Virat Kohli vs AB de Villiers: Stats Comparison
Contents
Introduction
AB de Villers and Virat Kohli are two of the staunchest batsmen of the current era. Both have played many memorable knocks for their national sides and have won matches with the teams riding solely on their batting performance. The whole debate about who the better batsman is arose when the duo started playing together for the IPL franchise, RCB, and since then, there’s always been a comparison between the two.
Today, we would like to attempt to end the debate by laying out all the unbelievable stats and numbers that these two batsmen have put together across all game formats. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Both of these batsmen have adopted their unique styles of batsmanship that enable them to put opposition bowlers to the saw with ease. While Kohli is an orthodox cricketer who plays textbook cricketing shots to wear down oppositions, De Villiers, or ‘Mr. 360’, is more of a flamboyant batsman who can easily direct the ball to any part of the ground. Despite their differences in methods, the one constant remains their hunger to score runs whenever they step out on the field.
AB de Villiers vs Virat Kohli in Test Cricket
The other game formats should seem relatively easy if you can stack up the numbers in Test cricket. That’s how the adage goes. Test cricket is the oldest and most demanding format and requires immense mental concentration and skill.
Both of our batting heavyweights have bagged impressive numbers in Test cricket. The batting stalwart from India, Virat Kohli, has played 96 matches to date, and in those matches, he has scored 7765 runs. With an average of 51 and a strike rate of 56.5, he has stamped his name as one of the modern batting greats. The journey hasn’t always been easy, as even Kohli has seen many ups and downs during his Test career. The Test series that featured India vs England 2014 was especially challenging for him as a batsman. During this series, he averaged only 13.
But you can never subdue a batter of Kohli’s calibre for too long. In the 2018 Test series vs England, Kohli bounced back into form against the same bowling attack by scoring around 600 runs that included two mammoth hundreds.
For South Africa, AB de Villiers played 114 Test matches between 2004 and 2018.
The flamboyant batsman he is, it’s no surprise that De Villiers scored 8765 runs during his international career with a healthy strike rate of 54.5. Interestingly, it’s not all about the runs in Test cricket. De Villiers was forced to battle out a draw to save South Africa from grim situations, contrary to his natural playing style. Throwback to South Africa’s 2015 tour to India, it was in the fourth Test when he scored 43 off 297 balls on the 5th day to save the Test match for his side.
Overseas Centuries
Virat has made 14 centuries out of his 27 on foreign soil, while during his career, AB de Villiers has scored 22 hundred in total, 9 of which have come in overseas conditions. Virat and De Villiers have scored 7 and 2 double centuries, respectively. While Virat has scored only 1 of his double centuries away from home, De Villers has achieved both of his double tons in the Indian subcontinent.
AB de Villiers vs Virat Kohli in One Day Internationals
Many international players have entertained us with their batsmanship in this game format, but none of them has amassed runs as consistently as Kohli and De Villiers. In his 254 matches, Virat has piled up 12169 runs with a staggering average of almost 60. He’s a batsman who relies on doubles and singles to keep the scoreboard ticking in an attempt to put the opposition under pressure. Thus, it’s no surprise that he has an impressive career strike rate of 93.2 and has consistently performed in this game format. Kohli’s dominance in this format can be asserted that he has smashed 43 centuries, second only to Sachin Tendulkar (49).
Talking about AB de Villiers, the South African legend has represented his country in 228 matches. His eye-catching and flamboyant batting technique has never failed to entertain the crowd. That being said, De Villiers has accumulated 9577 runs at a strike rate of more than 100, and his career average of 53.5 showcases the consistency with which he’s performed in this format. Playing at number three, the type of impact that De Villiers has brought to the table is unparalleled. With 25 tons to his name, he falls second on the list of top century makers for South Africa in this format (Hashim Amla – 27 centuries).
AB de Villiers vs Virat Kohli in T20 Internationals
Twenty-twenty is the format that has drawn global attention to cricket. Like in all other formats, both Kohli and De Villiers have done exceptionally well in this format too. As per the stats, Kohli is the highest run-getter in T20 Internationals, with a tally of 3159 runs at a strike rate of 139. Yes, Virat has scored runs with a strike rate of almost 140, improbable, you must think, but it just shows how skilful of a batsman he is. With an average of 52.6 in T20 Internationals, he is the only batsman who averages above 50 in all game formats.
Against the excellent records of the Indian batsman, De Villiers’s numbers seem only mediocre at best. In 78 matches in this format, he has only scored 1672 runs with an average of 26.1 and a strike rate of 140. Yes, his strike rate of 140 is reasonable, but the rest of his numbers do not do justice to the ability and impact that we all know De Villiers brings to the crease. With only ten fifties in 75 innings, he is nowhere near the tally of 28 fifties that Virat Kohli has bagged in the shortest format.
AB de Villiers vs Virat Kohli In IPL
The IPL is the biggest T20 tournament that features the participation of international players from different countries and thus can be a good base for judging the ability of any player. Kohli and De Villiers coincidentally have been part of the same franchise and have forged a formidable partnership. While Virat has accumulated 6000 IPL runs in the 13 seasons he’s been part of at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 130; De Villiers has overshadowed the Indian maestro by smashing 5056 runs in the 174 IPL matches that he’s played, with a strike rate of 152 and a career IPL average of over 40.
Conclusion
Both these batting prodigies have redefined the term “consistency” with their game. As far as the statistical comparison is concerned, De Villiers has had the better numbers in Test Cricket and the IPL, while Kohli’s numbers have been unsurmountable in the ODI format and T20 internationals. We’ve laid out the stats, and it’s now up to you to name the better batsman according to you. We should feel lucky to witness both these batting greats grace the game, and when they bat together for their IPL franchise, we should relish every moment of the same.
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