Thanks to impressive performances in the Indian Premier League 2016, Virat Kohli broke a slew of records. Some of which weren't even in consideration before the start of the tournament. Yet, that wasn't enough to help his side claim their maiden IPL title.
Still, it was good enough for him to grab a spot in this list of most runs by a player in a single T20 series. Since international tournaments such as the World T20 are relatively short, all five players on this list are courtesy of domestic T20 competitions.
While there are four from the IPL, the other entry comes from the Natwest T20 Blast, a competition, which is seemingly not every Englishman's cup of tea. Here are the players with most runs in a single T20 series.
James Vince
Last year's Natwest T20 Blast was in many ways one that was dominated by Gloucestershire's Michael Klinger. The Australian opening batsman scored a scarcely believable three centuries in 12 matches and finished with 654 runs at an average of 81.75, the best average by any batsman with over 500 runs in a series, even better than Virat Kohli's in IPL 2016.
Yet, the tournament's highest scorer was Hampshire's James Vince. And his 710 runs in 16 matches are the reason why he takes his place at No.5 in this list. His runs came while opening the batting for Hampshire, who although failed to win the tournament, reaffirmed their status as one of the best limited over sides in the country.
Vince finished with 710 runs at an average of 59.16 with a century and five fifties. Somewhat surprisingly, his tally of five fifties is the lowest of all the batsman on this list.
Mike Hussey
At No.4 is Mike Hussey who scored 733 runs for Chennai Super Kings in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League. Of the five batsmen on this list, he is one of only two to not have scored a century despite scoring over 700 runs.
Until this year's IPL, the Australian's record of 733 was the most runs scored by any batsman in the history of the competition. His runs came in 17 matches at an average of 52.35 and a strike rate of just under 130. Although he scored six fifties, the season was one in which he played the role of the accumulator while those below him accelerated through the innings.
Although he has the scored the same amount of runs as the player in third spot, he is at 4 because...
Chris Gayle
A year earlier, West Indian opener, Chris Gayle had scored the exact same number of runs but in fewer innings and with a better average and strike rate as well. And that is why the RCB opener takes the No.3 spot with 733 runs in the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League.
A measure of simply how good Gayle was in that season is evident from the fact that this wasn't even the season in which he scored 175 in an innings. That was actually a year later and he had a worse average in that season. Of the batsmen on this list, only Chris Gayle and Mike Hussey got their runs without a single duck to their name.
And when it comes to the number of sixes hit, Gayle towers above the rest of the list with 59 while no one else on this list has more than 38. Gayle ended the season with an average of 61.08 and a strike rate of 160.7 with a century and seven fifties to his name.
David Warner
A measure of simply how good Sunrisers Hyderabad's David Warner was in IPL 2016 is seen from the fact that he became only the second batsman to score over 800 runs in a T20 series. While it is true that he didn't finish as the leading run-scorer in the tournament, 848 runs in 17 matches at an average of 60.57 and strike rate in excess of 150 is no joke.
Although he didn't have a single century to his name, he had 9 fifties, more than anyone on this list and saw his side home on more than one occasion and always stood up in a chase, when it mattered the most.
While plenty of plaudits came Virat Kohli's way for his form in the recently concluded IPL, Warner's numbers are proof that he was almost as good. Even if Kohli was better, the Australian opener deserves to be applauded for his incredible numbers which were only just outdone.
Virat Kohli
And surprise, surprise. The No.1 on this list is Virat Kohli. The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain capped off an incredible start to 2016 with a sublime performance in the IPL, which was ultimately not enough to win the title but certainly won him plenty of hearts.
Kohli's numbers in IPL 2016 are simply staggering. 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08 and strike rate over 150 with FOUR centuries and seven fifties. Thanks to a near perfect batting performance in the series, he obliterated the previous record and nearly became the first batsman to score 1000 runs in any T20 series.
Even if he didn't achieve that, he did more than enough to claim top spot on this list, which is unlikely to be broken anytime soon.
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