Another significant milestone made its way to Virat Kohli on a not so good night for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The RCB batsman has chalked up an extraordinary record for his T20 career with the new mark in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Kohli’s effort was light on runs but was of a historic kind in partnership with the top. In partnership with Venkatesh Iyer, he was the player in the most such 50-plus partnerships in T20 cricket history.
That is part of an aspect of Kohli’s T20 numbers which is being overlooked a lot of times — consistency as a partnership player. Kohli has always been a stabiliser as well as an accelerator in the IPL and international cricket, changing the batting partner and match scenarios over the years.
The interesting thing about the record is that it was sustained for a long period of time. T20 cricket is constantly evolving, batting styles are adapting, and team line-ups are often changing. However, Kohli has been at the heart of fruitful relationships for over a decade.
He also moved him ahead of former Australian Alex Hales and others – such as David Warner – are just behind on the all-time list. It is another testament to Kohli’s ability to work quietly and make consistent runs to make a mark instead of making loud headlines.
But it was a completely different story for RCB. The Hyderabad side had a huge day in the batter’s department, scoring well over 250. Ishan Kishan was a key figure in that attack, attacking with impunity, and keeping Bengal’s bowlers on their toes during this session.
RCB’s chase got a few moments of magic but the target was too difficult to achieve. The loss also came at an inopportune time in the standings as every win and loss can impact playoff momentum.
But, in this period of disillusionments, Kohli again came with another historic number, which is an indicator of his continuing influence on T20 cricket even during his bad days.