Karun Nair vs Virat Kohli - comparing their stats after 80 IPL matches

Karun Nair and Virat Kohli will be in action when Delhi Capitals (DC) host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday, April 27. For Karun, it has been a bit of a resurgence as he is leaving his mark in the IPL as well coming on the back of a brilliant run in domestic cricket.

In a game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), Karun smashed 89 runs off just 40 balls. He also made 31 off just 18 balls against Gujarat Titans (GT). Overall, he has played four matches this season and has scored 135 runs at an average of 33.75 and a strike-rate of 193.85.

As for Virat Kohli, he continues to be at his very best. In RCB's previous game, Kohli scored 70 runs off just 42 balls. He is the leading run-scorer for his side this season with 392 runs from nine matches at an average of 65.33 and a strike-rate of 144.11 with five half-centuries.

On that note, here is a look at how the two players have fared after their first 80 matches in the IPL.

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Karun Nair vs Virat Kohli comparison after 80 IPL matches

#1 Most runs

Interestingly, Karun Nair began his IPL journey with RCB in 2013. He has played for teams like Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and returned to Delhi Capitals. For Delhi this season, he is now among the key Indian batters in the line-up with immense experience.

Karun has played 80 IPL matches so far in his career. He has scored 1631 runs from 72 innings.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli's IPL debut was back in 2008. He has played all of his career only for RCB and continues to be among their main players even after 17 seasons. Kohli is also the leading run-getter in the history of the IPL overall.

The veteran has played 261 IPL matches. However, from his first 80 matches, he had scored 1802 runs from 72 innings.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs
Karun Nair	80	72	1631
Virat Kohli	80	72	1802

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#2 Average & Strike rate

Karun Nair has mostly batted in the middle order in his IPL career. He has had three seasons where he scored over 300 runs. Barring one game, he has batted in the middle order this season as well. Karun has an average of 24.34 and a strike-rate of 131.42.

Virat Kohli batted in the middle order for a significant portion of his early years in the IPL. He has an overall average of 39.41 and a strike-rate of 132.49. However, from his first 80 IPL matches, the RCB batter had an average of 30.03 and a strike-rate of 121.84.

Player	Matches	Average	Strike rate
Karun Nair	80	24.34	131.42
Virat Kohli	80	30.03	121.84

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#3 Captaincy Record

Karun Nair's primary role in his IPL career has been that of a batter. He never captainced a team for a full season in the league. However, he led the Delhi Daredevils for three games during the 2017 season as a stand-by captain.

Out of these three games, Karun led Delhi to two wins and suffered one defeat.

As for Virat Kohli, he took over as full-time RCB captain during the 2013 season. Before that, he led the team for a few games during the 2011 season with regular skipper Daniel Vettori out for a few matches. In 2012 as well, he led the side for a few games.

Till his 80th match in the IPL, Kohli captained RCB in just 13 matches. He managed to win eight games with four defeats and a no-result.

Player	Matches as captain	Wins	Loss
Karun Nair	3	2	1
Virat Kohli	13	8	4

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#4 Most 50 + scores in a winning cause

Karun Nair has scored 891 runs in a winning cause for his teams in his first 80 IPL matches. He has 11 half-centuries in the league, out of which eight have come in wins.

For Virat Kohli, he scored 878 runs in wins for RCB in his first 80 IPL matches. Kohli scored four half-centuries in a winning cause during this period but did not have a single hundred during this phase.

Player	Matches	Total runs	Runs in a winning cause	50/100	Total 50+ scores in winning cause
Karun Nair	80	1631	891	8/0	8
Virat Kohli	80	1802	878	4/0	4