Virat Kohli: A saying often proves true in the corridors of cricket, ‘Where matters are big, King Kohli stands there.’ Virat Kohli proved this once again against Gujarat Titans in the final match of IPL 2026. When the team needed it the most, Kohli not only played a match-winning innings but also took the lead in helping his team win the title. He became the backbone of the team in its sixth consecutive T20 final match and also made the team champion 4 times. Let us understand through statistics why Virat Kohli is called the ‘greatest player in big matches’.
Kohli’s rule in T20 final matches
Virat Kohli’s bat always spits fire in knockout matches like finals. He has played 6 T20 final matches in the last 12 years, his performance in these matches is a testimony to the fact that in moments of pressure, his game reaches a different level. This time he scored unbeaten 75 runs in 42 balls against Gujarat Titans in the final match and returned only after leading the team to victory. Last year also, he played an important inning of 43 runs against Punjab in the IPL final.
Wicket Kohli also played an amazing inning of 76 runs in the final against South Africa in T20 World Cup 2024, due to which India won the T20 World Cup after a long wait of 17 years. Earlier, he had played a captaincy inning of 54 runs in the 2016 IPL final, but could not lead the team to victory. On the other hand, in the 2016 Asia Cup final, Virat won the trophy for India by scoring unbeaten 41 runs on 28 balls. At the same time, in the 2014 T20 World Cup, he also played a fighting inning of 77 runs against Sri Lanka.
Virat’s performance in the last 6 T20 finals.
Highest score of 50+ in final matches
When it comes to scoring a half-century or more in the T20 title match, Virat Kohli has left all the Indian greats behind. Virat Kohli has scored 4 half-centuries in the final matches of T20. At the same time, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina are at second place in this list with 3-3 half-centuries.
‘Run Machine’ for champion team
Virat Kohli scores runs with consistency not only in the final but throughout the tournament. He has the biggest role in making RCB champion twice in a row. He scored a total of 675 runs in IPL 2026. At the same time, last season also 657 runs were scored from Virat’s bat. However, this year i.e. in IPL 2026, Virat Kohli was seen in a completely new form. He improved his strike rate to 165.84 and scored so many runs giving a tough competition to the young and aggressive players of T20 cricket.
Entry into Jasprit Bumrah’s special club
Virat Kohli was chosen ‘Player of the Match’ for his brilliant performance in the final match against Gujarat Titans. With this award, he has made a record in his name which was previously held by only one player in the history of cricket. Virat is the second player in the world to have won the ‘Player of the Match’ award in both the T20 World Cup final and IPL final. Before this, only Jasprit Bumrah could accomplish this feat.
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