IPL 2026 got off to a great start for Virat Kohli and RCB as Rajat Patidar’s men hammered SRH by six wickets in Bengaluru in the season opener. Chasing a target of 202 to win, RCB won with 26 balls to spare. The defending champions are truly on their way.

Kohli began with a brilliant 69 not out from 38 balls with five fours and five sixes. That included a 101-run partnership for the 2nd wicket with Devdutt Padikkal (61) as they made a mockery of SRH’s bowling. For ‘King’, this innings actually got him closer to another major IPL milestone.

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Kohli has for some time been the highest run-getter in IPL history. In fact, Rohit Sharma, who is in second place, is over 1700 runs behind him. So Kohli’s record is safe for some time to come. Thanks to his 69 in the 1st match of the 19th edition, Kohi’s run tally in IPL is now 8730. That means he is just 270 short of breaking the 9000-run barrier.

In IPL history, Kohli is the 1st to score 6000, 7000 and 8000 runs. Now he is closing in on becoming the 1st to score 9000 runs. Truly a legend and the stats prove it. Numbers may not tell the whole story but they do not lie either.

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In 268 IPL games, Kohli has batted 260 times with 41 not-outs. He’s scored 8730 runs at an average of 39.86 and strike rate of 133.14. The man has made eight 100s and 64 50s with a personal best of 113 not out. Add to that an IPL title as well won in 2025 and there is no doubt he is a legend of the tournament.

The man himself holds several IPL records. Kohli has the most runs, most runs in a season, games for one franchise, seasons for one franchise, 100s, 50s, 50+ scores, runs by a skipper and catches in IPL history. Nobody is close to breaking these records so they are safe for some time. How long will he play and how many more barriers shall he break? That remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure, when he does call it a day, the records he finishes with shall be in a class by themselves.