Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli became the first Indian batter and 6th overall to cross 12000 runs in T20 cricket. The right-handed batter got to the mark in the opening match of IPL 2024 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium with a boundary.
By completing 12000 T20 runs, the right-handed batter has joined the likes of Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, David Warner, and Alex Hales. Gayle, who had two prolific seasons with the Royal Challengers, heads the list with 14562 runs, having made his debut in the shortest format in 2005. Kohli also took only 360 innings to reach the milestone, with Gayle accomplishing it in 345.
Kohli, meanwhile, is coming from a two-month break, saw the wickets of Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, and Glenn Maxwell fall in quick succession. The former RCB skipper watched from the other end as Du Plessis smashed multiple boundaries off an over of Deepak Chahar.
"I am pretty happy and excited to be back" - Virat Kohli
Speaking to RCB.tv in an earlier interview, Kohli stated that he is raring to go after a two-month break as the new IPL season begins. The 35-year-old stated:
"It's really good to be back, firstly playing cricket and just starting off the IPL. It's always exciting to come back to Bangalore for the start of the IPL season. So, similar emotions, similar feelings and I haven't been off the media radar. I have been into the normalcy, you can say, for two months. So, yeah, I am pretty happy and excited to be back and I hope all the fans are excited and happy as well."
Kohli had smashed 639 runs in 12 matches in IPL 2023 at 53.25 with 2 centuries.
