Graeme Smith IPL career from 2008 to 2011 was defined by fearless left-handed batting that produced 739 runs in 29 innings, striking at 110 runs per 100 balls. Opening the innings for Rajasthan Royals in 2008, 2009 and 2010 before finishing with Pune Warriors in 2011, the South African captain turned every 7.3 deliveries into either a boundary or a maximum, carving 94 fours and 9 sixes in total. Four half-centuries, topped by an unbeaten 91, showcased the same aggressive mindset that had already made him a global leader. With no bowling overs recorded, Smith’s sole focus was anchoring or exploding at the top, and his 739-run tally tells the story of a batsman who combined power with placement, guiding teams through the power-play and beyond.

Virat Kohli is the undisputed batting king of the Indian Premier League, a Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifer who has turned loyalty into legend across 18 electrifying seasons from 2008 to 2025. With 8,661 runs off 6,519 balls, Kohli is the league’s highest-ever run-getter, firing at a strike rate of 132 and painting every corner of every ground with 771 fours and 291 towering sixes. His 63 half-centuries and 8 hundreds—topped by a blistering 113*—tell the story of a man who converts starts into statements, walking in 259 innings and delivering a match-defining fifty or hundred in roughly one out of every four trips to the crease. While he has rolled his arm over occasionally, claiming four wickets from 26 bowling innings, it is with the bat that Kohli has authored the IPL’s most enduring chronicle, forever clad in the red and gold of RCB.

Note: This overview is partially generated using AI and is based on statistical data. Please verify with official sources for complete accuracy.