India- is a country, a nation where cricket is not just a sport; it’s a religion in & of itself for the people. The emotion attached to the game of cricket and the cricketers in India is not possible to be found in any other country. Naturally, nearly two billion people feel for the different cricketers in different ways, and this gives rise to many heated arguments.
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Among the many cricketers the Indian people are crazy about, 2 names are most frequently heard these days- Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma- one is the former captain, and the other is the captain at present. Rohit Sharma joined the national cricket team in June 2007, whereas Virat Kohli joined the same in August 2008, and both of them joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. The running ICC Men’s ODI World Cup is, most likely, going to be the last World Cup for both Virat & Rohit.
Both of these captains have represented the team in the World Cup tournaments, along with many other major ones. Both of them have played in the World Cup and other major tournaments as just another batsman in the team. Both of them have their fair share of achievements in both international and franchise cricket. Both of them have significantly contributed to the development of the team as senior players and have made a great impact on the history of Indian cricket.
Naturally, one of those most heated or most popular arguments is- “who has a better career: Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma?” Well, that is not possible to be answered in a sentence or a paragraph or even in one article. But what we can do is- analyze the performances and achievements of these two legendary Indian cricketers.
Kohli vs Sharma: At A Glance
Team India was spearheaded by Mahendra Singh Dhoni when both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli entered the team. It was a very balanced team with many young talents and was full of experienced seniors, too. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to start one’s international career in such a team environment. Both Rohit & Virat utilized this opportunity as best as they could to flourish with time.
Virat has played more international matches as well as innings and, consequently, faced more balls and scored more runs than Rohit has. These units, although mentioned in this article to display the statistics properly, cannot be the parameters of comparison between the two batsmen because these facts vary based on the period since joining international cricket, physical fitness, and the likes; although physical fitness can be considered a parameter in this article, we are not considering such components as parameters of comparison.
Career Summary in International Cricket
Virat Kohli is one of the 4 Indian cricketers to have played more than 500 international matches to date since joining in 2008. He has actively participated in 4 installments of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup from 2011, including in 2023. He captained the team from 2014 to 2022 in various formats. Till the time of writing this article, this right-handed batsman has scored 49 ODI centuries and 29 test centuries.
Rohit Sharma is also a right-handed batsman and has taken over the baton of leadership of the Indian national cricket team since 2022. The team has won multiple titles under his leadership, including Asia Cup 2018 & 2023 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013- in which he led the team in the absence of Virat Kohli- the then-regular captain. He was a member of the 2007 national team when India won the inaugural tournament of the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup in 2007. So far in his international career, he has scored 31 ODI centuries and 10 test centuries.
They have performed in such elaborate ways and have contributed as well as achieved so much in their individual career that summing up all those together is not only injustice but also unwise. Therefore, let’s dig into a detailed comparison of their performances and achievements in the various forms of cricket they have played to this day.
Kohli vs Sharma in Test Matches
Test cricket is considered the best platform to judge a player’s cricketing talent and temperament for longer periods. Although there is comparatively less pressure to chase a target and more time to plan the reaction, test cricket does test one’s endurance to play till the end, both physically and mentally. Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma have always proved their talent and justified their place in the test matches they played for team India.
Comparison as Batsmen in Test Matches
Before digging into the statistics, take a look at the video of one of Virat’s double centuries in a test match:
Virat Kohli has played 111 test matches so far in his international cricket career. He has scored 8,676 runs with an average of 49.29 and 29 centuries in these test matches. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has played 52 test matches so far and has scored 3,677 runs with an average of 46.41 and 10 centuries. The following table shows their detailed batting statistics- performances & achievements- till date:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 111 | 52 |
Batting | ||
Innings | 187 | 88 |
Runs Scored | 8676 | 3677 |
Balls Faced | 15708 | 6534 |
Highest Score | 254* | 212 |
Batting Avg. | 49.29 | 46.41 |
Not Outs | 11 | 9 |
Batting SR | 55.23 | 56.27 |
100s | 29 | 10 |
50s | 29 | 16 |
4s | 966 | 394 |
6s | 24 | 77 |
The table shows that Virat has surpassed Rohit in all the comparing parameters as a test batsman except for two factors- batting strike rate and the number of 6s hit. But since Virat’s batting average is higher than that of Rohit’s, regardless of everything else, he is more reliable here. Yes, this can change at any time, as cricket is a game of uncertainty as well, and new records are being set up in almost every match. But for now, this is our reality.
