Ravi Nyayapati – 
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, which has just concluded, has reaffirmed the sublime supremacy of Virat Kohli.
At the time of writing this article, and with one match remaining for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), captain Kohli had amassed an incredible 919 runs at an average of 83 in 15 games.
This tally includes six half centuries and four centuries. He has whacked over 50 runs in two out of every three innings he has played so far.
These are mind-boggling statistics.
Mesmerising batsman
This tournament belongs to Kohli, much like the one that preceded it.
He was in mesmerising form at the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this year, where he also won the player of the tournament.
His domination this year has been so complete and extraordinary that it is hard not to rant and rave about it.
Kohli’s dominance can be accentuated further by comparing his statistics to his contemporaries and past IPL performances.
His average of 83.54 is more than 20 runs ahead of the previous best, that of Chris Gayle’s 61.08 in 2012. In this season, the second highest scorer David Warner’s 52.76 average is a massive 30-odd runs behind that of Kohli.
His brilliance has been so commanding that it has dwarfed the performance of teammate A B de Villiers, which in itself is extravagant, with a tally of 682 runs, third behind Kohli and Warner.
Cricket fantasy
The thought of seeing these two batsmen bat together was like virtual fantasy cricket. The fact that they made it happen was a great advent of IPL 2016.
What they eventually delivered has been nothing short of magical.
The Kohli-de Villiers combination has accounted for RCB’s 57% of runs this season, making their opener and big-hitter Gayle appear like a by-stander.
It is not a surprise to hear that Gayle refers to them as ‘batman & superman’
Major shift
This season has also seen a major shift in team dynamics and results. The dominance of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ended with their ban and disestablishment, and their captain MS Dhoni failed to recreate the magic with his new team at Rising Pune Supergiants.
Meanwhile, Dhoni’s ally from the CSK team, Suresh Raina, headed the new franchise Gujarat Lions where he produced remarkable results.
We know that there will be a first-time winner this season.
Irrespective of the result, it is hard to think anyone can overshadow Kohli from the individual glory he has earned.
Ravi Nyayapati is our Sports Correspondent and Convener of the Indian Newslink Indian Sports Awards 2016 He lives in Auckland.
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Photo Caption: Virat Kohli
