IPL 2020: Virat Kohli vs David Warner playoffs record

David Warner will take on Virat Kohli as the Sunrisers Hyderabad go up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2020 Eliminator at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, November 6.

RCB are yet to win the IPL, but have made the knockout stages 6 times, and Virat Kohli has featured in every single of those. The Indian captain has gotten a chance to bat in 10 of the 11 matches, and scored 231 balls at a modest strike rate of 125.54.

It all started with an unbeaten 24 off 17 balls from a 20-year-old Virat Kohli which helped RCB reach their maiden IPL final after beating CSK by 6 wickets in the semi-finals in 2009. However, he got out for a measly 8-ball 7 in the final, as RCB narrowly lost by 6 runs to hand the Deccan Chargers their maiden IPL crown.

While it is natural for people to remember IPL 2016 as Virat Kohli’s record-breaking season – 973 runs in 16 games – one shouldn’t forget that he had his best playoffs performance in 2011.

Even though the Bangalore-based franchise lost to CSK by 6 wickets in Qualifier 1, Virat Kohli starred with the bat having smashed 70 not out off 44 balls. After a dismal performance in Qualifier 2 – which RCB won against MI by 43 runs – Virat Kohli produced a valiant 32-ball 35 in the final against CSK, albeit in a lost cause.

In 2016, Virat Kohli got out for a duck in Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Lions before smashing 54 off 35 balls in yet another losing cause in the summit clash against SRH. Virat Kohli will face the same opponents tonight, and it’d be intriguing to see if he can turn things around this time.

David Warner’s playoffs numbers are superior to those of Virat Kohli

David Warner inspired SRH to an 8-run win against RCB in the IPL 2016 final

Ever since Sunrisers Hyderabad won the league in 2016, they have made the playoffs in every subsequent season. And David Warner was in the thick of things in that title-winning season. The southpaw also featured in the IPL 2012 playoffs as part of the Delhi Daredevils.

While he had sorrow outings in both Qualifiers in 2012 – 7 of 6 in an 18-run loss against KKR, and 3 of 7 in an 86-run loss to CSK – Warner led from the front in 2016 and set the playoffs ablaze. He followed up his run-a-ball 28 against KKR in the Eliminator with an unbeaten 93 off 58 balls to thrash GL in the Qualifier 2.

But the icing on the cake was his 38-ball 69, which set the tone in the final and helped SRH to a narrow 8-run win against RCB. To sum it up, David Warner has racked up 237 runs in 6 knockout matches at a strike rate of 137.79.

Having missed IPL 2018 owing to his ball-tampering ban, he came back strong the following year. But after smashing 692 runs in 12 matches, David Warner had to fly back for international duties as SRH lost to the Delhi Capitals in the Eliminator.

The SRH captain has gotten a chance to be a part of the playoffs for the first time since scoring a 35-ball 37 against KKR in the IPL 2017 Eliminator, and he will definitely look to make it count this time around.

Check out IPL 2020 schedule