Virat Kohli has scored 1,159 runs against Punjab Kings in IPL — the most he has scored against any single franchise, and the most any batter has ever accumulated against PBKS. That record spans 36 innings, one rain-curtailed century hit through nine stitches, and a 43-run contribution in the 2025 Final where RCB finally won their first IPL title. With Match 61 at Dharamsala scheduled for tonight (17 May 2026), that tally is set to move again.
Quick Answer — Kohli vs PBKS IPL Record
Career runs vs PBKS: 1,159 in 36 innings at an average of 36.2 and a strike rate of 133. Best score: 113 off 50 balls (18 May 2016, Chinnaswamy). Centuries: 1. Fifties: 6. Kohli surpassed David Warner’s long-standing PBKS record of 1,134 runs in the IPL 2025 Final. Span: 2008–2026.
📊 The Matchup Decoded
Kohli’s 36.2 average against PBKS sits below his career mark of roughly 41, yet calling this record anything less than remarkable misses the context. Warner held the PBKS record for years at 1,134 runs in just 26 innings — a far higher average (49.30) and far fewer encounters. Kohli overtook Warner in the 2025 Final, having needed more innings to do it, which tells you something about the style difference: Warner murdered PBKS in bursts; Kohli has ground them down across a career. Six of his 74 IPL fifties have come against this one franchise — roughly 8% of his half-century total from a single opponent. That’s disproportionate. And three of those six arrived in playoff or final situations, where the pressure metre reads highest.
Year-by-Year — Kohli’s Notable Innings vs PBKS
| Season | Context | Score | Balls | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | League, Chinnaswamy (D/L) | 113 | 50 | 12×4, 8×6 — fastest IPL century of the season, batted with stitches |
| 2019 | League, Mohali | 67 | 53 | RCB won chasing 174; partnership with ABD |
| 2024 | League | 92 | — | Standout innings in what was a quiet individual season |
| 2025 (L1) | League, Chinnaswamy | 1 | 3 | Rare failure; RCB lost at home |
| 2025 (L2) | League, Mullanpur | 73* | — | Match-winning unbeaten chase; RCB’s fourth fifty-plus for Kohli vs PBKS |
| 2025 Q1 | Qualifier 1, Mullanpur | 12 | — | PBKS bowlers stayed disciplined; Kohli fell cheaply |
| 2025 Final | IPL Final, Ahmedabad | 43 | 35 | Broke Warner’s record; RCB lifted the title by six runs |
| 2026 | Match 61, Dharamsala | TBC | — | Tonight — 17 May 2026, 15:30 IST |
Key Matchups Inside the Battle
Kohli vs Arshdeep Singh
Balls: 57 · Runs: 100 · Dismissals: 2 · SR: 175
Arshdeep’s biggest problem isn’t Kohli’s power — it’s that Kohli picks up his length early. Just 15 dot balls in 57 deliveries is a powerplay bowler’s nightmare. Two wickets keeps it respectable, but the runs tell the real story.
Kohli vs Yuzvendra Chahal (PBKS)
Balls: 34 · Runs: 47 · Dismissals: 1 · SR: 138
Eight seasons as RCB teammates means Chahal knows Kohli’s tendencies as well as anyone in the game. And it shows — Kohli’s 138 SR against him is well below his vs-PBKS average. The one dismissal is the data point PBKS are banking on Chahal repeating tonight.
Kohli vs PBKS in Knockout Games
Innings: 2 · Runs: 55 · Avg: 27.5 · Results: 1W, 1L
The 2025 playoffs gave us both flavours: a restrained 12 in Q1 when PBKS held him, then a 43 off 35 in the Final where his steadiness mattered more than fireworks. His playoff average (27.5) vs PBKS is the one gap in an otherwise formidable record.
Kohli vs PBKS at Dharamsala
Venue: HPCA Stadium · Match tonight: Match 61 · Conditions: Pace-friendly
Dharamsala’s thin air and pace-friendly surface suit Arshdeep’s outswing early. But once Kohli is set — he’s averaged 150+ SR at mountain venues across his T20 career — the short straight boundary becomes his friend. The first six overs decide who wins this individual battle.
