HomeAnalysisVirat Kohli or Rohit Sharma: Better ODI batsman

Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma: Better ODI batsman

- Advertisement -

If two contemporary cricketers could be considered the greatest batsmen, especially in ODI cricket, then they would be Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli is the artist, the one who oozes class when he is at his pristine best.

Rohit is the marauder, who catches bowling attacks by the scruff of the neck, and dismantles them with nonchalance.

- Advertisement -

These two men have already generated such incredible numbers, and carved a niche for themselves in the pantheon of ODI batting greats. Together, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have more than 20000 ODI runs and over 70 ODI hundreds.

But then, we are confronted with a very pivotal and pertinent question.

 Who among the two Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma holds an edge over the other?

Kohli has an edge over Rohit Sharma

On the face of it, Kohli’s numbers in ODI cricket places him in a league of his own. He is already the second highest century maker in the ODI format of the game, the fastest batsman to the 10000 run mark, and is seen as the one man who has the chance of going past most of Sachin Tendulkar’s long standing records in the ODI format.

On the other hand, even though Sharma has three double centuries to his credit, his overall runs, hundreds and batting average are lesser than the Indian skipper.

But with that being said, let us now go ahead and look at the performances of these behemoths at home and away conditions in ODI cricket.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in home and away conditions

Rohit Sharma’s record in Home and Away conditions

 InningsRunsAverage100s50s
HOME64352863.001115
AWAY153558743.311828

Now, let us have a look at Virat Kohli

 InningsRunsAverage100s50s
HOME95486560.811923
AWAY147700258.352435

                                                                                                                                                                                          From the table, it can be seen that Kohli has a superior record over Rohit Sharma in both home and away ODI matches. He has scored more hundreds and more runs in away ODI’s than Rohit, and has also done it at a better average as compared to the Hitman.

World Cup: Bigger the stage, bigger the impact

Can anybody ever forget that whirlwind hundred by Adam Gilchist in the 2007 World Cup final? Can any Indian fan ever forget that iconic six that MS Dhoni hit to ‘finish things off in style’, on the night of April 2nd 2011?

The World Cup is the biggest stage in the game of cricket. It is the stage which provides a player a chance to be remembered for posterity. Now, as far as the World Cup in concerned, let us take a look at the performances of Kohli and Sharma.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in World Cup cricket

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during a World Cup 2019 match (Credits: Twitter/Virat Kohli)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during a World Cup 2019 match (Credits: Twitter/Virat Kohli)
Player NameInningsRunsAverage100s50s
Rohit Sharma1797865.2063
Virat Kohli26103046.8126

In World Cup cricket, Rohit Sharma outperforms Kohli in every single parameter. He has scored just 52 runs lesser than the Indian skipper despite playing a World Cup less. He averages almost 19 points higher than Kohli in World Cups, and has already scored a whopping 6 hundreds in World Cup cricket, as compared to just 2 by Kohli. Rohit also has more 50+ scores (9) as compared to Kohli (8), despite playing one World Cup less.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma: A better match winner

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during a World Cup 2019 match (Credits: Twitter/Virat Kohli)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during a World Cup 2019 match (Credits: Twitter/Virat Kohli)

A hundred scored in a match won always carries an extra weightage to it, because every player ultimately gives his best to ensure that his side ends up winning the game. In this regard, let us look at how Kohli and Rohit have helped the team’s cause.

In the below table, let us look at how many of their hundreds have resulted in a win for the Indian side.

Player Name100s100s in a winning causePercentage
Virat Kohli433581.39%
Rohit Sharma292275.86%

From the table, we can see that Rohit and Kohli have incredibly high numbers of hundreds in a winning cause. However, Kohli edges Rohit in this parameter. A whopping 81.39% of his hundreds result in a victory for his side, as compared to Rohit, who has scored 75.86% of his hundreds in an ODI victory.

Advantage Kohli

It is indeed a fascinating exercise to do a deep dive into numbers and analyse the careers of great players. And, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been the pillars of the Indian batting line up for a decade now, and will go down in history as two of the greatest ODI batsmen of the modern era.

It is important to understand that both these legendary batsmen have been a nightmare for the bowlers and have won several games for the Indian side. They are still in the prime of their careers and have a long way to go before they walk into the sunset.

With that being said, it is advantage Kohli at the moment, but only by the thinnest of margins.

Follow us on facebook for more sports news & updates

- Advertisement -

15 Highly Educated Cricketers Of All Time

Cricket is a game of passion and dedication. A sport in which one involves themselves in camps and practice since early childhood. Due to...

Why are more and more MotoGP riders using the Noson nasal dilator?

Introduction MotoGP riders or athletes are physically fit and healthy individuals and their muscles are continuously functioning and used during the performance. As a fan...

Do we often under-appreciate Andy Flower? What’s his legacy?

There's a hint of sadness in noting that Zimbabwe has never been a dominant power in world cricket. But nothing could be sadder than...

How Come UFC Fighters Have Cauliflower Ears But Boxers Don’t?

The UFC has come a long way since its early days, wherein the fights seemed like modern-day gladiators due to its brutality and inconsistent...

5 spinners who can be India’s potential finger-spinners

The Indian cricket team has always been proud of its ability to produce world-class batsmen and similarly potent spinners. Though in recent times, the...

IPL 2018: The beautiful Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Being seated in the Sawai Mansingh stadium brings a different world, a world of difference away from the palpable excitement of watching truly India’s...

Top 5 Left Wingers In The World, Based On 2019-20 Season

Owing to the fact that football has evolved a lot since its inception and the tactics have changed a lot, the role of wingers...

The astonishing decline of Mario Balotelli

There was a time when Mario Balotelli was on top of the world.  The Italian talisman had scored two goals in the Euro 2012 semi-finals,...

What can be expected from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Heat in the air and heat inside the car- that's been the story of the Azerbaijan Grand prix. As F1 parks itself at Baku...

How Suresh Raina Batted India Into The Finals of 2011 World Cup

Its been 9 years, since India won the Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka on 2 April, 2011. The images and visuals of...

Age Fraud in Indian Cricket: Are players really to be blamed?

There have been times while watching a cricket match when we tend to hear commentators comment on cricketers’ age. We as fans have many...

IPL 2018: The best from the West Indies

When one of nature's treacherous attacks on mankind- earthquakes- strike, their impact is measured on Richter's scale. When West Indians strike in a tournament...

Ajax XI if they didn’t sell their star players

Based in Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, who incidentally draw their name from the legendary Greek hero of the same name, are the most successful club...

Big change for India Women’s cricket as BCCI looks to finalise bowling coach soon

We are not even at the halfway stage of the 2018 cricketing season. It clearly seems there's no stopping India's women's cricket team. The...

5 famous players to play for both Leeds United and Liverpool

Leeds United are back in the Premier League after 16 years and will play Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in their very first match...

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -