Xtra Time Web Desk: Virat Kohli shares a special connection with Bengaluru, considering it his second home after Delhi, despite currently being settled in Mumbai. Since the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, Kohli has been a key player for the city based IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The upcoming T20I against Afghanistan on Wednesday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium might mark Virat Kohli’s last appearance in this format at the venue, given the limited T20 games scheduled for Team India this year. The Men in Blue are set to host Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series in September. Whether Kohli and Rohit Sharma will continue participating in T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean and the USA remains uncertain. If they opt out of the shorter format, the match against Afghanistan could potentially be their final T20I together.
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Kohli’s T20I statistics at the Chinnaswamy Stadium aren’t exceptional. In 5 T20Is at the venue since his debut in 2012, he has scored 116 runs, with three instances of getting out in single digits. His highest score at the Chinnaswamy came against Australia in 2019 when he notched up 72 runs in a T20I.
Looking at Kohli’s overall T20 record at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, he has played 96 games, accumulating 2,816 runs at an average and strike rate of 38.95 and 141.50, respectively. His tally includes 23 fifties and four centuries. No other batter has crossed the 2,000-run mark at this venue, with AB de Villiers, Kohli’s former RCB teammate, and South African legend, holding the second spot with 1,991 runs.
In the IPL, Kohli has amassed 2,700 runs at Chinnaswamy in 13 seasons. Across all T20Is, Kohli stands as the leading run-scorer with 4,037 runs from 116 games, maintaining an impressive average of 52.42.
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