Ten years. That is how long it has been since Virat Kohli last scored a fifty in the playoffs of the Indian Premier League. One of the most consistent batters in IPL history fell short once again on Tuesday, during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Qualifier 1 clash against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026.
Facing GT’s pace-heavy attack, Kohli missed out on a half-century by just seven runs after chopping Jason Holder onto his stumps in the ninth over of the innings. The RCB talisman never looked completely fluent on the night, and yet managed to score 43 runs off 25 balls at a strike-rate of 172.
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Kohli’s last fifty in an IPL playoff game came all the way back in 2016, when RCB faced SunRisers Hyderabad in the final. In that match, Kohli scored 54 off 35 balls at a strike-rate of 154, although RCB ended up losing the title in heartbreaking fashion.
Overall, Kohli has scored only two fifties in IPL playoff matches – one against SRH in 2016 and another against Chennai Super Kings in 2011. His unbeaten 70 off 44 balls against CSK remains his highest score in the playoffs.
In total, Kohli has played 17 IPL playoff matches and scored 396 runs. Despite his staggering consistency in the league stage over the years, the batter has struggled to maintain the same standards in the knockout phase of the tournament.
In fact, since his fifty in the 2016 final, Kohli’s 43 against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday is now his highest playoff score.
On Tuesday, RCB’s charge was led by captain Rajat Patidar, who ripped into GT in the final 5 overs of the match, taking RCB to a massive total of 254 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
Before Patidar took over the innings, useful knocks from Virat Kohli (43 off 35), Devdutt Padikkal (30 off 18), and Krunal Pandya (43 off 28), kept RCB on the mark for a huge total.
The knocks, which was capped off by Patidar’s incredible 93* off 33 balls, helped RCB to the highest-ever playoffs score on Tuesday.
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Source: India Today
