If you are a cricket enthusiast then you must have participated or listened to the debates over the comparison of two great batsmen of this era, yes you are right Virat Kohli and former Australian captain Steve Smith. This debate comes in the news every other month. So today we also will also discuss this.
Both these batsmen are outstanding in their distinct class and it is not a great idea to compare these legends of the cricket, but since these two are right at the top of their career, and favorite hot topic of cricket lovers so we will throw some light on their batting career today.
Let’s talk about Indian captain first, Virat Kohli is at the top position in ICC players ranking in ODIs since 2017 and recently he overtook Steve Smith from position number one in ICC test ranking also.
Test career
He played 84 test matches in which he scored 7202 runs with a batting average of 54.97. In these test matches, he made 27 centuries and 22 half-centuries, with the top score of 254 not out.
ODI career
Mr. Kohli played 246 ODI in which he scored 11,843 runs, with a batting average of 59.81. He holds 43 centuries and 58 half-centuries in his ODI batting career with the best score of 183 in 50 overs game.
T20 career
If we talk about T20s, Virat played 82 matches, in which he scored 2794 runs with a batting average of 50.80. Though he hadn’t scored any hundreds but holds 24 half-centuries in his score tally, with the best score of 94 not out.
If you look at the performance of former Australian team captain Mr. Steve Smith, who was at the Zenith of ICC players ranking in batsman category, till overtaken by Kohli. He remained one of the most consistent test cricketers and often called as ‘best since Bradman’. Have a look at his career also.
Test career
Steve played 73 test matches, in these matches he scored 7227 runs with a batting average of 62.84, in these matches he scored 26 hundred and 29 half-centuries, with a top score of 239.
ODI Career
Steve Smith played only 121 ODI matches out of which he scored 4039 runs, with a batting average of 42.96. He holds 9 centuries and 24 half-centuries in his score tally. His best score in one-day internationals is 164.
T20s
Mr. Smith played mere 36 T20 internationals, in these matches, he scored 577 runs with a batting average of 207.48. He does not score any century but had scored 4 half-centuries with his bat with the best score of 90 runs.
It is clear from the above statistics that Steve Smith is slightly better batsman when it comes to red-ball cricket or test cricket but in limited over cricket, i.e. ODIs and T20s Virat Kohli is way ahead of Steve Smith. So we cannot actually compare these batsmen as both have their distinct playing class and both are experts in their respective formats. But if one has to choose between both of these batsmen, then obviously Virat has an edge over Smith.