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Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vice-captain Jitesh Sharma has backed senior batter Virat Kohli to break his own record of most runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Sharma is amazed with the way Kohli is batting in the nets and feels he will win the orange cap for the third time.
“Virat Kohli, no doubt. I feel that he can break the record this year (973 runs in a season). The way he has been performing for India of late, the way he's batting. (Bas bat se thak-thak awaaz aa raha hai) I can just hear the sound of the bat. He seems in proper touch,” Sharma said in an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia.
Kohli holds the record for most runs in an IPL season. He achieved it in the 2016 edition where RCB reached the final but lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). From 16 games, he scored 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and strike rate of 152.03. He scored four centuries in the 2016 edition, most by any batter. He also scored seven fifties in the season.
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The closest a batter has come to Kohli's record is Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill. In 2023, he scored 890 runs from 17 games.
Kohli in red-hot form
Kohli has been in tremendous form since the two consecutive ducks on Australian tour. In last nine outings including the two Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 games, he has scored four centuries and as many fifties.
Kohli’s numbers in IPL 2025
In the previous edition, Kohli was RCB's highest run-scorer and third on the list topped by GT's Sai Sudharasan, followed by Mumbai Indians' (MI) Suryakumar Yadav. He scored 657 runs from 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and strike rate of 144.71. He scored eight fifties in the season as well.
Kohli’s record vs SRH
RCB are set to take on SRH in the IPL 2026 opener at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on March 28. Kohli is second-highest run-scorer against SRH. From 24 innings, he has 805 runs at an average of 36.59 and strike rate of 141.97. He has a century and five fifties against the Hyderabad-based franchise. Only Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) Sanju Samson has more runs (867 runs) than him against SRH.
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