Virat Kohli needs only 76 runs to become first player to score 8000 runs in IPL

Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli needs 76 runs to become the first cricketer to score 8000 runs in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kohli can achieve the milestone in RCB's upcoming match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.

As of now, Kohli has scored 7924 runs at a strike rate of 131.8 after playing 250 matches and 242 innings in IPL. 

He slammed 8 centuries and 55 fifties. The Indian talisman batter has always displayed a stupendous performance on May 18. Earlier he scored two centuries and one fifty on this date.

In the 2013 season of the IPL, the 35-year-old scored a half-century on May 18 against CSK. He played an unbeaten 56-run knock from 29 balls during the match. 

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His first century on May 18 came against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2016 when he hammered 113 runs from 50 balls in Bengaluru. While his last ton on this day came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2023, he played a 100-run knock from 63 balls. 

In IPL 2024, Kohli leads the race of players with the most runs and is a strong contender for the Orange Cap, scoring 661 runs at a strike rate of 155.16 after taking part in 13 matches. Currently in IPL 2024 standings, the Bengaluru-based franchise stands in seventh place with 12 points and has a +0.387. 

In the 17th season of the tournament, RCB won 6 matches after playing 13 games.

Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad's CSK holds fourth place on the IPL 2024 table with 14 points and has a net run rate of +0.528 after winning 7 of 13 matches.

To replace the Super Kings in the top four and qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs, RCB needs to win the match on Saturday by at least 18 runs if they score a minimum of 200 runs batting first or win in 18.1 overs if they are chasing 200.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma, Mayank Dagar, Manoj Bhandage, Tom Curran, Alzarri Joseph, Akash Deep, Saurav Chauhan, Rajan Kumar.