Virat Kohli, who is in the form of his life notched his fourth hundred of the tournament against Kings XI Punjab as Royal Challengers Bangalore inched closer to the play-offs with a 82-run win (D/L method).
Due to rain, the overs had been reduced to 15 overs per side. Kohli (113 off 50 balls) and Gayle (73 off 32 balls) strung an opening partnership of 147 runs in 11 overs.
KL Rahul smashed three boundaries towards the end of the innings which propelled RCB’s score to 211/3.
Later, Yuzvendra Chahal added to Punjab’s woes by picking up four wickets for 25 runs. Punjab kept losing wickets at regular intervals right from the beginning of their chase.
Eventually, they could manage only a meagre 120/9 in 14 overs, when the rain came down again. Wriddhiman Saha was Punjab’s top scorer with 24.
Royal Challengers Bangalore moved to the second spot in the standings, whereas the Kings XI Punjab are languishing in the bottom.
1. First Player to Score 4000 Runs
Virat Kohli, who surpassed his Indian teammate Suresh Raina as the leading run scorer in the IPL with 4002 runs became the the first player to score over 4000 runs in the IPL.
Suresh Raina, who has been consistently performing in all the editions of IPL has scored 3985 runs.
2. Four Hundreds in One Season
Kohli didn’t have a single century to his name in the 180 T20 innings that he played before IPL 2016. But in this edition of the IPL, Virat has notched four hundreds in nine matches.
Kohli has set a record of the most centuries in a single T20 tournament. He beat Michael Klinger’s record, who scored three hundreds in the Natwest Blast T20 in 2015.
3. First Player to Score Over 800 Runs
The Indian Test captain had beaten Chris Gayle’s record of the most runs in a single season (733 runs) during his knock of 75 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.
During his innings against Kings XI Punjab, Kohli became the first batsman to score over 800 runs in a single season.
4. Over 2000 Runs in a Single Venue
The 27-year-old became the first batsman to score 2000 T20 runs in a single venue during his brilliant hundred at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The skipper has scored 2042 runs in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s home ground.
5. Eleven 75 Plus Scores in a Calendar Year
Virat Kohi set the record of the most 75 plus scores in T20s in a calendar year during his mega effort against Kings XI Punjab. He beat Gayle’s record of ten 75 plus scores in a calendar year, which he achieved in 2011 and 2015 respectively.
Kohli has converted eleven 50 plus scores out of sixteen into 75 plus scores.
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