Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 7 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane is just 31 runs away from becoming the ninth player to join the 5,000-run club in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

A huge milestone is up for grabs for KKR skipper as his side aims to continue with their new-found winning momentum against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. CSK is already at the bottom, with just two wins and nine losses in their 11 matches. KKR is in the sixth spot, having won five and lost five matches each and one ending in a no result. With 11 points to their name, they still have hopes of reaching the playoffs.

So far in his IPL career, Rahane has made 4,969 runs in 196 matches and 181 innings at an average of 30.48, with a strike rate of 124.72. He has made two centuries and 33 fifties, with the best score of 105*. He is the ninth-highest run-getter in the league of all time.

This season in 10 innings, Rahane has made 327 runs at an average of 36.33 and a strike rate of over 146 with three fifties and the best score of 61. He is the team's top run-getter this season.

Throughout his career, Rahane has represented Mumbai Indians (2008-10), Rajasthan Royals (2011-15, 2018-19), Rising Pune Supergiant (2016-17), Delhi Capitals (2020-21), Chennai Super Kings (2023-24) and KKR (2022, 2025-onwards).

For MI in 10 matches, Rahane made 148 runs at an average of 18.50, with a strike rate of 105.71 and one fifty. His best score was 62*.

Rahane's seven-season-long stint with RR is easily his best, having made 2,810 runs at an average of 34.27. He scored his runs at a strike rate of 122.65, with two centuries and 17 fifties in 93 innings and the best score of 105*.

With RPS, Rahane scored 862 runs in 30 matches and innings, at an average of 33.15 and a strike rate of 122.79. He made eight fifties for the team, with the best score of 74. This also included the runners-up finish in 2017 to MI.

His stint with DC was unremarkable as he could muster only 121 runs in 11 matches and nine innings, averaging a poor 13.44, with the best score of 60, which was his solitary fifty.

Between 2023-24, Rahane found a second wind as a T20 act, scoring 568 runs in 27 matches and 23 innings at an average of 25.82, with a much-improved strike rate of 147.53, with two fifties and the best score of 71*.

In 18 matches for KKR so far, Rahane has scored 460 runs at an average of 28.75, with three half-centuries in 17 innings and a strike rate of over 131. His best score is 61.

Other players in the 5,000 IPL runs club are: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli (8,509), Mumbai Indians (MI) icon Rohit Sharma (6,928), Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan (6,769), Australian legend David Warner (6,565), CSK legend Suresh Raina (5,528), five-time IPL winning skipper MS Dhoni (5,406 runs), South Africa and RCB icon AB de Villiers (5,162) and Indian star wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul (5,064 runs).

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ayush Mhatre, Shaik Rasheed, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni(w/c), Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Urvil Patel, Nathan Ellis, Andre Siddarth C

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya, Quinton de Kock. (ANI)