🏆 Defining Performance — 113 off 50 Balls, May 18 2016
RCB were chasing anything in a rain-curtailed 15-over match at Chinnaswamy. Kohli walked out with nine stitches on his left hand from a training mishap and proceeded to dismantle Kings XI Punjab’s bowling attack for 113 off 50 balls — 12 fours, eight sixes, not a single false stroke. RCB posted 211/3 and won by 82 runs on the D/L method. It was the fastest century of that IPL season, the fourth of his four in the 2016 campaign, and arguably the most audacious innings he has ever played. The hand that needed stitches cleared three different boundaries.
vs PBKS
- Innings: 36
- Runs: 1,159
- Average: 36.2
- Strike Rate: 133
- 100s / 50s: 1 / 6
- Best: 113 (off 50)
IPL Career (Overall)
- Matches: 270+
- Runs: 9,800+
- Average: ~41
- Strike Rate: ~133
- 100s / 50s: 9 / 74
- Best: 113* (off 72, vs RR 2024)
The number that matters isn’t 1,159 — it’s 36.2. That average is well short of his career figure of roughly 41, and for a batter of Kohli’s calibre against a bowling attack that has rotated significantly over 17 seasons, a below-career average indicates PBKS have asked genuine questions. Warner’s 1,134 runs at avg 49.30 in 26 innings tells you he feasted on this matchup; Kohli has had to earn every hundred of his. The record he broke in the 2025 Final is therefore more impressive in context, not less — he needed 10 more innings than Warner to get there, which means he ground through the bad days too.
Tonight at Dharamsala changes the dynamic again. With Yuzvendra Chahal now bowling in PBKS colours, PBKS have someone who actually knows Kohli’s triggers — the half-tracker he’ll flay if Chahal overpitches, the googly he won’t pick if the angle’s right. In 34 balls of head-to-head IPL data, Chahal has kept Kohli to a 138 SR and taken his wicket once. At a pace-friendly venue that limits spin’s impact in the powerplay, if Kohli gets through Arshdeep’s opening spell — where he averages 50 runs at SR 175 — PBKS’s most dangerous weapon against him arrives in overs 7–15. My money is on Kohli winning this fixture individually. But Chahal is the reason PBKS can still win the match.
Virat Kohli vs PBKS — FAQs
How many runs does Virat Kohli have against PBKS in IPL?
Kohli has scored 1,159 runs against Punjab Kings in 36 IPL innings, at an average of 36.2 and a strike rate of 133. That makes him the all-time highest run-scorer against this franchise, surpassing David Warner’s record of 1,134 runs in the IPL 2025 Final.
What is Kohli’s highest score against Punjab Kings?
Kohli’s best against PBKS is 113 off 50 balls, scored on 18 May 2016 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in a rain-curtailed 15-over match. He hit 12 fours and 8 sixes and RCB won by 82 runs on the D/L method — all while batting with nine stitches on his left hand.
Has Kohli scored a century against Punjab Kings in IPL?
Yes, once. His 113 off 50 balls against Kings XI Punjab (now PBKS) on 18 May 2016 remains his only IPL century against this franchise. He also has six fifties vs PBKS, including a match-winning 73* in the 2025 league stage.
How does Kohli fare against Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal?
Against Arshdeep Singh, Kohli has scored 100 runs from 57 balls with only 2 dismissals (SR 175) — strongly in the batter’s favour. Against Chahal (now with PBKS), Kohli averages just 47 runs from 34 balls with 1 dismissal (SR 138), reflecting the unique challenge of a former teammate who knows his game inside out.
Bottom Line
Kohli’s 1,159 runs against Punjab Kings is the IPL’s all-time record for runs by any batter against this franchise, and it briefly held the distinction of being the all-time single-team record across the entire tournament before Rohit Sharma and then Kohli himself (vs CSK) pushed the benchmark higher in 2026. The number is a monument to longevity more than dominance — his average of 36.2 against PBKS is honest, not exceptional. What makes it worth bookmarking is the composition: a 2016 century through stitches, a 2025 Final cameo that helped RCB lift the trophy, and a Chahal vs Kohli chess match tonight at Dharamsala that could add another chapter either side’s way.
