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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 9 (ANI): Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India batter Virat Kohli was seen honing his signature drives and lofted hits in the nets ahead of his side’s clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI), which will take place on Thursday.

RCB and MI will be locking horns in a high-octane clash at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, which will be a battle between two of Indian cricket’s biggest superstars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both teams are searching for wins. While MI opened their account after three losses with a win over Delhi Capitals (DC), RCB aims to overcome a three-match losing streak, succumbing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their last encounter.

In a video posted by RCB’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Virat put on a mini batting masterclass in his hands, a dress rehearsal for another masterclass he would love to put on at Wankhede in a winning cause.

Virat is the leading run-scorer in the IPL 2024, scoring 316 runs in five matches at an average of 105.33 and a strike rate of over 146, with a century and two fifties. His best score is 113.

In the previous match against RR, Virat scored an unbeaten 113 in 72 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes. His team lost the game by six wickets.

During the match, Virat became the first batter to score 7,500 IPL runs and 8,000 T20 runs for RCB. In 242 IPL matches, Virat has scored 7,579 runs at an average of 38.27 and a strike rate of over 130. He has scored eight centuries and 52 fifties, with the best score of 113. In 257 matches for RCB, Virat has scored 8,003 runs at an average of 38.29 and a strike rate of 131.54, with eight centuries and 54 fifties. His best score is 113.

This also includes 15 matches played for the franchise in the now-defunct Champions League T20, scoring 484 runs at an average of 28.54 and a strike rate of over 150.35, with two fifties. His best score is 84.

After smashing four sixes in the match, Virat’s six tally in the IPL is now 246, four more than Dhoni. Now he is the fourth-highest six-hitter in IPL history, with Chris Gayle (357), AB de Villiers (261) and Rohit Sharma (251) above him in the list.

With nine centuries, Virat is now the third-highest century-maker in T20 cricket. With this century, he has overtaken Australian stars David Warner, Michael Klinger and Aaron Finch to reach the third spot. Only Pakistan’s Babar Azam (11 tons) and West Indies legend Chris Gayle (22 tons) have more centuries than him.

This year, Virat has contributed 38 per cent of RCB runs by himself. He has the Orange Cap for most runs around his head, scoring 316 runs in five innings at an average of 105.33, with a century and two fifties. His runs have come at a strike rate of over 146.

Interestingly, skipper Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green, the franchise’s three big overseas batters, have scored just 209 runs together in these five matches, without even a single half-century. Taking into account the runs of Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik and other recognised batters, the whole RCB batting line-up except Virat has scored 418 runs, making Virat’s performance a massive one-man carry job. (ANI)