Data Shorts: RCB finds the perfect complement to Kohli’s genius

May 22, 2016: The last league match of the ninth IPL season pits the Royal Challengers Bengaluru against the Delhi Capitals in Raipur. What’s at risk? a postseason berth for both teams. In actuality, RCB’s high net run-rate would provide a bigger incentive: a top-two finish. Virat Kohli extends a season of unrivaled domination by hitting the winning runs despite Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers being bowled in the opening fifteen minutes of the chase.

The Kohli-RCB story hasn’t slowed down since 2025. If anything, it has become even more well-known, and the comparison between Kohli and run-chases is getting stronger. He surpassed 600 runs in an IPL season for the fifth time in history. RCB had won four of their five games in the chase going into Tuesday’s final league matchup against LSG. The only time they lost was when Kohli missed his fifty-run mark by seven runs. He did reach that milestone in a different crucial match, but he was removed shortly after, with RCB still trailing by 105 runs in a difficult 228-run chase.

However, they had Jitesh Sharma. Last week, Jitesh entered at a similar time in a 232-run chase and hit an upper-cut off Pat Cummins for a first-ball six. However, they were badly outscored after a mix-up with Rajat Patidar. He made amends on Tuesday, leading his team to their best-ever run-chase and guaranteeing them a place in Qualifier 1.

Another instance of a different member of staff speaking up for the team when it was needed. The class of 2025 at RCB is very different from that of the previous year, with each member working together to achieve greater success overall. Together, eight of their players have won 10 Player of the Match honors, which is the most of any squad. Two of them have come to bat for Rajat Patidar, and the other six have each come for one.

In the past, RCB has had trouble finding enough batting depth, and their success has mostly depended on a few key players. Chris Gayle, Kohli, and AB de Villiers took over as their batting leaders after Jacques Kallis led them in 2009 and 2010. They remained strong at the top in the most recent cycle (2022–24), with an initial partnership average of 46.15, well ahead of the next best (SRH’s 37.62). However, the batting averages for No. 3 to No. 8 were ninth out of the 10 teams (23.53), and although they hit at the highest score of 151.28, Dinesh Karthik and Patidar were the only consistent players (Patidar missed the entire 2023 season due to injury). Faf du Plessis and Kohli were then left to handle the heavy job at the top. Because of RCB’s excessive dependence on Kohli, he was the only Indian batsman to score 1000 or more IPL runs for them before to the current tournament.

However, they have had enough bases covered this year. The Phil Salt-Kohli combination has improved: RCB’s opening partnership in 2025 reached their highest over-rate of 10.36, surpassing 2024’s 9.95. Just six of the 68 Indian players who have amassed 2000+ runs in Men’s T20 cricket to date have scored 150+, and two of them—Patidar (156.22) and Jitesh (151.83)—are part of the RCB middle order. Romario Shepherd needed just 14 balls to make a significant impact in his debut appearance of the season, and Tim David has amassed more runs than anybody else in Overs 16-20 in the IPL since 2022 (675 runs at a strike-rate of 192.30). Krunal Pandya is having his greatest season with the ball, taking 15 wickets and scoring a game-winning 73* in a challenging chase against DC. Jacob Bethell, who replaced Salt earlier, and Mayank Agarwal, who replaced Devdutt Padikkal more recently, have both had a significant impact.

The middle-order and finishers have proven just as important in T20 cricket, even though strong beginnings have received ample attention. The fact that only three players in IPL history have scored ten or more fifty-plus runs from No. 5 or below for a single team—MS Dhoni for CSK (17), Kieron Pollard for MI (14) and Andre Russell for KKR (11)—is a testament to the importance of that aspect of a batting lineup. Together, those three own twelve titles. Along with de Villiers, David Miller, and Dinesh Karthik (who was MI’s No. 3 in 2013), this list also includes other noteworthy IPL champions, like as Yusuf Pathan and Ambati Rayudu.

As demonstrated by Jitesh on Wednesday, these guys have provided lengthier innings and cameos when necessary. In IPL 2025, RCB has scored five scores of 50 or higher from No. 5 or lower, which is more than they have scored in any one edition since 2014. Importantly, this year’s five players are David, Liam Livingstone, Krunal, Shepherd, and Jitesh, as opposed to de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh’s two each in 2014.

They have maintained or surpassed the season’s total scoring rates across all phases thanks to their all-around performance. Additionally, it should be mentioned that this year’s average first innings score at Chinnaswamy Stadium was 169, as opposed to 196 in 2023 and 2024.

So let’s go back to 2016. Gayle and Kohli were flying as RCB, who were chasing 209 in the final, were at 114/0 (and then 140/1 in the 13th over). But after the latter was fired, the middle order disintegrated, shattering a number of hopes. They had already encountered a similar circumstance this time, albeit against the competition’s weakest bowling lineup. Everything points to a successful postseason run, and Josh Hazlewood’s comeback boosts the bowling attack even more.