The following video will show you one of the double centuries scored by Rohit Sharma in a test match:
Comparison as Bowlers & Fielders in Test Matches
Although both the cricketers concerned here are predominantly batsmen, their performance & achievements cannot be kept limited only to batting as they must perform in other areas also. Even if they do not need to prove themselves so much as bowlers, they have to prove their worth as fielders in any match because only scoring runs won’t win the match for any team.
Before we get into the detailed statistics, it is important to keep in mind that Virat Kohli is a right-arm medium bowler, and Rohit Sharma is a right-arm off-break bowler. Now let’s take a look at the following table where their bowling & fielding performances in test matches have been displayed at a glance:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 111 | 52 |
Bowling | ||
Innings | 11 | 16 |
Runs Conceded | 84 | 224 |
Wickets | 0 | 2 |
Best Bowling Figures (Inn) | n/a | 1/26 |
Best Bowling Figures (Match) | n/a | 1/35 |
Bowling Average | n/a | 112.00 |
Economy | 2.88 | 3.50 |
Bowling SR | n/a | 191.50 |
Fielding | ||
Catches | 110 | 51 |
Clearly, Virat couldn’t manage enough to impress as a bowler in a test match for the team compared to Rohit; although he has conceded fewer runs than Rohit has, he has bowled in fewer matches, too. On the other hand, for a test match bowler, Rohit proved to be helpful to the team to some extent; hopefully, his bowling talent won’t be needed for the team as a regular service unless he decides to show up as an all-rounder.
On a different note, it must be pointed out here that neither of these bowlers has managed to achieve a 4-wicket or 5-wicket haul in their entire test career as of today, not that it is expected of them. And when it comes to fielding, there is actually not much difference between these two cricketers as the number of catches is almost equally proportionate to the number of matches played.
Kohli vs Sharman in ODI Matches
If test matches are proof of a cricketer’s temperament for longer periods & endurance, ODI matches are testaments to their flexibility and temperament when they must act quickly based on the situation and be more reliable than any other time. An ODI match is the toughest as well as the most balanced form of cricket for any cricketer to prove their worth in the team, for it provides a cricketer with enough challenge as well as just enough number of overs to compete within a balanced time period.
For any team, in an ODI match, having a top-order batsman active on the pitch for a significantly long time- whether they are batting first or chasing- makes a great deal of difference. Again, an unconventional bowler can either slow down the run flow or take some quick & crucial wickets, or both, for their unfamiliar nature of bowling- as the batsmen of the opponent team don’t get many overs to adjust in an ODI match. Also, the importance of taking a catch or stopping a boundary in an ODI match cannot be emphasized enough.
Comparison as Batsmen in ODI Matches
Both Virat and Rohit have proved their reliability as top-order batsmen and ability to take the team to a high enough score or to victory, time and again. They have defied all the bowling attacks and strategies applied by opponents more often than not. Needless to say, whenever these two batsmen are on the field, cricket lovers all over the world expect to witness a new record being made and/or some magnificent batting performance to be entertained with.
For example, here’s a video of Kohli making 183 runs of 148 balls in an ODI match”
Virat has scored 13,437 runs with an average of 57.91 and 48 centuries in 287 matches he has played till the match against England on October 29 in ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, while Rohit has scored 10,510 runs with an average of 49.34 and 31 centuries in the 257 matches he has played till the same time. Let’s take a look at their batting performance and achievements in ODI matches:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 290 | 260 |
Batting | ||
Innings | 278 | 252 |
Runs Scored | 13677 | 10615 |
Balls Faced | 14621 | 11584 |
Highest Score | 183 | 264 |
Batting Avg. | 58.44 | 49.14 |
Not Outs | 44 | 36 |
Batting SR | 93.54 | 91.63 |
100s | 49 | 31 |
50s | 71 | 55 |
4s | 1281 | 986 |
6s | 149 | 316 |
As it can be clearly seen from the table above, Virat surpassed Rohit in all the components of this comparison except for the highest score in a match and the total number of 6s hit in the entire career, so far. Other than these two aspects, Virat totally justified the higher number of matches he has played than Rohit has with an almost equally proportionate score. Virat’s batting has become much more mature and professional with time, and it is very much evident in this running World Cup.
