Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul: IPL Stats Comparison After 132 Matches

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli bump fists. [Source: @teluguinnews/X]

Teammates at Royal Challengers Bengaluru for two years, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are among the top Indian Premier League achievers. Yet to win the title in spite of participating in a cumulative 26 seasons, the two-right handed batters also have batting style in common.

While Kohli crossed 8,000 runs during the last season, Rahul is still in his 4,000s. Having said that, when the filter of 132 matches is applied (because the latter has played 132 IPL matches till now), Rahul outperforms Kohli by a significant margin.

Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul: Overall IPL Stats After 132 Matches

Inference: With almost same number of innings and exactly same number of dismissals (103), it’s pretty straightforward to adjudge Rahul as the winner in this comparison. Having scored 985 more runs at an average better by 9.56 while striking at 7.35 runs more per 100 balls, Kohli doesn’t stand a chance against Rahul.

Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul: Home IPL Stats After 132 Matches

Inference: Although the margin of lead decreases from the overall numbers, Rahul manages to register a triumph over Kohli even while playing at home. For Rahul, another metric which reduces by a bit but is still more than Kohli is strike rate.

Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul: Away IPL Stats After 132 Matches

Inference: Interestingly, Rahul trumps Kohli even whilst playing away from home. A massive jump in strike rate highlights how he has been able to dominate oppositions at their home grounds as well. Kohli, on the other hand, used to bat at a mediocre strike rate outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium back in the day.

Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul: IPL Stats As Captains

Inference: Coincidently, Kohli and Rahul played the same number of innings as captains during their first 132 IPL matches. Kohli, however, was eventually outplayed by Rahul. Despite Kohli’s marginally better strike rate, one has to give it to Rahul for scoring 395 more runs with a difference of 3.91 in average.

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Speaking particularly of leadership, Kohli led Royal Challengers to 32 wins and 30 losses by the time of his 132nd IPL match. Rahul, who has led Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in the past, won 33 but lost 34 out their 67 result-oriented matches.

Conclusion

There is no going into a safe house around the fact that Rahul has clearly done better than Kohli in the first 132 IPL matches. Kohli, who moved around in the batting order a lot more than Rahul in the formative years, lacks behind even when top-order performances are taken into consideration.

While Kohli averages and strikes at 39.89 and 126.16 across 89 innings in this period, Rahul's supremacy has seen him returning with an average of 46.18 and a strike rate of 135.40 across 106 innings (greater sample size). 

In the cash-rich league, the only thing in Kohli's favour against Rahul is number of matches won as a captain.

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