SRH vs RCB: Virat Kohli standing on the verge of displacing Sanju Samson in this list

RCB batting stalwart and former captain Virat Kohli needs just 81 runs tonight against the Sunrisers Hyderabad to topple the record of RR captain Sanju Samson. 

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are in action tonight as they are set to take on South-Indian rivals SRH in a reverse fixture at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

The two teams had met each other just 4 days ago at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium wherein the Orange Army had won by 25 runs. In that match, Virat Kohli had got out for a score of 42 off 20 at a strike rate of 210.

RCB face SRH after a nightmarish previous meeting in IPL 2024

Virat Kohli's 42-run knock had come during RCB's unsuccessful attempt to chase down IPL history's biggest-ever total of 288. SRH were able to post that mammoth total through Travis Head's 41 ball 102, Abhishek Sharma's 22 ball 34, and Heinrich Klaasen's 67 off 31. Aiden Markram and Abdul Samad had also chipped in with quickfire scores of 32 and 37 at strike rates of over 150. 

In their response, RCB amassed the highest-ever 2nd innings total of 262 through Virat Kohli's 42, Faf du Plessis' 62 off 28, and Dinesh Karthik's 83 off 35. But it was still not enough for the victory.

Bengaluru lost not only due to their poor bowling performance but also because of their middle-order's shambolic outing in the middle. The number 3, 4 and 5 batters added only 16 runs on the board. 

RCB's loss to SRH was followed by a tough and cruel 1-run loss to the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens stadium on 21st April. It will be fair to say that Bengaluru have been quite unlucky in some of their matches but that has to change from tonight onwards.

If they win tonight, their chances of reaching the play-offs will stay alive but if they lose, their chances will go down to zero. 

Virat Kohli 81 runs off from becoming the highest scorer against the Sunrisers 

Even though Virat Kohli's main objective will be to win tonight against Hyderabad, he also has a chance of eclipsing Sanju Samson's record. The Rajasthan Royals captain stands as the highest scorer against the Sunrisers in IPL history since making his debut in the 2013 season.

Sanju Samson has amassed a total of 791 runs against the Orange Army while playing for the Royals and the Delhi Capitals. The wicket-keeper batsman, who is being touted to make the cut for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, scored 700+ runs from 21 outings with a best score of 102*.

Below him is Virat Kohli, who stands at 711 runs from 22 matches against the 2016 IPL champions. Kohli also has a century to his name against them and tonight he will hope to score 81 runs to not just topple Samson but to also help his team grab the victory. 

Top 5 highest scorers against SRH in IPL history