Virat Kohli creates IPL history as RCB star breaks record of...
Virat Kohli. (PIC - X)
New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who came out to end their 18-year wait in the Indian Premier League 2025, played an amazing game. Virat Kohli's bat attacked fiercely and he played an important role in taking the team to the final. Even though he missed out on scoring a half-century against Punjab Kings, he made a new IPL record in his name. He left Shikhar Dhawan behind in terms of hitting the most fours.
RCB legend Virat Kohli added another feather to his illustrious career during the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of IPL 2025. Virat Kohli has been the face of the IPL since its inception and has many records to his name, but an IPL trophy still eludes him.
Virat Kohli creates history:
When Kohli came out to bat after Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat, he broke a major record that was in the name of veteran Shikhar Dhawan. As soon as Virat Kohli hit his first boundary, he surpassed Dhawan in the list of most fours in the IPL. Both Kohli and Dhawan had 768 fours to their name and Kohli's first boundary took him to the first spot in the league. Dhawan had achieved this feat in 221 innings while Kohli touched the milestone in the 258th innings. David Warner is in third place with 663 fours.
Kohli missed out on achieving a special achievement:
Kohli has scored 614 runs this season and can also leave Chris Gayle behind in a special list. If Kohli had scored 86 runs in this match, he would have become the first player in the world to score 700 runs three times in an IPL season. Kohli was out after playing an innings of 43 runs on 35 balls. Kohli had previously scored 973 runs in IPL 2016 and 741 runs in IPL 2024. At the same time, Gayle had scored 700+ runs in consecutive seasons in 2012 and 2013.
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Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli: Who Is the Better of the two? Mathew John 8 minutes ago When the history of our time is written, it'll be about Kohli's greatness as man and cricketer, whereas Sachin will figure as the great run accumulator. Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Photo: PTI/File. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Like beauty, the notion of sporting greatness lies in the eyes of the beholder and assessment of renowned personalities is ever so subjective. There are, however, dangers in making such sweeping judgements. Apart from one's own preferences, differing playing conditions, the quality of the opposition and advancements in technology in different eras make comparisons among greats a hazardous exercise. One has also to calibrate and grade the variables of the sport – performance statistics, technical skills, leadership qualities, et al. On top of it all, what has the sportsperson done to make the world a better place? Fortified with these caveats, I feel emboldened to weigh in on a comparative study of two cricketing greats who are the sporting icons of India – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Who is the better of the two? For sheer run-making prowess, Tendulkar is unmatched – miles nay thousands of runs ahead of Kohli and the rest. In 200 Tests, he scored 15921 runs at an average of 53.38 with 51 centuries whereas Kohli in 123 Tests scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.83 with 30 hundreds. In 452 ODIs, Tendulkar accumulated 18426 runs with 49 hundreds and an average of 44.83. 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The formidable Aussies held all the cards, declaring in both innings and setting India the impossible target of scoring 361 runs on the final day. Kohli, following up on his first innings century, single handedly took India to the brink of victory with a sublime 141 runs of silken grace and power, but the collapse of the last seven wickets for 58 runs resulted in India losing by 45 runs. No Indian before or since has played such a masterful, dominant innings abroad. It was as great an innings as Brian Lara's immortal 153 not out against Australia in 1999 but is unremembered as history cares little for losing teams. How have Tendulkar and Kohli's individual brilliance impacted their teams? While my method of evaluation based on centuries scored in team wins is admittedly simplistic, it is a pointer, nevertheless. Of Tendulkar's 51 Test centuries, 20 resulted in the team winning – a win percentage of 21.56. Six of these victories were against minnows – Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In ODIs, 33 of his 49 centuries spurred his team to victory – a 67.35 win percentage. In contrast, 14 of Kohli's 30 Test centuries helped fashion the team's success – a win percentage of 46.6%. In ODIs, 43 of the 51 centuries scored by the undisputed 'chase king' ensured his team's victory – a phenomenal 84.31 win percentage. Also read: Adding Colour to The Whites What's noteworthy is that while Sachin is ahead in run accumulation, Virat has won many more games for India. This is clearly because they have approached the game differently – Tendulkar was focussed on personal milestones whereas Kohli's single intent has been on winning games for India. Who can forget Sachin's ignominious crawl as he neared his landmark hundredth century in international cricket, because of which we lost that ODI match to Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2012! In a team sport like cricket, greatness is measured not only on individual excellence but other factors like leadership that are integral to the success of a team. Tendulkar was an absolute disaster as Test and ODI captain with a 16 %-win average in 25 Tests and 31.5% in ODIs. In contrast, Kohli has been India's most successful Test and ODI captain. In Tests, India won 40 of the 68 Tests that he captained, a 58.8%-win average which is also the fourth highest of all Test captains in history. He has won 65 out of 95 ODIs as captain, a 68.42-win average. And not to forget, in 2018-19, he broke the seemingly impregnable glass ceiling when he led his team to a series win against Australia in Australia for the first time, as momentous a feat as India's maiden triumphs in the West Indies and England in 1971. Greg Chappell has rightly hailed Kohli as the most transformative figure in Indian cricket 'in terms of cultural influence and psychological impact on India's cricket identity.' 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