Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been on song with six consecutive wins to book their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs spot. The last time RCB reached the final was in the 2016 edition. Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli was sensational with the bat scoring 973 runs including four centuries. It is a similar situation this time around with Kohli achieving his second-best IPL numbers so far with 708 runs from 14 games. Ahead of the eliminator clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR), former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has predicted that Kohli may go past his IPL best.
"We are looking at Virat Kohli celebrating his second-best season thus far. He could go well past his IPL 2016 performance in the kind of form that he's in. So more than anything, I just think it's the energy and the love of the game, the passion, the commitment for it all—all of those describing words that you can glorify this great man with, whether it be on the field or with bat in hand. He just loves it; it's crazy," Hayden told Star Sports.
Kohli needs 266 more runs to go past his previous best. Currently, he holds the record for most runs in an IPL season. The closest a batter got to his tally was Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill who scored 890 runs from 17 games in the last season.
Hayden is in awe of Kohli's energy on the field and the way he gestured to silence the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans in the crowd at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. He scored 47 runs and was lightning quick in the field as RCB beat CSK by 27 runs to book the playoffs spot.
"The thing is, he's so committed. And he gives it to the crowd as well. There were a couple of moments where he was telling CSK fans to be quiet," the 52-year-old added.
The Orange Cap race
Kohli is currently undisputed in the orange cap race as well. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is second on the list of leading run-scorers in IPL 2024 with 583 runs. From the current players, Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) Travis Head (533 runs) and RR’s Riyan parag (531 runs) are in the race.
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