Year-ender: Virat Kohli scripted these records in memorable IPL season
What's the story
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting stalwart Virat Kohli had a dream Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
Though RCB's drought for an IPL trophy continued, Kohli earned the Orange Cap for the second time.
The season also saw him become the first batter to complete 8,000 IPL runs.
As the year 2024 is heading toward its end, let's revisit Kohli's memorable IPL campaign.
Record #1
Kohli joined Gayle in exclusive club
Kohli scored a whopping 741 runs in 15 matches at 61.75. His strike rate was 154.69. This was his best campaign since IPL 2016 (973 runs).
The former RCB skipper smashed five half-centuries besides a hundred.
The batting superstar also hit 38 sixes, the joint-most by him in an IPL season (also in 2016).
Notably, Kohli also become only the second batter after Chris Gayle to score over 700 runs in two different IPL seasons.
Record #2
Kohli surpasses 700 IPL fours, 250 sixes
In the virtual qualifier against Chennai Super Kings, Kohli went past 700 IPL fours, becoming only the second player to achieve the feat after Shikhar Dhawan.
His tally now reads 705 fours and 272 sixes.
Earlier in the season, he had joined an elite group of players including Gayle, Rohit Sharma and AB de Villiers who have hit over 250 sixes in their IPL careers.
Record #3
Kohli sets new record at M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Kohli has also set a new record by becoming the first player to score more than 3,000 runs at a single venue in the IPL.
He accomplished the feat at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he has now scored 3,040 runs from 89 matches at 40.53.
Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma (2,295 at Wankhede Stadium) is the only other batter with 2,000-plus IPL runs at a venue.
Record #4
Kohli joins elite group with 250 IPL matches
Kohli also became a part of the elite club of players who have played 250 IPL matches, along with MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik.
However, he is the only one to have played for a single franchise (RCB) since the first season in 2008.
This loyalty only highlights how much he has been committed to RCB. Meanwhile, Kohli currently has 252 IPL caps to his name.
Record #5
Kohli surpasses 1,000 runs against 3 IPL teams
The league stage of IPL 2024 saw Kohli complete 1,000 IPL runs against CSK and Punjab Kings.
He has now raced to 1,053 and 1,030 runs against the two sides, respectively.
As the batting talisman also boasts 1,057 runs against DC, he is now the only batter with over 1,000 IPL runs against three different sides.
Record #6
8,000 IPL runs for Kohli
Kohli established new benchmarks in T20 cricket, becoming the first batter to complete 8,000 IPL runs.
The star batter currently tallies 8,004 runs as he averages 38.67 (SR: 131.97).
The 35-year-old leads the runs tally by miles as Shikhar Dhawan is the next-best batter (6,769).
Kohli also owns the most IPL tons (8), while his tally also includes 55 half-centuries.
Information
Second Orange Cap for Kohli
Kohli became the first Indian to win the Orange Cap twice. As mentioned, Indian batter smashed a record-breaking 973 runs in the 2016 season. Meanwhile, Gayle (twice) and David Warner (thrice) are the only other batters to accomplish the Orange Cap multiple times.