Virat Kohli breaks record against CSK; Goes past Rohit Sharma in elite list
Virat Kohli's 28 runs against Chennai Super Kings marked a milestone, surpassing Rohit Sharma for the most runs against a single opponent in T20 cricket.
Virat Kohli’s 28 off 18 against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday did not become one of his biggest IPL innings, but it still turned into a landmark one. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener moved past Rohit Sharma to register the most runs scored against a single opponent in T20 cricket, taking his overall tally against CSK to 1,188. He needed only two runs at the start of the match to go beyond Rohit’s previous mark of 1,161 against Kolkata Knight Riders, and he got there inside the first over.
Virat Kohli plays a shot during the IPL 2026 match against Chennai Super Kings. (ANI Pic Service)
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In T20 cricket, records against a single opponent are not easy to build because they demand more than just dominance. They require longevity, repeated selection, sustained batting quality and enough meetings across years to keep adding to the tally. Kohli has managed all of that against CSK, one of RCB’s biggest rivals and one of the most successful teams in the tournament’s history.
Most runs against one team in T20 cricket
Most runs by a batter against one team in t20 cricket.
Before Sunday, Virat Kohli had already built an extraordinary body of work against Chennai. Across the IPL, he had been RCB’s most consistent batter in this fixture, and the runs had come not through one explosive phase but over a long stretch of relevance. That is what separates this milestone from a short-term statistical spike. It reflects not just form, but endurance at the top level.
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There is another layer to it as well. The Kohli-CSK rivalry has often existed inside a broader contest where Chennai have historically held the upper hand over Bengaluru in the head-to-head. Yet on an individual level, Kohli has continuously found ways to score against them. Sunday’s innings extended that pattern again.
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There is another layer to it as well. The Kohli-CSK rivalry has often existed inside a broader contest where Chennai have historically held the upper hand over Bengaluru in the head-to-head. Yet on an individual level, Kohli has continuously found ways to score against them. Sunday’s innings extended that pattern again.
Kohli was dismissed for 28 by Anshul Kamboj with RCB at 37 for 1 in 4.3 overs, so this was not the kind of innings that would usually dominate the post-match conversation on its own. But because of the numbers attached to it, it became one of the defining statistical moments.
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In a format built around speed, innovation and instant impact, Kohli’s latest record is a reminder that T20 greatness is not only about how quickly a player scores. Sometimes it is also about how long he keeps doing it, and how often he does it against the strongest opposition. Against CSK, Kohli has now turned sustained excellence into a place of his own in cricket history.
Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it.
Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences.
Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport.
He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.
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