How many runs did Virat Kohli score against Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier of IPL 2026 and which bowler did he become the victim of? What has been Virat Kohli’s record in playoff matches, and when did he last score a half-century? What was the contribution of Rajat Patidar and bowlers in the big win of Royal Challengers Bengaluru?
Ahmedabad: Virat Kohli holds the title of the player who has scored the most runs in IPL history, but when it comes to playoff matches, his luck betrays him. This time too the story was no different. Kohli remained just 7 runs away from his fifty against Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier of IPL 2026. Along with this, his wait to score a half-century in the playoffs continues for 10 years. During this period, he played many playoff matches, but could not score fifty.
Kohli made a good start facing the fast bowlers of Gujarat. He scored 43 runs in 25 balls at a strike rate of 172. But he was bowled by Jason Holder in the 9th over. Let us tell you that Kohli scored his last fifty in the playoffs in the final match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. Then he had scored 54 runs. Since then, this 43 runs scored against Gujarat is his highest score in the playoffs.
Kohli’s record in playoffs is nothing special
In the history of IPL, Kohli has played 17 playoff matches so far, in which he has scored a total of 396 runs. In this, he has been able to cross the 50 run mark only twice. His highest score in the playoffs is 70* against Chennai Super Kings in 2011. The second fifty came in 2016. Kohli, who scored a lot of runs in the league stage, failing repeatedly in the knockout matches is disappointing the fans.
However, despite Kohli’s early dismissal, thanks to the excellent batting of captain Rajat Patidar, the Bengaluru team scored the highest score in the playoff history. Patidar scored unbeaten 93 runs in just 33 balls and took RCB to a huge score of 254 runs. Apart from Kohli’s 43 runs, Devdutt Padikkal (30 from 18 balls) and Krunal Pandya (43 from 28 balls) also provided good support in the batting.
In reply, Gujarat Titans team, which came to chase the target, could not stand against the lethal bowling of Jacob Duffy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasik Salam Dhar and Krunal Pandya. The entire team collapsed for 162 runs in 19.3 overs. In this way, RCB registered a big win by 92 runs and secured their place in the final for the second consecutive time.