On the other hand, Rohit’s dominance, even in the only two aspects, reflects how regally he can control an entire match. 264 runs– it usually is a score collected by most teams collectively in an ODI match and hardly by an individual batsman alone! Rohit’s dominance as a batsman has become more and more aggressive and determined with time. But facts are facts. To date, Virat is a better batsman than Rohit, considering both the ODI & test batting statistics. Take a look at the video of the highlights of Rohit’s inning of 264*:
Comparison of Bowlers & Fielders in ODI Matches
In ODI matches, it becomes very difficult to get a set batter out and to slow down the scores, too. Unlike in test matches, here, the batsmen focus more on scoring runs, and that is why a set batsman becomes dangerous to the opponents, for taking his wicket becomes harder. This is where the unconventional bowlers- the predominant batters come in, just like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Let’s take a look at the following table where the ODI bowling & fielding performances of these two spinners are displayed:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 287 | 257 |
Bowling | ||
Innings | 50 | 39 |
Runs Conceded | 680 | 522 |
Wickets | 5 | 9 |
Best Bowling Figures (Inn) | 1/13 | 2/27 |
Best Bowling Figures (Match) | 1/13 | 2/27 |
Bowling Average | 136 | 58 |
Economy | 6.16 | 5.23 |
Bowling SR | 132.40 | 66.40 |
Fielding | ||
Catches | 150 | 92 |
Looks like, Rohit has a better chance than Virat to become an all-rounder in ODI matches as his bowling figures are really impressive for a predominant batsman. His economic run rate, too, is at par with the regular bowlers. In ODI matches, the bowling performances are almost equally proportioned with the number of innings played by the concerned player. But Virat has a seriously higher score as a fielder than Rohit when it comes to taking those invaluable catches that can change the fate of the match at any moment.
Kohli vs Sharma in T20I Matches
People still regularly go to watch a match in the stadium even now, yes, be that a test match or an ODI. But that number is decreasing with time. This is where the T20I format of the game comes in. Well, that is actually a by-product of this format. Although it may seem like an audience-oriented strategy, it is a very critical way to judge a cricketer’s true talent. Here, a cricketer gets much less time to adjust to the match’s condition or understand a bowler or batsman.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have proved themselves equally worthy in the shortest format of the game, too. Even for batsmen of their caliber, it is very difficult to create a legacy in T20I cricket for the quicker pace of the entire match. Unless you are hitting big from the beginning, you cannot reach a gigantic individual or collective score in T20I.
Comparison as Batsmen in T20I Matches
Virat Kohli has scored 4,008 runs with an average of 52.73 and 37 half-centuries in the 115 T20I matches he has played till now. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has scored 3,853 runs with an average of 31.32 and 29 half-centuries in 148 T20I matches he has played so far. Let’s take a detailed look at the statistics of their T20I career as batsmen in the following table:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 115 | 148 |
Batting | ||
Innings | 107 | 140 |
Runs Scored | 4,008 | 3,853 |
Balls Faced | 2905 | 2767 |
Highest Score | 122* | 118 |
Batting Avg. | 52.73 | 31.32 |
Not Outs | 31 | 17 |
Batting SR | 137.96 | 139.24 |
100s | 1 | 4 |
50s | 37 | 29 |
4s | 356 | 348 |
6s | 117 | 182 |
The scenario is similar in the T20I format to that of the test format. Rohit Sharma surpassed Virat Kohli in the components of batting strike rate and the number of 6s hit. But here, another difference is also noticeable. Virat has played fewer matches as well as innings and also has only 1 century compared to 4 of Rohit’s; however, with a higher strike rate in this format, Virat has scored many more runs despite playing fewer matches here. Take a look at one of Virat’s brilliant performances in a T20I match:
Overall, from the three tables with statistics as batsmen, it can be said that Virat is the master of taking control of the ground by hitting 4s, while Rohit dominates the air, hitting those long 6s. The same pattern was seen among the former legendary opening duo of Indian National Cricket Team- Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar- back in the 90s and early 2000s. And it is needless to mention how brilliantly successful that duo has been for Team India. Here’s a century by Rohit Sharma in a T20I match:
Comparison as Bowlers & Fielders in T20I Matches
Bowling and fielding are, perhaps, more important in a T20I match than batting because every batsman tries to hit big and make as many runs as possible without much calculation since there is not that much time or overs here. That’s why the more economical & wicket-taking a bowler can be, and the more runs the fielders can save, the higher the winning chances become.
