It turned out to be a memorable day for cricket fans as Virat Kohli returned to action for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the ongoing IPL 2025 against Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Coincidentally, April 24 also marked the 52nd birthday of cricketing legend and Kohli’s childhood idol, Sachin Tendulkar (Pic: iplt20/bcci)
Updated On: 2025-04-24 10:24 PM IST
Compiled by : Srijanee Majumdar
Kohli, clearly in fine touch, paid fitting tribute to Tendulkar by playing yet another impressive knock. Although he fell short of his ninth IPL century, his 70 off 42 balls was laced with intent, elegance, and dominance
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Kohli has batted in the IPL on Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday. In fact, this match marked the sixth such occasion, and over the years, Kohli has delivered a range of performances on April 24
In 2009, he managed only 2 runs off 3 balls against Punjab Kings. Fast forward to 2014, he put up a more solid display with a 31-run knock from 23 deliveries against the Kolkata Knight Riders. In 2015, he continued his upward trend, scoring a composed 62 off 46 balls versus the Rajasthan Royals.
The highlight came in 2016, when Kohli truly rose to the occasion, smashing an unbeaten 100 off 63 balls against Gujarat Lions, his only century on this special date. In 2019, he had a brief stint at the crease, adding 13 runs off 8 balls, again facing Punjab.
So far, across these six innings on April 24, Kohli has notched up two half-centuries and one century. As of the last update during the match, RCB were well poised at 197 for 4 after 19 overs, aiming to clinch their first home victory of the season
