Virat Kohli holds the IPL record for the most fifty plus scores in a losing cause. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru star has crossed the fifty mark 29 times in matches his team went on to lose, a number that speaks to both his remarkable consistency and the many defeats his side suffered over the years. David Warner sits second with 25 such knocks, and the two of them are the only batters in IPL history with 25 or more fifty plus scores in defeats.
A fifty plus score means any innings of 50 runs or more. It includes both half centuries and hundreds, since the batter passed the fifty mark in each case. When the team still loses despite such a knock, the innings goes down in a losing cause. This page lists the top 10 batters with the most fifty plus scores in losing cause in IPL history, from 2008 through IPL 2026, with the key numbers behind every name.
Batters with Most 50+ Scores in Losing Cause Overview
| Detail | Number |
|---|---|
| Record | Most fifty plus scores in losing cause in IPL |
| Holder | Virat Kohli |
| Fifty plus scores in losses | 29 |
| Team | Royal Challengers Bengaluru, all 29 knocks |
| Career fifty plus scores | 77, made up of 68 fifties and 9 centuries |
| Next best | David Warner, 25 |
| Statistics through | 21 October 2026 |
Top 10 Batters with Most 50+ Scores in Losing Cause
| Rank | Player | Teams | 50+ Scores in Losses | Career 50+ Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 29 | 77 |
| 2 | David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals | 25 | 66 |
| 3 | KL Rahul | Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kings XI Punjab, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals | 22 | 51 |
| 4 | Shikhar Dhawan | Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings | 19 | 53 |
| 5 | Rohit Sharma | Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians | 17 | 51 |
| 6 | Faf du Plessis | Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals | 15 | 38 |
| 7 | Manish Pandey | Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals | 15 | Not officially confirmed |
| 8 | Ajinkya Rahane | Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals | 15 | Not officially confirmed |
| 9 | Suresh Raina | Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions | 15 | 40 |
| 10 | Sanju Samson | Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals | 14 | Not officially confirmed |
The losing cause figures above come from published statistical analysis of match by match IPL data. A dedicated all time table of fifty plus scores in losses is not part of the public record pages of the official IPL website or ESPNcricinfo, so figures are presented as published rather than guessed.
Record History
Kohli built this record across Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s many defeats through the 2010s and early 2020s. Even in seasons when the team finished near the bottom, he kept piling up fifties. His first hundred in a losing note came against Gujarat Lions in 2016, when he scored 100 not out and still ended up on the wrong side of the result. By the end of his long run as RCB’s batting mainstay, he had stretched the record to 29, with three hundreds among those knocks in defeats.
Warner reached 25 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. Unlike Kohli, none of Warner’s 25 knocks in defeats was a hundred. All of them were half centuries, which makes his tally a study in near misses. He remains the only overseas batter to reach 25, and his IPL career has ended, so his number is final.
KL Rahul is the highest active batter on the list behind Kohli, with 22 fifty plus scores in losses. A big share of those came during his years with Kings XI Punjab and Lucknow Super Giants, when he often carried the batting almost alone. His 22 includes three hundreds that still ended in defeats, which tells its own story about team support.
Below the top three, the numbers bunch up. Dhawan finished on 19, Rohit Sharma on 17, and four batters sit together on 15: du Plessis, Pandey, Rahane and Raina. Sanju Samson completes the top 10 with 14, including two hundreds in defeats. More than 45 batters in IPL history have recorded at least one fifty plus knock in a losing cause, so reaching double figures puts a batter in rare company.
What This Record Tells Us
The most interesting part of this record is the contrast with the fifty plus scores in a winning cause list. Warner leads that list with 41, while Kohli leads this one with 29. Kohli has the bigger career total, 77 against 66, yet a much larger share of his big knocks ended in defeats. Nearly four in ten of his fifty plus scores came in losses. The record rewards individual brilliance, but it also tracks team failure.
Rahul’s position at number three reinforces the point. Of his 51 career fifty plus scores, 22 came in defeats. That is the highest losing share among the top names, and it matches what fans saw for years: one batter scoring heavily while the team around him fell short. Compare that with Raina, whose 40 career fifty plus scores came mostly for a trophy winning Chennai side, and only 15 of them in defeats.
The hundreds in defeats add another layer. Kohli’s three hundreds in losses show that even the biggest individual innings cannot save a weak bowling day. Hashim Amla, Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the other batters with two or more hundreds in defeats. And for sheer scale of a wasted knock, nothing beats Rishabh Pant’s 128 not out against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, still the highest individual score in a losing cause in IPL history.
For context on the season just gone, see our IPL 2026 batting stats with the Orange Cap leaderboard and the full list of Orange Cap winners. New batters will start their own counts when the next season begins, and the IPL 2027 auction date, venue and time guide tracks what comes next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the most 50+ scores in losing cause in IPL?
Virat Kohli, with 29 fifty plus scores in matches Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost. David Warner is second with 25.
What counts as a fifty plus score?
Any innings of 50 runs or more. That covers half centuries from 50 to 99 and hundreds of 100 or more, since the batter crossed the fifty mark in both cases.
How many of Virat Kohli’s fifty plus scores came in defeats?
29 of his 77 career fifty plus scores came in matches his team lost. The other 48 came in wins, ties or matches with no result. He is the only batter with 29.
Who is second on the list after Kohli and Warner?
KL Rahul, with 22 fifty plus scores in losing cause. Shikhar Dhawan follows with 19 and Rohit Sharma with 17.
Which batters have the most hundreds in losing cause?
Kohli leads with three hundreds in defeats. Hashim Amla, Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the other batters with two or more hundreds that ended in defeats.
What is the highest individual score in a losing cause in IPL?
Rishabh Pant’s 128 not out for Delhi against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. His innings went in vain as Delhi lost the match.
Does the IPL website publish this table?
The official IPL website and ESPNcricinfo publish overall batting records, but a dedicated all time table of fifty plus scores in losses is not part of their public record pages. The figures here come from published statistical analysis of match by match data.
How does this compare with the winning cause record?
David Warner leads the fifty plus scores in winning cause list with 41, while Kohli leads the losing cause list with 29. That contrast shows how much team results shape where a batter’s big knocks land.
Statistics updated through: 21 October 2026