Naturally, one cannot judge the quality of a player by considering only the batting performance. Virat & Rohit both work more as fielders while their colleagues throw the ball than throwing the ball themselves, for obvious reasons. Let’s take a look at the following table where the T20I bowling & fielding performances of these two spinners are displayed:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 115 | 148 |
Bowling | ||
Innings | 13 | 9 |
Runs Conceded | 204 | 113 |
Wickets | 4 | 1 |
Best Bowling Figures (Inn) | 1/13 | 1/22 |
Best Bowling Figures (Match) | 1/13 | 1/22 |
Bowling Average | 51.00 | 113.00 |
Economy | 8.05 | 9.97 |
Bowling SR | 38.00 | 68.00 |
Fielding | ||
Catches | 50 | 58 |
Except for the bowling strike rate and the number of runs conceded, Virat exceeds Rohit in all other aspects of the comparison between them as bowlers & fielders. Neither of them are at all reliable as bowlers in usual matches; however, when it comes to T20I, the element of surprise can always make a huge difference. Even from that point of view, Virat Kohli seems to be a more desirable bowler than Rohit Sharma.
Neither Virat nor Rohit has shown any figure of stumping in any format of international cricket as of the time of writing this article, but Virat has managed to put a higher figure in the number of catches taken than Rohit where the number of innings played could have played a role to some extent.
Combining the figures shown in all three tables concerning bowling & fielding performances, neither of them really stands out significantly better than the other one, but they can serve the purpose of the team in times of necessity.
Who Got More “Player of The Match” Titles?
Virat has always shown a very calculative batting by scoring mostly by running between the creases up until he reaches a significant number of runs, e.g., 70 runs or so, and only after he goes for the risky shots. On the other hand, Rohit has collected his runs mostly by hitting longer & higher boundaries. He starts to be dominating on the field as well as on the bowlers right from the beginning.
While being an opener, this strategy allows him to collect a big score in a much shorter time; coming to bat at one-down, Virat’s strategy proves to be successful for him in staying on the pitch for longer while scoring runs on a continuous basis as well as keeping the team motivated. In international cricket matches, the ‘Player of the Match’ title holds a lot more significance than most fans respect it for.
In his international cricket career till now, Virat Kohli has been awarded the esteemed ‘Man of the Match’ or ‘Player of the Match’ title 65 times- right after his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who still won the highest 76 of this title- across all the three formats of the game- 10 in test matches, 40 in ODIs and 15 in T20Is.
Virat has been awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ total of 20 times- the highest number till now and shared with Sachin Tendulkar- in ODI and T20I matches. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ title 12 times in T20I matches as listed among the recipients with the most number of such titles.
Kohli vs Sharma: Clash of the Captains
It is said that a team is as good as its leader, or captain, is. This is truer in cricket than in other sports that is played between teams and in any other context except wars. But perhaps in cricket, it is most evident as a single decision of moving a ‘slip’, or bringing in an unconventional bowler at a crucial time can make an instant result in the match.
A captain’s worth is even more visible when s/he leads from the front, sometimes even taking the team single-handedly towards victory. As for India, while Sourav Ganguly is credited with the building of ‘Team India,’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni has achieved the title of ‘Captain Cool’ for his extraordinarily calm nature, even under the worst kind of pressure. Similarly, Virat & Rohit added a lot to the team’s achievements with their individual style and performances.
Virat Kohli: The Failed Captain of Indian Cricket?
