Top five knocks that have defined Virat Kohli’s IPL career

Since India’s semi-final exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli has featured in only two T20Is, both coming against Afghanistan in January this year. While the volume of runs he scores is not a concern, given he has the most runs in the tournament’s history (1141 at 81.5), what exposes him to criticism is his strike rate of 131.3. He has been reportedly asked to bat more aggressively to secure his spot.

Against Punjab, Kohli was eager to prove his doubters wrong. Opening in a chase of 177, he got an early reprieve after Jonny Bairstow spilt a thick outside edge in the slips off Sam Curran’s first over. He went on to strike 33 off his first 15 balls, the most runs he has ever scored in the first 15 balls of a T20 innings. However, wickets kept tumbling at the other end and retaining his wicket became a priority over aggression. He finished with a 49-ball 77, hitting 11 fours and two sixes, playing a pivotal role in RCB’s four-wicket win.

It was his 100th T20 score over fifty. He became the first Indian and the third overall, after Chris Gayle and David Warner, to reach the milestone. After Kohli’s sublime start to the tournament, let’s delve into the top five IPL knocks he’s played:

113 off 50 v Kings XI Punjab, 2016

Kohli suffered a split webbing against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2016, requiring nine stitches on his left hand. 48 hours after sustaining the injury, he returned to lead RCB against Punjab. It was a rain-curtailed match reduced to 15 overs per side. Fighting adversity, Kohli put the opposition bowlers to the sword, scoring a century off just 47 balls, his quickest ever in the tournament and his fourth that year. Upon reaching his landmark, he pointed at the stitches in celebration. RCB put up a mammoth 211-3.

108* off 58 v Rising Pune Supergiants, 2016

In the form of his life, Kohli made a 192-run chase look like a cakewalk. With 39 to get from the last three overs, he smashed four sixes and a four off Adam Zampa and RP Singh to leave just four to get off the final over. He stayed to the end to seal RCB’s seven-wicket win with three balls to spare.

99 off 58 v Delhi Daredevils, 2013

These were still early days for the right-hander as he was trying to make his mark in his maiden season as an IPL captain. After 16 overs of their innings, RCB were 106-3 with Kohli on 47 off 43. When Kohli was run out off the last ball of the innings, he had reached 99 off 58, and RCB had finished on 183. The 18th and the 20th overs were when he teed off, taking 24 and 23, respectively, off Umesh Yadav.

109 off 55 v Gujarat Lions, 2016

Another knock from his historic 2016 season, which saw him score a record 973 runs, finds a place on the list. Kohli made merry of a helpless opposition as he joined hands with partner-in-crime AB de Villiers to put up a 229-run stand, the then-highest partnership in T20 cricket. Kohli played second fiddle for the majority of the partnership: De Villiers took centre-stage, pummeling the undisciplined bowling line-up all over the park en route to his unbeaten 129 off 52.

Kohli unleashed mayhem in the last three overs, hammering 57 off 14 balls to bring up his third century of the season and power his side to an imposing 248. The result was crucial for RCB, as a defeat would have knocked them out.  The 144-run victory kept them in the hunt for the playoffs and gave them the best net run rate in the season.

100 off 58 v Kolkata Knight Riders, 2019

A typical Kohli classic: Started timidly, then went ballistic. He struggled with timing for the first half of the innings, and he reached his fifty off 40 balls – an innings in modern T20s which does more harm than good. The second fifty came off just 17 balls. That was his fifth ton in the IPL and his first since 2016. The innings provided a new lease of life to Kohli’s batting as he was battling a lean run.