Virat Kohli sets new world record in T20 cricket: Details
What's the story
Virat Kohli, the star batter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has set a new world record by being part of the most number of 50-plus partnerships in Men's T20 cricket. He achieved this feat during the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday. Kohli's 211th such partnership came with his new opening partner Venkatesh Iyer, surpassing England's Alex Hales's previous record of 210. The RCB duo added 60 runs off 27 balls, albeit in a losing cause.
Record-breaking partnership
Kohli surpasses Hales's tally
Kohli's journey to this record has been remarkable. He had equaled Hales's record on Sunday with a 76-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal against Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh. The only other batter to have been part of at least 200 half-century partnerships is Australia's David Warner. The 37-year-old Kohli has played a key role for RCB this season, scoring 557 runs at an impressive strike rate of nearly 165.
New opener
Explosive start from Iyer
This was Iyer's first IPL innings as an opener since 2023. He made a strong start, scoring 44 runs off just 19 balls. His explosive batting allowed Kohli to play a more cautious game and look for occasional boundaries without taking too many risks. The duo put up a 60-run partnership in just 27 balls before Iyer got out, and Kohli (15 off 11) lost his wicket to pacer Sakib Hussain. Chasing 256 in the game, RCB lost by 55 runs.
Career
Here are his T20 stats
Coming to his overall T20 stats, Kohli has completed 14,100 runs across 428 T20 matches at an average of 42.21 (SR: 135.62). In a career spanning nearly two decades, the 37-year-old has smoked 10 tons and as many as 109 fifties. The likes of Chris Gayle (14,562), Kieron Pollard (14,482), Hales (14,449), Warner (14,284), and Jos Buttler (14,314) are ahead of Kohli in terms of runs in the format.
IPL
Most runs in IPL
Earlier this season, Kohli became the first player to complete 9,000 IPL runs. With his efforts against SRH, Kohli owns 9,145 runs. Kohli has featured in 281 IPL matches, averaging 40.07, all playing for RCB. The tally includes nine tons, the most in the tournament (50s: 67). In terms of runs, Rohit Sharma is Kohli's closest rival with 7,329 of them.