South Africa legend Dale Steyn has showered lavish praise on his former RCB teammate Virat Kohli. Steyn said that the former India and RCB skipper was the best player ever in run-chases. Steyn’s comments came after Kohli guided his team to victory over the Gujarat Titans on Friday.
Chasing 206 for victory, Kohli was dropped by former teammate Washington Sundar while on 0. He made full use of the opportunity and smashed 81 runs in 44 balls to take RCB home and win the Player of the Match award. Kohli also became the Orange Cap holder as at the end of Match 34, he had more runs than any other batter in IPL 2026.
He’s worked out a road to get to the final runs- Dale Steyn
While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Steyn praised Kohli’s ability to identify the situation and adapt his game to the needs of it.
“He’s always looking to try and get better. He’s what we talk about. He plays what’s in front of him. He reads the situation. Probably one of the best players that I’ve ever known that reads the situation and calculates how the game needs to be panned out from the first ball that he’s faced. He’s kind of worked out a road to get to the final runs. He’s the best chaser to have ever played the game,” Steyn said.
Virat Kohli in run chases
Kohli has always been known as the chase master, and the numbers support this assertion. He has made 2,651 runs in successful chases in the IPL. The highest in the league, Kohli has also made 22 scores of 50 or more in this category. The highest by any batter. He also has a penchant for staying at the crease to see the run chase through.
Virat Kohli has been unbeaten 24 times in successful run chases. It isn’t the most in the league, but despite being a top-order batter, the number of times he has stayed not out is comparable to esteemed finishers like Dinesh Karthik, David Miller, Ravindra Jadeja, and MS Dhoni.
He averages 61.76 in successful run-chases in the IPL. It is the third best among all players with a minimum of 1,500 runs in winning chases. Only David Warner and Chris Gayle are ahead of Virat Kohli in this aspect.
And it is not just the easy ones. In recent times, Kohli has bossed around the hard chases as well. RCB have successfully chased down a target of 185 or more 7 times in their IPL history. Virat Kohli has scored fifty or more in 6 of these matches, including 2 centuries.
Kohli is one of only three players to make 2 or more centuries while chasing in the IPL. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes are the others.
RCB’s next match
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Virat Kohli will next be in action on Monday, April 27. The defending champions will face the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
RCB and DC have faced off once this season already. DC won the last-over thriller in Bengaluru. Kohli and RCB will be gunning for revenge, and maybe he intends to win the Orange Cap back for himself.
Also Read: Dale Steyn makes shocking confession about deliberately hurting Devdutt Padikkal in RCB nets
