Virat Kohli has scored 1,174 runs against Chennai Super Kings across 36 IPL matches - the most any batter has ever made against a single franchise in the tournament's history. That number is compelling on its own. What makes it worth exploring is the context: his average against CSK sits at 37.87, just below his career figure of 39.90, he has never made a century in this fixture, and yet CSK have still lost to him more times in recent seasons than they would like. The record tells one story. The detail tells another.
Quick Answer - Kohli vs CSK
Against Chennai Super Kings, Virat Kohli has scored 1,174 runs in 35 innings across 36 IPL matches at an average of 37.87, with a best of 90 not out. He has 10 half-centuries against them and no centuries - a number that captures the exact balance of this rivalry. The season-by-season breakdown and the venue splits lower on this page show why the pattern matters more than the headline total.
हिन्दी: चेन्नई सुपर किंग्स के खिलाफ विराट कोहली ने 36 IPL मैचों में 1,174 रन बनाए हैं, औसत 37.87, सर्वोच्च 90*।
Stats verified via ESPNcricinfo and the official IPL site, updated 30 June 2026.
Kohli vs CSK: The Record in Context
Against CSK, Kohli scores at 37.87. Across his full IPL career he averages 39.90. The gap is small enough that it barely registers - yet the detail within those numbers tells you something that the headline average misses entirely.
| Metric | vs CSK | Career overall |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 35 | 265 (approx.) |
| Runs | 1,174 | 9,336 |
| Average | 37.87 | 39.90 |
| Strike rate | ~128 | ~134 |
| 100s / 50s | 0 / 10 | 9 / 68 |
| Highest score | 90* | 113 |
The Record Explained
On the surface, 37.87 against CSK versus 39.90 for his career is barely a dip. The century column is more revealing: nine hundreds across 284 IPL matches, zero against CSK in 36. That is not a small-sample quirk. CSK found a way to dismiss him before he could convert on more occasions than his own numbers suggest - and the pattern held consistently enough to represent a genuine limit in this fixture rather than noise.
The strike rate sits around 128 against CSK versus the mid-130s for his career. Some of that is deliberate - he historically played Jadeja carefully rather than expansively, and the left-arm spin angle at Chepauk demanded that approach. Jadeja is at Rajasthan Royals now, which changes the threat profile CSK brings to this matchup considerably.
Best Knocks Against CSK
Kohli's best innings in this fixture came in the UAE bubble of October 2020. Batting in Dubai against a CSK attack that included Deepak Chahar and Piyush Chawla, he made 90 not out off 52 balls - calm, accurate, and lethal once the required rate climbed. That knock in a season where CSK were widely written off was the kind of innings Kohli has always reserved for must-win situations: no sixes until the 16th over, then four in the final three. It remains the only time he has crossed 80 against them. The innings also underlined something about the nature of this rivalry - Kohli scores; he just does not quite detonate against CSK the way he does against other attacks.
The second innings that stands out came in IPL 2025 at Chinnaswamy - a controlled 54 off Khaleel Ahmed and a pre-trade Jadeja, in a match RCB won on their way to the maiden title. For the broader picture, Kohli's all-time IPL run record puts that 1,174 against CSK alone in context: no batter has accumulated more against any single franchise in the tournament's 19-year history.
Season-by-Season Record vs CSK
| Season | M | Runs | HS | 50s | Result for RCB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-2019 (combined) | 22 | 737 | 73 | 6 | Mixed |
| 2020 (UAE) | 2 | 107 | 90* | 1 | Mixed |
| 2021 | 2 | 56 | 35 | 0 | Mixed |
| 2022 | 2 | 73 | 58 | 1 | Mixed |
| 2023 | 2 | 89 | 51 | 1 | Mixed |
| 2024 | 2 | 88 | 47 | 0 | Mixed |
| 2025 | 2 | 93 | 54 | 1 | RCB won both |
| 2026 | 1 | 28 | 28 | 0 | RCB won |
| Career | 36 | 1,174 | 90* | 10 |
Venue Split: Chinnaswamy vs Chepauk
| Venue | M | Runs | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru | 11 | 417 | 38.0 (approx.) | ~148 |
| MA Chidambaram, Chennai | 9 | 304 | 33.78 | ~115 |
| Neutral venues | 16 | 453 | ~41.2 | ~124 |
Chinnaswamy gives Kohli a significant strike rate lift against CSK - the short square boundaries and evening dew work in his favour. Chepauk is the reverse: the surface grips, the outfield is slower, and before Jadeja moved to Rajasthan Royals the left-arm spin angle from rough created a recurring problem. His ~115 strike rate there is well below his career norms. Neutral venues sit between the two extremes.
Does Kohli Own CSK?
In volume, yes - no batter in IPL history has made more against one franchise. The context is less clean. His average against CSK (37.87) is below his career figure, he has zero centuries in 35 innings, and CSK have won 21 of 36 meetings. The team result has gone against his side more than he would prefer across the full 19-season record.
What the number actually reflects is longevity rather than domination. He has never failed catastrophically in this fixture - sub-20 scores against CSK are extremely rare across 35 innings - but he has also never produced the defining century knock that would make this a rivalry he clearly controls. Kohli against CSK is consistent and slightly below his peak rather than destructive. CSK have held the team edge; Kohli has held the personal volume record while never quite landing the knockout punch.
Seventeen seasons with Jadeja in yellow and Kohli never scored a century against CSK. That is the single fact that defines this matchup. His 90* in Dubai in 2020 remains the ceiling, and the left-arm spin angle from rough produced roughly three dismissals and a decade of careful footwork from a batter not naturally inclined to caution. Now Jadeja is at Rajasthan Royals. Kohli's 2026 season - 675 runs at a career-best strike rate of 165 - shows a more aggressive batter than anything we saw in the 2016-2023 era. If these two sides meet deep in a playoff or in IPL 2027, I genuinely think we see a Kohli century against CSK for the first time. The last real barrier is gone. For where the team rivalry currently stands, the RCB vs CSK all-time head-to-head tracks the full picture across 36 meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions - Kohli vs CSK
How many runs has Virat Kohli scored against CSK in the IPL?
Virat Kohli has scored 1,174 runs against Chennai Super Kings across 36 IPL matches (35 innings) at an average of 37.87, with a highest score of 90 not out. This is the most any batter has scored against a single franchise in IPL history. The total includes his 28 off 18 balls in the April 5, 2026 league match at Chinnaswamy, which RCB won by 43 runs.
Has Virat Kohli ever scored a century against CSK?
No. Kohli has 10 half-centuries against Chennai Super Kings in 35 innings but has never converted one into a hundred. His highest score in this fixture is 90 not out, scored in Dubai during the 2020 IPL season. He has nine IPL centuries in total, none of which have come against CSK.
What is the overall RCB vs CSK head-to-head record?
After 36 IPL meetings, CSK lead 21-14 with one no result. CSK's advantage was built largely between 2008 and 2015; RCB have won three of the last five meetings including a historic 50-run victory at Chepauk in 2025 that ended a 17-year losing streak there. RCB's 43-run win in April 2026 made it four consecutive victories over CSK.
Which CSK bowler has dismissed Kohli most often in the IPL?
Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Kohli more frequently than any other CSK bowler across their shared history in this fixture. The left-arm spin angle, particularly from the rough outside the right-hander's off stump at Chepauk, made Jadeja the one bowler who consistently made Kohli look uncomfortable in this rivalry. Jadeja was traded to Rajasthan Royals before the IPL 2026 auction, which changes the matchup balance considerably going forward.
Does Kohli perform better or worse against CSK than his career average?
Marginally worse. His average against CSK (37.87) is about two runs below his career IPL average of 39.90, and his strike rate in this fixture is roughly six points below his career norm. The difference is small but consistent: CSK's historically strong bowling attacks, and Jadeja's left-arm spin in particular, have prevented Kohli from fully replicating his career-best output in this specific matchup.
The Bottom Line
Kohli's 1,174 runs against CSK is a record built on 19 seasons of consistent, moderate excellence rather than occasional brilliance. He has never been dismissed cheaply in this fixture with any regularity; he has never converted a fifty into a century in 35 innings. CSK won the team battle across 21 of their 36 meetings. Kohli won the personal volume battle comfortably. With Jadeja no longer in yellow and a more aggressive version of Kohli on show in 2026, the next chapter of this rivalry might finally produce the hundred that has been missing from an otherwise remarkable head-to-head record.
