. He accomplished this feat during his knock against the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Heading into the IPL 2021 fixture against the Royals, Kohli had 5,949 runs to his name in 195 matches. Playing his 188th innings in the competition tonight, the RCB skipper recorded his 40th half-century to set up his team's win and also touch the 6,000-run landmark.
Virat Kohli and RCB won the toss and invited the Rajasthan Royals to bat first. The Royals got off to a terrible start as Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, David Miller and Sanju Samson were back in the pavilion before the team reached the 50-run mark.
Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia came to the team's rescue. The two all-rounders took the team's total to 177/9 in 20 overs. Chasing 178, the Royal Challengers Bangalore destroyed the Royals' bowling attack, with Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli completing their respective half-centuries.
Padikkal played the aggressor's role while Kohli switched gears in the second half as the two RCB openers powered their team towards RR's target.
Virat Kohli has been a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore since day one
The Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders battled recently in IPL 2021. Incidentally, the match between RCB and KKR happened exactly 13 years after their first-ever meeting in 2008.
Virat Kohli was the only player who was a part of the 2008 game and the 2021 fixture. It shows how Kohli has been an indispensable part of the Bangalore-based franchise for 13 years.
The right-handed batsman has scored over 6,000 runs for RCB, including five centuries and 40 fifties. It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli can win his first IPL trophy in 2021.