He was unbeaten in 3 of his 10 innings. His total runs include 1 century and 4 fifties, which is 500. With these runs, Virat Kohli is the highest run scorer in this year's IPL. Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gayakwad is next with 447 runs in 9 innings. There is not much talk about how many runs Kohli is ahead of. Kohli's strike rate has been in the discussion almost since the beginning of this year's IPL.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman has scored 500 runs at an average of 71.42. Among the batsmen who have scored at least 200 runs in this year's IPL, only Sanju Samson has a higher average than Kohli. Rajasthan Royals captain Samson has scored 385 runs in 9 innings at an average of 77. No one is paying attention to Kohli's average either. That is probably why Kohli managed to take the team to victory by scoring an unbeaten 77 off 44 balls yesterday.
Kohli is in rhythm with the bat. But even though he is in rhythm, no one seems to like his batting style. He has scored 500 runs at a strike rate of 147.49. Among the batsmen who have scored at least 300 runs in this year's IPL, only three have a strike rate lower than Kohli. Gujarat Titans' Sai Sudarshan has scored 418 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 135.71. His teammate Shubman Gill has scored 320 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 140.96. And Lucknow Super Giants' Lokesh Rahul has scored 378 runs in 9 innings at an average of 144.27.
Chasing a target of 200 runs against Gujarat yesterday, Kohli's team won the match with 24 balls and 9 wickets in hand. Three batsmen batted for Bangalore - Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Will Jacques. Du Plessis scored 24 runs off 12 balls before being dismissed, which means he scored at a strike rate of 200. And Jacques, who was unbeaten on 100 runs, had a strike rate of 243. In his 41-ball innings, he hit 5 fours and 10 sixes. And Kohli scored 77 runs at a strike rate of 159.09.
Addressing the critics after playing this innings, Kohli said, "People who talk about strike rate and my inability to play spin well, they talk about these (statistics). For me, winning matches for the team is what matters and that's why you keep doing it for 15 years. You keep doing it day after day, you win matches for the team. I don't know if you've ever been in such a situation. But sitting in the box, you talk about the match."
To those who say Kohli is batting slowly and it doesn't go with the new style of T20 cricket, the Indian batsman had earlier said, "People can talk about speculation day after day, but those who do the work day after day, they know what is really happening. I don't want to be too aggressive, I want to make the bowlers think. They will want me to be aggressive and get out."
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