KL Rahul's birthday: 5 records that define DC star as among the best IPL batters

KL Rahul, celebrating his 33rd birthday, has cemented his place as one of the best batters in the history of IPL. The DC batter has held impressive records during his 12-year journey, which has either remained unbroken or shattered. 

KL Rahul's IPL records

Delhi Capitals (DC) star batter KL Rahul is celebrating his 33rd birthday today. Rahul is in a brilliant form in the ongoing IPL season, amassing 238 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 59.50 and a strike rate of 154.55 in 5 matches.

KL Rahul has been playing IPL since 2013 and has plied trade for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), and Lucknow Super Giants before joining Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2025 season. Over the years, KL Rahul emerged as one of the best batters. There are certain records that define Delhi Capitals star as one of the best batters in the history of IPL.

Here are 5 IPL records by KL Rahul

1. First batter to score IPL fifty under 15 balls

KL Rahul held the record for the fastest fifty in the history of Indian Premier League, reaching the half-century mark in just 14 balls. He achieved this feat for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) during the match against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), where played an innings 51 off 16 balls to help Punjab chase down a 167-run target. His record was surpassed by Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in 2023, achieving the milestone in just 13 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, KL Rahul was the first batter to score IPL fifty under 15 balls.

2. 600+ runs in 4 different IPL seasons

KL Rahul was the first batter to aggregate 600+ runs in four different seasons of the Indian Premier League. The 33-year-old’s breakthrough season came in 2018 when he amassed 659 runs and in 2020, he won the Orange Cap for being the highest run-getter of the season with 670 runs. Both while playing for Punjab Kings. While representing Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul aggregated 626 and 616 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The Karnataka batter holds the distinction of being one of the three batters to 500+ runs in six different seasons in the IPL. Other two batters are Virat Kohli and David Warner, who hold joint-record of seven seasons with 500+ runs each in the IPL.

3. Highest batting average among top 10 run getters

Following his match-winning 93-run knock against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, KL Rahul surpassed Dinesh Karthik and Ajinkya Rahane tallies to break into the top 10 of the leading run-getters’ chart. His IPL tally currently stands at 4921 runs, including 4 centuries and 39 fifties, at an average of 45.99 in 137 matches. Rahul has the highest batting average among top 10 leading run-getters in the IPL. Though Kohli has amassed over 8200 runs, the RCB stalwart has a batting average of 39.10. Another reason why KL Rahul is one of the best IPL batters.

4. Highest individual score by an Indian in IPL

KL Rahul held the record for the highest individual score in the history of IPL. He achieved this feat in the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, playing a brilliant unbeaten knock of 132 off 69 balls to help Punjab Kings post a solid total of 206/3 on the board in 2020.. He was the first Indian batter to score 130 or more in an innings. However, KL Rahul’s record was shattered by Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma in the match of the ongoing IPL season against Punjab Kings, scoring 141 off 55 balls.

5. Fastest to score 4000 IPL runs

KL Rahul holds the record for being the fastest player to score 4000 runs in the history of IPL. He achieved the feat in just 105 innings, surpassing former RCB and PBKS teammate Chris Gayle’s previous record of 112 innings to become the quickest batter in IPL history to reach the 4000-run milestone. KL Rahul also holds the record for being the fastest Indian to score 2000 and 3000 runs in IPL. Meanwhile, KL Rahul is on the verge of becoming the fastest Indian batter to score 5000 IPL runs.