Kohli's Ninth 500-Plus IPL Season: Irfan Pathan Hails RCB Star's Mindset

IPL 2026: Kohli hits ninth 500-plus season, Irfan Pathan hails RCB batter

New Delhi, May 17

With the milestone, Kohli registered his ninth 500-plus season in the IPL, the most by any batter in the tournament's history. Former Australian opener David Warner and India batter KL Rahul follow with seven such seasons each, while former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has achieved the feat five times.

After Kohli reached the landmark of 500 runs, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised Kohli's consistency and mentality, highlighting the veteran batter's relentless drive at the highest level.

"Another 500 runs season for Virat Kohli in the IPL. His mindset is what makes him so special," Pathan wrote on X.

Kohli has once again been among RCB's most dependable performers this season, delivering consistently at the top of the order as the Bengaluru-based franchise pushes for a playoff berth.

Earlier, the Punjab-based franchise had decided to bowl first against the defending champions RCB. This match is Shreyas Iyer's 100th IPL match as a skipper.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact subs: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey.

RCB is leading the points table with eight wins in 12 matches, and a win here may book their place in the playoffs. PBKS will be looking to end their five-match losing streak in this match.

— ANI