Top 5 fastest fifties by Virat Kohli in IPL

Virat Kohli has been the highest run scorer of the league with 9000+ runs to his name.

Virat Kohli is the best batsman the IPL has ever seen. He has played all 19 seasons of the IPL so far and is the only player to have played all the seasons for only one franchise — the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

In every IPL season, Kohli has played a crucial role in propelling RCB’s campaign with his batting. He has been the leading run-scorer for RCB in 13 out of 19 seasons so far. He has scored 68 half-centuries and 9 centuries in his IPL career, which is the most by any batsman in league’s history.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top five fastest fifties by Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League.

Virat Kohli’s fatest IPL fifties-

28 balls vs Kings XI Punjab (2016)

2016 was the peak of Virat Kohli in the IPL, where he had scored 973 runs in the edition – which is the most by any batsman in the league’s history. This half-century helped in securing the win in what was a crucial match for RCB to officially qualify for the playoffs.

Opening the innings with the Universe Boss Chris Gayle, they scored 147 runs for the opening partnership, with Gayle scoring 73 while Virat contributed the rest.

Virat not just stopped at 50 (28) but went on to score a century before he got out for 113 (50) with a 200+ strike rate. Back then, that was his fastest half-century until 2018.

27 balls vs Lucknow Super Giants (2025)

A run chase without Virat Kohli’s contribution is impossible. In 2025, RCB were looked to consolidate their position in the top 2 in their last league match against LSG. In a high-scoring chase and an important match, having Virat Kohli on your side does half the job.

Virat, along with Phil Salt, gave RCB a blazing start in the powerplay, where Virat scored 50 runs in 27 balls. The win assured RCB a comfortable top-2 finish in the table.

26 balls vs Rajasthan Royals (2018)

Virat Kohli’s fastest half-century was off 28 balls until this knock against Rajasthan Royals. Here, RCB were asked to chase down 218 in 20 overs. Virat also contributed with the bat, scoring 57 runs (off 30 balls). This innings came in a losing cause, but was nonetheless significant.

26 balls vs Delhi Capitals (2018)

Same year, same deliveries, similar chase – Kohli. Scoring a scintillating fifty when the team loses early wickets in the powerplay, and then chasing down the score by stitching a partnership with the middle-order batsmen — a classic Virat Kohli innings.

He scored 70 runs off 40 deliveries, and got out after ensuring the game was well settled against Delhi Capitals.

25 balls vs Gujarat Titans (2026)

Virat Kohli’s fastest IPL half-century came against Gujarat Titans in a winning run chase on the biggest stage — the IPL 2026. The team needed 156 to win. This chase looked easy, only because one man stayed at the crease till the end.

The pitch was not the easy, but it got better eventually. It was more difficult for the new batsman to adapt to the conditions and score runs. But that wasn’t the case for Kohli. He batted flawlessly and disrupted GT’s best bowlers, facing them head-on. He was on a mission.

The goal was simple — to finish the chase and only then get back to the pavilion. That is exactly what he did; he hit the winning runs, also making him the Player of the Match in the Final.

Kohli has completely transformed his T20 game since retiring from the Test format in 2025. He has been batting with clarity and freedom like never before.

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