Shane Watson IPL legacy: 3,874 runs at 137 strike-rate, 190 sixes, 4 centuries Across 12 electrifying IPL seasons from 2008 to 2020, Shane Watson built a batting résumé that still echoes through stadiums. Opening for Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and finally Chennai Super Kings, the Australian all-rounder smashed 3,874 runs off 2,809 balls, stamping his authority with a fearsome strike-rate of 137. He cleared the ropes 190 times and found the boundary another 376 times, converting starts into 21 half-centuries and four match-winning hundreds, the highest being an unbeaten 117. Watson’s all-round value added 92 wickets from 105 bowling innings, including eight three-wicket hauls, but it was his explosive starts with the bat that turned games. Whether powering CSK to the 2018 title or anchoring Rajasthan’s 2008 triumph, his ability to tee off from ball one made him a perennial MVP. Twelve seasons, three franchises, one unmistakable impact—Shane Watson remains the definitive IPL impact player.

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.