Virat is a star, Sachin is an emotion!!
ONE OF A KIND!
There are very few players in a squad that result in the confidence of everybody from the players to the rest of the dressing room to touch the skies. Sachin Tendulkar was that man for the most part of his career, as he enjoyed a career not enjoyed by any other batsman in the history of cricket. However, a youngster in the name of Virat Kohli promises to live a pretty similar career, as his reliability for his national sides has increased unbelievably over the last 5 years.
The year is 2026.
A eleven-year old kid was watching the India Vs Australia ODI live on TV.
"Its 9pm already. When will Papa come? He has already missed Virat Kohli's half century."
Suddenly, the doorbell rings.
"Maa, Papa has come!", said the excited kid.
The thirty-five year old man loosened his tie, and sat on the sofa. His wife brought some lemonade for him. Taking the glass, he asked, "What's the score?". "Its 175-1, Pa". The drinks break completed, the sponsors' advertisements over, the match returned live.
The Australian fast bowler bowled an excellent yorker and Virat was clean bowled.
"Oh! And there is Kohli, three short of a century, what would have been an excellent hundred.", said Harsha Bhogle.
The father looked at his son. The son was a bit sad, but shrugged and said, "Don't worry, Dad. Kohli is out, but the score is good, and we have a finisher who is in form!".
The father smiled. "Yes son, the match has just started."
Let us see what it was like in 1996.
A eleven-year old kid was watching the India Vs Australia ODI live on TV.
"Its 9pm already. When will Papa come? He has already missed Sachin's half century."
Suddenly, the doorbell rings.
"Maa, Papa has come!", said the excited kid.
The thirty-five year old man kept his suitcase aside, and sat on the chair. His wife brought some lemonade for him. Taking the glass, he asked, "What's Sachin's score?". "Sachin is on 91, Pa". The drinks break completed, the sponsors' advertisements over, the match returned live.
The Australian fast bowler bowled an excellent bouncer and Sachin was caught out, as he mis-timed a pull shot.
"Oh! And there is Sachin, nine short of a century, what would have been an excellent century.", said Harsha Bhogle.
The father looked at his son. The son was a very sad, and looked at his dad for hope. "Now what, Dad? Sachin is out.". Tears were starting to form in the little child's eyes.
The father walked to the TV, switched off and removed the plug. "Sachin is out. Enough cricket for today. Go and sleep now." His face was solemn.
The kid, understood his fathers feelings, and went to bed. He thought about that careless shot. He controlled his tears, as his mother caressed him.
The father, still in the hall, shook his head, "The match is over."
This is a humble attempt to potray the difference between Sachin and Virat. Both might be excellent cricketers, no doubt. Maybe Virat will break Sachin's records some day (some, no one can beat all of them).
Virat Kohli can reach heights which many legends even failed to touch
Let us take a statistical comparison of two of the finest batsman in cricket history, one a hall of famer, the other a future hall of famer.
KOHLI VS SACHIN, ODI CRICKET – BUT IN ODIs, IT'S KOHLI ALL THE WAY.
Both stats and results prove that Virat Kohli has been the most consistent Indian batsman of the last 5 years. Kohli has been a monster in the ODI format, with an average of above 50 and with 22 centuries registered to his name in just 143 One Day innnings. And as a result his name got jotted down in the history books as the quickest batsman to reach the 22 centuries mark. The previous record was none other than Tendulkar who reached the feat in 206 innings. That means that the 26 year old Kohli took almost just half as much time to reach 22 centuries as Tendulkar did! No disrespect to the legendary little master, but that stat is shockingly incredible!
One of the most crucial thing about Kohli’s One Day performances has been him stepping up to the task when his team needed him most. Astonishingly, the majority of India’s successful run chases over the last few years have resulted from Kohli’s bat. Out of his 22 ODI centuries, Kohli has scored 14 centuries when his team have been chasing! Stunning! These stats alone have made several journalists and former players declare Kohli as the better ODI performer than Sachin Tendulkar.
Again, no disrespect to the great Sachin, if Kohli does go at this rate, him breaking the little master’s record of 49 centuries would seem almost inevitable in the future. That idea gains more strength from the fact considering Kohli is just 26 and also considering India play quite alot of ODI matches every year. The average age for the retirement of all great cricketers is 35. Let us assume, Kohli does play for 10 more years. That means he will play more than 250 ODIs atleast, which in turn means he has a very realistic chance of surpassing Sachin’s record of over 18000 ODI runs. Can Virat Kohli do that? Sure, he definitely can.
IN an interview with NDTV in 2013, former Indian batsman and current commentator Sunil Gavaskar said:
“Records are meant to be broken. While we know that some of Tendulkar’s records are well nigh impossible to be able to get like 200 Test matches, nor anybody can reach 51 Test hundreds,” Gavaskar said. “But the manner in which Virat is batting, the record for (Tendulkar’s) 49 hundreds looks possible. Now Virat needs 32 more hundreds to go and the number of ODIs Indians play he can do it. This cricketing season itself, Virat can get to 20 or 22 hundreds.”
KOHLI VS SACHIN, TEST CRICKET – SACHIN IS BETTER IN TESTS.
Kohli’s ODI form hasn’t been replicated to its fullest in Test cricket over the years. Kohli has experienced patches of both good and bad forms in the longer version of the game.
Despite of the inconsitency in the test format, Virat Kohli has 11 hundreds in 37 test matches, at an average of 45. The figures are, well, decent, but they sure dont stand toe to toe with those of the very best in the test format. Both stats and history tells, Sachin was much better at this stage of his test career than Kohli is right now. The little master averaged 60 in Test matches for almost a decade , from 1993 to 2002. Now that is a record that seems highly unlikely to be broken!
But in Kohli’s defense, the young Indian ace is just 26 years of age. Considering, the world’s greatest batsmen experienced the peak of their forms aged 27-32, Kohli’s best may still have yet to come. Although records say he is more sound and prolific in the limited overs versions of the game, Kohli’s talent and potential to be a great Test batsman can never be questioned. He is only very young and if focuses fully on his test batting, can go on and become one of the greatest ever in that format too. But, as things stand, at this moment in time, considering Kohli’s run in Tests, Sachin’s records of runs and centuries in Test Matches seem safe enough.
YES, IF ANYONE CAN, VIRAT CAN!
Kohli is aggresive, confident and super versatile. He is an absolute gem of player in all formats of the game, especially the limited overs format. Kohli does need some improvements as a Test batsman, and he has already been showing glimpses of just that, in his recent decent performances in the Australia tour. Kohli registered 4 centuries in the 4 match test series! That too was a record of the first batsman in history to score 4 hundreds in 4 Test games against the Aussies.
Given his records and accomplishments at such a tender age of 26, and given the fact that he is one of the most hard working players ever who is never ready to stop learning, there is no reason on Earth why anybody wouldnt consider predicting Kohli to one day surpass Tendulkar’s records.