Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face Rajasthan Royals in the 42nd match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season today at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. With the race for the playoffs getting intense, it has become imperative for the Royals to return to winning ways. For that to happen, their opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has to score big, having shown excellent form with the bat with three consecutive half-centuries.
The southpaw also has a chance to surpass legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the process. Jaiswal has so far 1914 runs in 60 innings in IPL and needs only 86 runs to complete 2000 runs in the tournament. If he does it in the next two innings, he will become the third fastest Indian and fifth fastest overall to the milestone, bettering Sachin Tendulkar's record in this aspect.
For the unversed, Tendulkar completed 2000 runs in the cash-rich league in 63 innings back in 2012. Overall, he finished his IPL career with 2334 runs in 78 matches at an average of 34.84 and a strike-rate of 119.81 with 13 fifties and one hundred.
Among Indian players, the fastest to 2000 runs in IPL is Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain of Chennai Super Kings, who reached the milestone in just 57 innings. Overall, Chris Gayle is the fastest to reach the landmark, having done it in 48 innings, back in 2013 before finishing his career with 4965 runs in 142 matches at an average of 39.72.
Fastest to 2000 runs in IPL
| Player | Innings taken to complete 2000 runs |
| Chris Gayle | 48 |
| Shaun Marsh | 52 |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | 57 |
| KL Rahul | 60 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 63 |
Coming back to Jaiswal, he has so far scored 307 runs in eight matches at an average of 38.37 and a strike rate of 139.54 with four fifties to his name. He is the leading run-scorer for the Royals this season but will need support from the other batters if they are to beat RCB today.