IPL 2020: 4 records Virat Kohli could break this season

“The greatest player I have ever seen in my life”- these were the words uttered by Justin Langer about Virat Kohli in the documentary “The Test”. More than all the runs and the records, the one engrossing thing about Kohli is the way in which he gets into the heads of the opposition. Only a very few can elicit such fear in the opposition ranks and even as he moves slowly out of his prime days, he is still the best batsman across formats without any doubt.

No one in cricket loves a challenge as much as Kohli and after a deflating performance in New Zealand, he will be itching to get back to his best. Though he owns almost all the limited-overs batting records in the modern era, he could claim a few more in this calendar year. This article details the slew of records “The King” can achieve in the upcoming Indian Premier League.

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#4 First Indian to reach 200 sixes for a single franchise in IPL

Kohli and Gayle

This is a record that will put a surprising look on the face of most cricket fans as Virat is always regarded as someone who plays is a timer of the ball than a power hitter. His 191 sixes for RCB, which is the most by an Indian in IPL, is a testament to his brilliant ability to propel the scoring rate after getting settled at the crease. In IPL 2016, he scored 38 sixes which is his personal best in a single IPL season.

Among Indians, he has the fourth most sixes in the IPL behind MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Suresh Raina. However, he is still far off from Chris Gayle’s barely believable record of 326 sixes in 124 innings. Kohli’s six-hitting rates has steadily dipped in recent seasons, with him scoring only 13 sixes in IPL 2019.

#3 First Indian to reach 9000 T-20 runs

Virat Kohli vs West Indies

Unless Virat Kohli endures a horrible IPL, he is all set to attain this record before the end of the summer as he is on 8900 runs. The one closest to him for the above record is Rohit Sharma with 8642 runs. He made his T-20 International debut in 2010 against Zimbabwe and has since scored 2794 runs at a staggering average of 50.80. The majority of his runs have come against good T-20 outfits such as Australia and West Indies at an average of more than 60 which shows his quality.

He has played 177 matches in the IPL and has scored 5412 runs at an average of 37.84 and a strike rate of 131.61. In 2016, he scored 641 runs in T-20 Internationals at an average of 106.83 and a strike rate of 140.26. In the same year, his superhuman aggregate of 973 runs in the IPL remains the most runs scored by a player in a single season. He could become the first Indian player to achieve 9000 runs in T20 cricket.

#2 First player to score 800 runs against CSK in IPL

Dhoni and Kohli

With 747 runs, Virat Kohli leads the list of people to have scored most runs against CSK in the Indian Premier League. Rohit Sharma is in second place with 705 runs to his name and he is all set for a battle with Kohli in this IPL to become the top run-scorer against CSK. He has scored six half-centuries against CSK including 30 sixes and 57 fours. His most prolific season against CSK was the 2011 edition in which he scored 171 runs at an average of 57 and a strike rate of 128.57.

For players with a minimum of 10 innings against CSK, his average of 37.35 is the second-highest, only behind the current CSK opener Shane Watson’s 43.63. However, his strike rate of 124.63 against CSK is just not up to his level and he will be hoping to improve it in addition to accumulating runs in the upcoming seasons. If he scores 53 more runs against CSK, He will become the first player to score 800 runs against Chennai Super Kings in IPL history.

#1 First player to reach 3000 T-20 runs at a venue

Kohli and ABD

The connection between the Chinnaswamy stadium and Virat Kohli is well known to all cricket lovers and his 2762 T-20 runs in Bangalore is far and away from the most runs for a player in a single ground. In the IPL alone he has scored 2346 runs at Chinnaswamy which is the most by a player in IPL. He averages 36.66 at the Chinnaswamy with 16 half-centuries to his name. His team-mate AB De Villiers is in second place with 1960 runs at the same venue.

In T-20 Internationals at the Chinnaswamy, he has not been at his belligerent best with only 116 runs in five innings. He has scored three of his five IPL centuries in Bengaluru and all of them came in 2016. His 113 against Kings XI Punjab on 18 May 2016 remains his highest T-20 score. After Chinnaswamy, the Arun Jaitley stadium in his hometown Delhi is his second favorite IPL venue as he has scored 428 runs there at an average of 71.33.