Rajat Patidar vs Virat Kohli - Comparing their stats after 31 IPL matches
On Monday, April 7, five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) faced the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 20th match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). The thrilling contest took place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Asked to bat first, RCB came out firing, posting a formidable total of 221/5 in their 20 overs, thanks to fifties from former captain Virat Kohli (67 off 42 balls) and current skipper Rajat Patidar (64 off 32 balls).
In reply, Mumbai's Tilak Varma (56 off 29 balls) and Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) battled valiantly, but MI fell short, finishing at 209/9, 12 runs behind RCB's total. Krunal Pandya stood out with the ball for RCB, taking four crucial wickets.
With this win, RCB jumped to third place on the points table, with six points from four matches. Kohli and Patidar have been instrumental in RCB's strong start to the season. Kohli has scored 164 runs in four innings, while Patidar has contributed 161 runs in the same number of innings.
As both continue to shine, this article will compare their records after 31 IPL games.
Comparing the stats of Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli after 31 IPL matches
#1 Most runs
Rajat Patidar made his IPL debut in the 2021 season and has since played 31 matches, all for RCB, accumulating 960 runs.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli has been with RCB since the tournament's inception in 2008 and is the leading run-scorer in IPL history. The veteran has played 256 matches, accumulating 8,168 runs at an average of 38.89 and a strike rate of 132.18, including 57 fifties and eight centuries. However, his career got off to a slow start, as he only managed 429 runs in his first 31 games.
#2 Average and strike rate
Rajat Patidar has scored at a solid average of 35.55 and an impressive strike rate of 161.34.
In contrast, Virat Kohli's first 31 IPL games saw him with a much lower average of 18.65 and a strike rate of 109.16, significantly behind Patidar's numbers.
#3 Most 50-plus scores
Rajat Patidar has scored nine fifties and one century in his 31-game IPL career. His highest score, an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls, came against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the 2022 season.
In comparison, Virat Kohli managed just one fifty in his first 31 IPL matches. His highest score of 50 off 32 balls came against the Deccan Chargers (DC) at Newlands in the 2009 season.
#4 Runs in a winning cause
Rajat Patidar has played 31 IPL matches, with his team winning 17 of those encounters. In these games, the right-handed batter has scored 588 runs in 15 innings, averaging 42.00 with an impressive strike rate of 173.96, including five fifties and one century.
In contrast, Virat Kohli's team won 14 of his first 31 IPL games. In those matches, he scored 215 runs in 11 innings, averaging 26.88 with a strike rate of 125.44.