Virat Kohli is fully prepared in his 4th IPL final, as Royal Challengers Bangalore took Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad on Tuesday
Virat Kohli is all set to play an IPL final for the 4th time in his career as RCB locks horns with PBKS in the ultimate clash. The batting maestro is Bengaluru’s best batter this season, with 614 runs to his name, averaging 55.82. Kohli will be hoping that he can play just more good knock to guide RCB to their maiden IPL title that has eluded them for 18 years.
Virat’s record in IPL finals
Kohli first featured in an IPL final back in 2009, the 2nd edition of IPL. A young Virat only managed to score 7 runs off 8 deliveries before he was stumped out by Gilchrist off Andrew Symonds. RCB lost the game, giving Deccan Chargers their first trophy.
It wasn’t too long before Virat featured in yet another IPL final as it came just a season later. In 2011, RCB locked horns with CSK in the ultimate clash. Batting at number 3, Kohli managed to score 35 runs off 32 deliveries before he was trapped for a LBW by Suresh Raina. Again, RCB – who were chasing in the contest – lost to CSK by 58 runs.
His last appearance in an IPL final came in the very year that was his best-ever IPL season. Kohli, who was in red-hot form in that season, finished with 973 runs to his name. In the final against SRH, he went berserk while opening with Chis Gayle in the run-chase. After scoring 54 off 35 deliveries, he was cleaned up by Sran. Eventually, RCB lost the match by 8 runs.
| Year | Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 87.50 |
| 2011 | 35 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 109.37 |
| 2016 | 54 | 35 | 5 | 2 | 154.28 |
Overall, Virat Kohli has managed to score 96 runs in three IPL finals and averages 32. His strike rate is 128 in the 75 balls that he has faced in these games.
Having already scored 8 half-centuries this season, Kohli will be eyeing to add one more to the list in the game againsst PBKS and hopefully allow RCB to end their 17-year-long wait to lift the IPL trophy.
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