Virat Kohli's Quest for Greatness: Can He Achieve Historic Feat in IPL Opener?

Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): Only a few days are left for the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to begin. The first match of this exciting tournament, starting on March 22, will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Kolkata's prestigious Eden Gardens. Before this match, Team India's star batsman Virat Kohli has joined his team RCB and he has a golden opportunity to achieve a historic feat in the very first match. If Kohli scores another century in this match, he will become the first Indian batsman to complete 10 centuries in T20 cricket. This will be a record that no Indian cricketer has been able to achieve till now. In fact, 'King' Kohli has scored 9 centuries in T20 cricket so far. He has scored 8 of these centuries in IPL, while one century has come from his bat in international T20 matches. If he scores another century in the first match of the season against Kolkata, then the number of centuries in his T20 career will reach 10. However, he will have the entire season to achieve this feat, but given his current form, there is a strong possibility of this feat happening in the first match itself.

Virat Kohli is already the batsman who has scored the most centuries in the history of IPL. He has scored 8 centuries in this league. He scored his first IPL century in 2016 against Gujarat Lions and in the same season he created a sensation by scoring a total of four centuries. His last century in the IPL came against Rajasthan Royals in the last season (2024), where he played a brilliant innings of 113 runs not out in 72 balls. After Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are the Indian players who have scored the most centuries (7-7) in T20 cricket. Virat Kohli made his IPL debut for RCB in 2008 and since then he has been a part of this team continuously. He has so far scored 8004 runs in 252 IPL matches at an average of 38.67 and a strike rate of 131. During this, he has scored 8 centuries and 55 half-centuries. He has also hit 272 sixes and 705 fours in the IPL, which is a proof of his explosive batting. Cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see whether Virat Kohli is able to achieve this historic feat in the very first match or not.