Virat Kohli IPL 2026: The greatest chase master of the modern era

For nearly the past two decades, cricket fans have known full well that whenever the stakes are high, King Kohli (Virat Kohli) rises to the occasion. He has proven time and again why he is hailed as the 'Greatest Chase Master' and why he is the world's best white-ball batter of this era. Last night in IPL 2026, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, fans once again witnessed an incredible chase by Virat Kohli.

Whenever questions have been raised regarding Virat Kohli's ability, he has answered them with his bat. Before the match against KKR in Raipur, he had been dismissed for a duck in his previous two innings—a slump that once again sparked doubts about his form. However, in his third innings, Kohli not only got off the mark but also silenced his critics by smashing a century. 

After being invited to bat first, KKR posted a total of 192/4, powered by magnificent batting performances from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (71 off 46) and Rinku Singh (49 off 29). In reply, Virat Kohli kept RCB firmly in the driving seat right from the start of the chase, guiding the team to a 6-wicket victory in 19.1 overs. Scoring a magnificent century, he amassed 105 runs off 60 balls and remained unbeaten until the very end. He batted at a strike rate of 175 during his innings, hitting 11 fours and 3 sixes. With this knock, Virat Kohli registered the 9th century of his IPL career. He currently holds the record for the most hundreds and runs in an IPL career, and his numbers are steadily increasing. 

Virat's century helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru secure their eighth IPL 2026 season victory and nearly secure a spot in the 2026 IPL playoffs. With this victory, RCB propelled them back to the top of the standings, with 16 points in 12 matches. From here, only one win in the final two games will guarantee their spot in the playoffs and possibly a qualifier 1 ticket as well. 

During his century-making innings, Virat once again went on a record-breaking spree. Virat Kohli now has 9145 runs, including 9 centuries and 66 half-centuries. After the match concluded, when Ian Bishop asked Virat Kohli about his celebration, Kohli said,

“The celebration wasn’t a big one because we know the importance of the points right now. And yeah, look, for me, it’s a conscious effort to try and contribute to the team’s scores. And I know if I bat for long enough in the game, our chances of winning become higher. So the fact that I didn’t get many runs in the last two games, it eats me up in a way because I know I can play well and I’m hitting the ball well." 

"But when you don’t carry on and you haven’t created the impact for the team, it bothers you because that’s been the goal all these years — trying to improve so that you can be the best version for your team and make an impact. So, century or no century, I think the more important thing is finishing the game, making sure I was out there till the end to get those two points, which again puts us at the top of the table,” he said. 

Virat Kohli further explained that he has always enjoyed tough situations. If the results of a few matches do not go in your favour, you inevitably feel a bit nervous. In such instances, we put in a little extra effort, and the game invariably improves. Experiencing failure is also extremely important.

“There is a reason people say pressure is a privilege — it keeps you humble. Good pressure always helps you improve your game. A couple of games that do not go your way, you feel a bit of nervousness and that helps you. It takes a lot of effort, but it helps your game go up. Those failures are so important because that puts you in a place to get back to where you have been and do what has gotten you there,” he added.