“Look, you play to win tournaments. I captained the Champions Trophy in 2017 (reached the final), the 2019 World Cup (reached the semifinal), the World Test Championship (reached the final), and the T20 World Cup in 2021 (failed to qualify for the knock-outs). After three (four) ICC tournaments, I was considered as a failed captain.”
- Virat Kohli, RCB Podcast
Virat always pushes himself for improvement and doesn’t settle down for mediocrity. While he idolizes Tendulkar for the technical parts of the game, he made a name among the fittest athletes, not just cricketers, around the world. Therefore, when Virat Kohli took the baton of captaincy of India’s national cricket team, it was only obvious that he was going to be much more demanding and ambitious than other captains the team previously had.
Virat led the Indian National Cricket Team from 2014 to 2022. Under his ambitious leadership, India played 95 ODI matches and won 65 of those matches. The winning percentage of 70.43% is the most successful one, while the second highest is 59.52%, achieved by MS Dhoni. He is also the most successful captain in test matches for India.
With him as the captain, India won 40 of the 68 test matches, achieving the 4th position among all the test cricket captains in history and the 3rd position among those who led 40 test matches. As for the T20I matches, under his aggressive leadership, India won 30 of the 50 Twenty20 International matches.
As mentioned already, Virat always pushes himself to be the best or nothing; his tenure as the captain also ended with the same motto. Virat announced his decision to resign from the T20I captaincy right before the T20I World Cup 2021 and left the post after India’s early exit from the tournament. After that, he was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the captain for the ODI format before the South Africa tour in December.
Virat didn’t wait for the BCCI to ask him to resign from the post of captain of the test team and resigned spontaneously in January 2022. This ended the months-long conflict between Virat and the cricket board and his tenure as captain, as well as began the era of Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian National Cricket Team. Take a look at the video here of an excellent partnership between the two batsmen to understand their chemistry even better:
Rohit Sharma: The Perfect Replacement of Captain Kohli?
Well, cricket fans and netizens all over the world had this question on their mind and on social media, nonetheless. Of course, there were millions of fans who rooted for Kohli while the others flew the flag for Sharma. No matter what, this division was only for the sake of argument, in pen & paper- both the players were included in the team, in the playing XI, to give their best at all times.
As the captain of the Indian National Cricket team, however, it is too early to judge Rohit Sharma’s capabilities, although he has proven his caliber as a captain in franchise cricket already. He proved to be a very practical leader who has the ability to stay calm to analyze the situation properly and come to a decision based on data, facts, and using technology. He believes in studying the opponent’s strategy before designing his own plans.
Rohit Sharma has very big shoes to fill and exceptionally high expectations after the legacy left by Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. He was Virat’s perfect deputy in limited-over cricket and yet bagged two trophies home in Virat’s absence. He took charge, after Virat’s resignation, as captain in all three formats of the game from 2022. Under his leadership, India has won 2 Champions Trophy, 1 Nidahas Trophy, and 1 Asia Cup Tournament in international cricket.
The 29th match of the 2023 World Cup marked the 100th international match of Rohit Sharma as the captain of the team, and he made the day memorable by completing 1,000 runs in this very year of 2023 in ODI matches alone.
Kohli vs Sharma: Batsman in ICC World Cups
Every batsman on earth wishes to be included in the playing eleven squad of his/her country’s World Cup team. No matter how brilliant a batsman is throughout the year, if s/he fails to perform in the largest platform of cricket, that talent is ignored and cannot stay in the game for long enough. But our heroes here- Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma- have not only displayed excellent performances in every World Cup they have played but also have taken the lead in winning matches on numerous occasions.
Batting Performance in ICC Men’s ODI World Cup
The ODI World Cup returns every fourth year, and each time, it creates an opportunity for players to make new records, add more centuries, and score more runs. It’s a festival, and every player tries to make the best of their talent on this platform. Both Virat & Rohit have consistently been putting magnificent scores on the board, and they have also been very reliable players for the entire team.
