Kohli vs Raina After 205 IPL Games: Who Dominated the League More?

So, if we were to think about IPL legends, no doubt the names of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina would come to our minds. Both players achieved great success with their franchises and set the highest standards concerning the levels of consistency, entertainment, and impact. While Kohli continues to represent the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Raina has retired but enjoyed a very successful career with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Now, if we compare them, side by side, this comparison is after 205 IPL matches. Who is the king? Let’s check the numbers!

Kohli’s Top-Order Class vs Raina’s Middle-Order Mayhem

Now, let us look at the numbers. In the IPL, after 205 matches, Virat Kohli has scored 6240 runs in 197 innings. What an achievement. Suresh Raina, a very fine player in his own right, has scored 5528 runs in 200 innings. However, context matters. Kohli batted regularly as a starting opener (more overs in a T20), and Raina usually came in as a middle-order batsman, starting his batting innings in many instances, in a more pressurized situation. It is not as though Raina was walking in to bat in the first 6 overs of a T20 match.

But the enormous number of runs Kohli scored is impossible to overlook. Even before reaching his 205th match, he was already establishing that for him, consistency was not a catchy word; it was a habit. Raina’s contribution, on the other hand, was sometimes more than just numbers. His explosive innings and knack for play-changing hacks were key to CSK’s championship runs.

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Strike Rate vs Average: Who Played the Smarter Game?

Now things get interesting. Kohli was then more of a ‘marathon man’ – building the innings, anchoring the chase, and playing deep, whereas Raina was more of a ‘sprint’ man – looking to accelerate in the middle overs and wreak havoc on the bowling attack.

It is the classic role vs result debate. Although Kohli’s approach provided stability for the team, especially when he opened, Raina’s strike rate and ability to turn games in a handful of overs leave him unquestioned. While Raina has not always been in the top story, he was always the game changer, and the guy that could make 30 off 15 balls feel like 100.

Performance in Wins: Who Was the Bigger Match-Winner?

Here is where Raina sneaks ahead. In winning causes, Raina scored 3559 runs at a rate of 24 fifties and one hundred; Kohli scored 3246 runs at a rate of 20 fifties and four hundreds. Interestingly, Raina was a player in 122 wins in his career; Kohli fewer.

For starters, this reveals something critical — Raina’s importance often came in successful campaigns. His ability to step up and put the team first ahead of himself and perform at peak times is exactly what CSK built its game on. Conversely, Kohli could put up big numbers year after year, but often felt let down by an RCB team that failed to establish any consistency in those years.

Don’t get me wrong, Kohli had a big role in wins — he did. But in terms of sharing team success, Raina was more aligned with that, and that is a big deal in a team game like cricket.

But maybe the real winner is respecting how each of these legends shaped the game — Kohli’s determination and technique, and Raina’s artistry and reliability. Both were committed to the IPL era, which changed a generation of cricketers.

So, where do you sit? The King’s management or Mr. IPL being there in the big moments?