Virat Kohli vs Faf du Plessis - comparing their stats after 147 IPL matches

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have been former teammates in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kohli played under du Plessis' captaincy for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last cycle (2022-24) of the cash-rich league.

However, RCB decided to part ways with du Plessis and retained Kohli for IPL 2025. As a result, the Delhi Capitals (DC) secured the services of the Proteas batter in the mega-auction.

Both batters will be up against each other on Thursday, as RCB locks horns with DC at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. On that note, let's take a look at how Faf du Plessis has fared in his first 147 IPL games as compared to Virat Kohli.

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#1 Most runs

Virat Kohli's IPL debut came in 2008 for RCB. Until his 147th appearance in 2017, he had garnered 3,349 runs in 139 innings. He won the Orange Cap in the 2016 edition, slamming 973 runs, which is still a record for the most runs in a single edition.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs
Virat Kohli	147	139	3349
Faf du Plessis	147	140	4650

Faf du Plessis stepped onto IPL 2013 for CSK and straightaway made an impact, scoring around 400 runs. His best season came in 2023, where he smashed 730 runs. So far, he has scored 4,650 runs in 140 innings.

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#2 Average & Strike rate

Virat Kohli's consistency dwindled until the 2015 season, where he could fail to convert his knock into a big knock. However, due to the 2016 edition, his average and strike rate shot up. Kohli's average and strike rate, read 37.54 and 130.04, respectively until this point in his illustrious IPL career.

Player	Matches	Average	Strike rate
Virat Kohli	147	37.54	130.04
Faf du Plessis	147	36.05	136.89

Faf du Plessis has been a consistent run-scorer for his respective sides in the IPL. With his calm head and batting skills, du Plessis holds an average of 36.05 and a strike rate of 136.89.

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#3 Captaincy

After captaining RCB in 2011 and 2012 on a temporary basis, Virat Kohli was appointed as the regular captain of the franchise in 2013. During the concerned phase, he tasted victories in 40 out of 80 games. His biggest achievement was taking the franchise to the final in the 2016 season.

Player	Matches	As a captain	Wins	Loss	No Result
Virat Kohli	147	80	40	37	3
Faf du Plessis	147	41	21	20	0

Faf du Plessis was inducted as a leader of RCB ahead of the 2022 season after Kohli decided to step down from the role. Under his captaincy, the franchise qualified for the playoffs in two out of three editions. Overall, the side won on 21 out of 41 occasions.

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#4 Most 50+ scores in a winning cause

Both batters are known for their match-winning abilities, but how did Virat Kohli fare in this area until his 147th game in the cash-rich league?

Kohli had gone past the 50+-run mark on 30 occasions in the IPL, out of which 16 came in a winning cause. He displayed remarkable consistency in four consecutive innings to breach this mark in 2016. Interestingly, he had 11 50+ scores in that season, with four centuries.

Player	50+ scores	Winning cause	Losing cause
Virat Kohli	30	16	14
Faf du Plessis	38	24	14

Faf du Plessis has scored 38 fifties in IPL, with 24 coming on a winning note for his respective side. Notably, he slammed eight fifties during the 2023 season.

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Conclusion

Faf du Plessis emerges as a better batter than Virat Kohli in terms of most runs, strike rate, and number of fifties in a winning cause in first 147 IPL games. Meanwhile, both players have had similar success as captains for RCB in the cash-rich league.