Virat Kohli has participated in 4 installments of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup since 2011, including this year’s tournament, and has played in 35 matches. He has scored 1,624 runs with an average of 58.00 till now. He is the 3rd highest run-scorer in the history of the tournament and the 2nd highest run-scorer as an Indian batsman, as of the last match of 2023 world cup. He has scored 4 centuries and 11 half-centuries so far in a World Cup. His highest score is 107 runs.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been regularly playing in the World Cup since 2015- in 3 installments of the tournaments, including this year’s one. He has played 26 matches, till the last match of the 2023 World Cup against England, scoring 1,481 runs with an average of 61.70. He has scored 7 centuries and 6 half-centuries in these 23 innings,y and his highest score is 140 runs. Clearly, Rohit has managed to put up a much better show than Virat in this particular component of comparison.
Let’s Take a look at their performances in all the three departments- batting, bowling and fielding- in ICC Men’s ODI World Cups till date:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 35 | 26 |
Batting | ||
Innings | 35 | 26 |
Runs Scored | 1624 | 1481 |
Balls Faced | 1859 | 1433 |
Highest Score | 107 | 140 |
Batting Avg. | 58.00 | 61.70 |
Not Outs | 7 | 2 |
Batting SR | 87.35 | 103.24 |
100s | 4 | 7 |
50s | 11 | 6 |
4s | 146 | 158 |
6s | 12 | 47 |
Bowling | ||
Innings | 5 | 21 |
Runs Conceded | 34 | 28 |
Wickets | 1 | 1 |
Best Bowling Figures (Innings) | 1/13 | 1/7 |
Best Bowling Figures (Match) | 1/13 | 1/7 |
Bowling Average | 34.00 | 28.00 |
Economy | 6.00 | 7.00 |
Bowling Strike Rate | 39.00 | 23.00 |
Fielding | ||
Catches | 19 | 8 |
Batting Performance in ICC Men’s T20I World Cup
The shortest format of the game has managed to gain enough popularity to get a separate World Cup organized, and it has been an even more competitive platform where players get much less time & balls to make the best results. Let’s see what Virat and Rohit have achieved as batsmen in ICC Men’s T20I World Cup tournaments to date.
Virat Kohli has been playing in the T20I World Cup since 2012. He has played in 27 matches. In the 25 innings till 2022, he has scored 1,141 runs with an average of 81.50. He has scored 14 half-centuries, and his highest score in a T20I World Cup match is 89. He remained not out in 11 matches.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been playing in the T20I World Cup tournaments since its inception in 2007. Till 2022, he has played in 39 matches so far and, in the 36 innings, has scored a total of 963 runs with an average of 34.39. He has scored 9 half-centuries, and his highest score in a T20I World Cup match is 79 runs. He remained not out in 8 matches.
Looks like Kohli has better capabilities in the shorter format of the game as a batsman compared to Rohit based on these statistics. And then again, these are statistics only for what matters most is the consistent match-winning performances.
Let’s Take a look at their performances in all the three departments- batting, bowling and fielding- in ICC Men’s T20I World Cups till date:
Unit of Comparison | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
Matches | 27 | 39 |
Batting | ||
Innings | 25 | 36 |
Runs Scored | 1141 | 963 |
Balls Faced | 869 | 753 |
Highest Score | 89* | 79* |
Batting Avg. | 81.50 | 34.39 |
Not Outs | 11 | 8 |
Batting SR | 131.30 | 127.88 |
100s | 0 | 0 |
50s | 14 | 9 |
4s | 103 | 91 |
6s | 28 | 35 |
Bowling | ||
Innings | 3 | 4 |
Runs Conceded | 46 | 50 |
Wickets | 2 | 0 |
Best Bowling Fugues (innings) | 1/15 | – |
Best Bowling Figures (match) | 1/15 | – |
Bowling Average | 83 | – |
Economy | 8.11 | 10.00 |
Bowling Strike Rate | 17.00 | – |
Fielding | ||
Catches | 11 | 16 |
Batting Performance in ICC World Test Championship
The ICC World Test Championship is a very different kind of tournament, and it is not exactly held as the other two formats of the world championship. It was started as ICC’s goal to have a peak tournament for each of the 3 formats of cricket. There have been 2 such tournaments till now in the periods of 2019-2021 & 2021-2023, and India has been the runners-up in both ones.
