IPL: How has Virat Kohli performed on May 18?

Virat Kohli and the number 18 have a pretty special connection. From being his jersey number for more than a decade now, 18 symbolises luck for him in terms of dates as well. Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is always played from March to May, somehow the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) gets a chance to play their matches on May 18 with different teams. Moreover, the Royals have a solid record of being unbeaten on this particular day no matter what the team's performance has been throughout the season. 

Fortunately, Kohli has always had a good time playing on this particular date, May 18. He has played some extraordinary knocks and helped the team to win matches. Seems like everything happens so effortlessly for the team and their best player on Mat 18. This time too, RCB has a crucial match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) which has turned out to be a knockout match for both teams. Nevertheless, this might be a sign for the men in red to clinch that much-needed victory over the Super Kings and reach the playoffs. 

Before that, let's check out Virat Kohli's performances on May 18:

1. 2013: 56(29) vs CSK

In 2013, the 70th match was played between RCB and CSK at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, where the men in red defeated the Super Kings by 24 runs. Due to the interruption of rain, the match was cut down to just eight overs per side where RCB scored 106 runs at the loss of two wickets. Kohli scored 56 runs off 29 balls including six boundaries and four sixes. Even though CSk tried to chase down the score, the batters failed to perform and could only score 82 runs at the loss of six wickets. Hence, Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match. 

2. 2016: 113(50) vs KXIP

Most of the matches on May 18 were cut short due to rain and hence, the 50th match of the IPL 2016 was brought down to 15 overs per side in which RCB scored 211 runs. Captain Kohli, being in splendid form, scored an unbeaten 113 runs off 50 balls along with Chris Gayle who scored 73 runs off 32 balls. Failing to chase such a huge target, KXIP scored only 120 runs and lost nine wickets in the process. Hence, they lost the match by a huge margin of 82 runs. Again, for his fabulous performance, Kohli won the Player of the Match award. 

3. 2023: 100(63) vs SRH

The SRH vs RCB match on May 18, 2023, was in Hyderabad and thankfully wasn't intruded by rain. Moreover, this time RCB chased down the score of 187 runs with ease and won the match with four balls to spare. Henrich Klaasen scored a beautiful 104 runs off 51 balls which went in vain as former skipper Kohli scored 100 runs off 63 balls. While chasing, if Kohli scores a century, it means the team ought to win the match and the same happened. Along with captain Faf du Plessis, who scored 71 runs off 47 balls, RCB got off to a great start and won the match at the loss of just two wickets. For his brilliant and calculated innings, Kohli was the Player of the Match award.