Virat Kohli led the team in most of these two world test championships and could not succeed as a captain. However, he is in the 11th position on the list of batsmen of all the teams in terms of performance. He has played in 34 matches and 56 innings. With an average of 38.92, he has scored 2,063 runs in total, with 4 centuries and 9 half-centuries. His highest score in one innings of the championship was 254 (not out), and he remained not out in 3 innings.
Now, let’s look at Rohit Sharma’s performance in the world test championships to date. Rohit has played in 25 matches and in 41 innings. He has scored a total of 2,092 runs with an average of 53.64, and his highest score in one innings of the championships is 212 runs. He has scored 7 centuries and 6 half-centuries in the two installments of the World Test Championship. He remained not out in 2 innings.
Although he has played in fewer matches and innings than Kohli, he is in the 10th position in the list of batsmen in these championships. That’s a clear indicator of who is better. An interesting point to be noticed here is that Virat Kohli performs more or less better than Rohit Sharma almost all the time except in the larger platforms like the ODI World Cup tournaments or the World Test Championships.
Kohli vs Sharma: Performances in the (IPL)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is, perhaps, the most successful franchise cricket tournament all over the world for multiple reasons like the crowd in the region, the businesses associated with the tournaments as sponsors & for other purposes, the celebrities of the film industries associated as team owners; but what makes it so popular is undoubtedly the gathering of the most talented cricketers from all over the world put together in teams without their geographical boundaries that cricket lovers of this region love to see in a team.
Virat Kohli has been playing in the IPL since the first season of the tournament in 2008 for Royal Challengers Bangalore when he was selected for his performance in the U-19 World Cup held in Malaysia. He was made the captain of the team in 2013. He has led the team in 140 matches, winning 66 of those.
To date, he has played in 237 matches, scoring 7,263 runs both as a batsman and the captain of the team. His highest score is 113, with an average of 37.25, and he has scored seven centuries and 50 half-centuries. He remained not out in 34 matches. Under his leadership, RCB has been the runners-up of the tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
Rohit Sharma joined IPL in 2008, playing for the Deccan Chargers, and then in 2011 was bought by Mumbai Indians. So far, he has played in 243 matches, scoring 6,211 runs with an average of 29.58. Surprisingly, this hard-hitter batsman has scored only one century in his entire IPL career till now and has 42 half-centuries. His highest score is 109 (not out), and he remained not out in 28 matches.
Rohit has managed to defeat Virat as a captain in IPL, too, by winning 5 trophies for the Mumbai Indians to date. This fact also makes him the most successful captain of the tournament as well. On the other hand, Virat has displayed a far better, especially despite playing in fewer matches, performance as a batsman in IPL.
Awards & Appreciations for Performances
Apart from winning trophies and ‘Player of the Match’ ‘Player of the Series’ titles, both Virat & Rohit have received many awards, including India’s 2nd highest sporting honor, the ‘ Arjuna Award’ in 2013 & 2015 respectively. Virat has also been honored with the prestigious ‘Padma Shri’- India’s 4th highest civilian award- in 2108. India’s highest sporting honor, ‘Major Dhyan Chandra Khel Ratna’ was awarded to Virat & Rohit in 2018 & 2020 respectively.
Other rewards provided to Virat Kohli include ‘The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy: ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade 2011-2020’, ‘ Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy: ICC Cricketer of the Year’ in 2017 & 2018, among numerous other awards provided by ICC, CEAT, ESPN, Wisden, and the likes.
Rohit Sharma was honored with ‘ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year’ in 2019. He received a few awards from ICC for the team’s performance in various aspects in different years from 2014 to 2021. In 2022, he was also chosen as one of the five ‘Wisden Cricketers of the Year’ by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac for his performances in India’s Tour of England in 2021.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the Indian cricket team’s strongest pillars, the two most reliable players who can change the fate of the match at any time. Both the batsmen have shown tremendous progress and mature gaming with time & responsibility as well as seniority in the team.
Because of both of them being in the team, India has not only managed to keep its reputation as the most dangerous batting line-up intact till now; it has also been nurturing the young talents on solid ground to flourish and carry the legacy forward under the shadow of experience & wisdom of senior players like Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma.
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