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Is Virat Kohli already the best ODI batsman in the last 15 years?

And by the way, Kohli did not 'choke' in the 2011 World Cup final.

He was 21 at that time, playing in a World Cup final in front of the huge expectations of the home crowd and India were chasing 275 which was a big total at that time.

India were in trouble at 30/2 when he walked out and they had just lost Tendulkar, much to the disbelief of the crowd. There was pin-drop silence in the stadium and the pressure on Kohli and the other Indian batsmen was huge.

His partnership with Gambhir was crucial and played a huge part in ensuring that India did not fall apart. Those 35 runs that he scored were worth more than a 60-70 considering the context and the circumstances.

Kohli has already done more in big matches and under pressure than Amla has in his entire career, and Kohli is only entering his peak years now. He is levels above Amla when it comes to Limited Overs and it is not disputable.

Thank you for summarizing my thoughts in such an easy to understand contents. It also shows you have a great understanding of cricket, I feel pity for people who compelled or forced to post just for sake of it and criticize a player of Kohli's stature. Sometimes I think what will be their arguments if he scores amazing runs in pressure games in future WC/WCs, will they still say, "flat pitches, ball was not moving, not equivalent bowlers of 90's?"
 
How many icc knockout games has AB won ? At least Kohli has some. Absolutely hilarious that an Amla fan is calling Kohli a choker :))). As if Amla is an amazing pressure player lol

One player cannot win you games single-handedly.

Also good luck defending 83 in a T20 against India's mammoth batting with defensive fields.
And you call me "naive" :))

Some Misbah fans are just..............

:salute:salute:salute

Lolwut? We are speaking about Kohli's innings, not Pakistan's batting or field placements. Misbah retired a Pakistani legend and second best captain, get over it. :misbah

A pacer like Amir bowling 3 overs against Kohli on a green mamba at 140+ Kph pace but still doesn't get him out, speaks volumes of Kohli's skills and status. Kohli congratulates him during the spell and in the post-match presentation which speaks volumes of Kohli's character.

Maybe Amir would've gotten Kohli out if it was an ODI but that still doesn't eliminate the fact that Kohli was the ONLY batsman in that Indian innings to weather the storm and play out Amir at HIS BEST.
This is why I said it doesn't matter; because Kohli played enough balls against him. This clearly debunks your statement that Kohli is rubbish against lateral movement.

:)))

Amir bowled around ten deliveries to Kohli, maybe less. If that is enough to rubbish his catalogue of failures against the moving ball, whether in England, South Africa and against our very own Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir, in a latter game, then good for you. I know surviving even three overs of Mohammad Amir is a big thing for someone like Kohli but seriously, the "best batsman of the last 15 years" should be held to higher standards.

If you want me to say that Kohli is better at facing the moving ball than the hopeless Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, then I've already said as much.

Not sure why people overlook those factors, he's a great batsman but needs to play a really big knock in a high profile 50 over game against decent opposition. If he had played well in the CT final I'd have given credit where due. There are some people who rate even Sachin ahead of Virat, and he's played some very memorable innings in World Cups and has also scored his runs in some testing circumstances, he's Indian as well and no one has issue giving credit where due but people are overly biased in favour of Kohli due to superficial factors and other agendas

*******. They're so desperate to put him at top that they fail to acknowledge his many weaknesses.

The sheer irony of an Amla fan accusing Kohli of being a choker :))

It won't be hard for you to realize that no matter how you look at it, Amla is by far the biggest choker in history of Limited Overs cricket. No other batsman has been such a failure under pressure in spite of having such outstanding stats.

Let's look at the game big games that he has choked in over his career:

2011 World Cup quarter-final
2013 Champions Trophy semi-final
2015 World Cup quarter-final
2015 World Cup semi-final
2017 Champions Trophy must-win match against India

and InshAllah he will once again choke in the 2019 World Cup, and let's not even talk about his numerous chokes in WT20s.

Yes, because having the ball ricochet off his boot and into the keeper's hand was a "choke". Or falling cheaply in a chase of 130 runs is a choke.

Besides, I don't deny that Amla has been below-par in ICC tournaments and needs a big World Cup in 2019. My point is that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments and like him, needs to have a good run in the 2019 version.

InshAllah, Amla will do better than Kohli in the 2019 version and you will be left saltier than ever before. Already you've been getting embarrassed left, right and center when it comes to your predictions. :))
 
Kohli can only dream of playing the innings that AB did against New Zealand in 2015. A masterclass that deserved to be a match-winning knock but was denied by Steyn's last over horror show.
 
Kohli isn't a choker by any standards. However, he hasn't lived up to his reputation of being a great pressure player yet in World Cups and Champions Trophy given he had the luxury of some really clutch players in the team unlike a de Villiers.

I don't think Kohli has yet surpassed AB as the latter has taken on the likes of McGrath and Starc while Kohli is yet to do that.

Neither of them are yet at Sachin- Ponting level but just a notch below these two.
 
Kohli can only dream of playing the innings that AB did against New Zealand in 2015. A masterclass that deserved to be a match-winning knock but was denied by Steyn's last over horror show.

I'm sure your opinion would have been different if Kohli played that innings since it wasn't a match winning one.
 
How is De Villers better than Ponting?

Kohli and Ponting have at least won games for there teams in icc tournaments,but De Villers has choked.

I'll take Ponting over ABD any day.

And how many times did Ponting choke before he played that knock?
 
Ab de Villiers is a superior batsmen and the best batsmen ever since Viv.

He has scored in WC Knockouts and if his team can't win or rain interrupts the game, then he can't do anything.
 
Thank you for summarizing my thoughts in such an easy to understand contents. It also shows you have a great understanding of cricket, I feel pity for people who compelled or forced to post just for sake of it and criticize a player of Kohli's stature. Sometimes I think what will be their arguments if he scores amazing runs in pressure games in future WC/WCs, will they still say, "flat pitches, ball was not moving, not equivalent bowlers of 90's?"

As I said earlier, the conditions are determined by the performance of Kohli. If he scores, it is a batting paradise; if he fails, it is a bowling paradise.

It is particularly funny in Tests where both Kohli and Ashwin perform well. The pitch becomes a highway when Kohli bats, and a rank-turner when Ashwin bowls.
 
Yes, because having the ball ricochet off his boot and into the keeper's hand was a "choke". Or falling cheaply in a chase of 130 runs is a choke.

Besides, I don't deny that Amla has been below-par in ICC tournaments and needs a big World Cup in 2019. My point is that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments and like him, needs to have a good run in the 2019 version.

InshAllah, Amla will do better than Kohli in the 2019 version and you will be left saltier than ever before. Already you've been getting embarrassed left, right and center when it comes to your predictions. :))

So Amla getting caught off his boot is not a choke, but Kohli getting out due to an excellent catch in a World Cup final, after preventing India from collapsing at the age of 21, was a choke?

Amla has not been below-par in ICC tournaments, he has been embarrasing, and Kohli has been far better in ICC tournaments.

He played a match-winning innings in the Champions Trophy final and it doesn't matter if it was a 20 over game. It had the status of an ODI match and it won India an ODI trophy, so the number of overs is irrelevant. The conditions were tough for batting and Kohli played a quality knock under pressure.

In addition, he has a World Cup hundred against Pakistan and has been the greatest batsman in WT20 history. Now before you try to wiggle your way out of this because you don't care about T20s, but the fact is that it is an ICC tournament.

Not to forget every time Kohli and Amla face-off in an ICC tournament, Kohli has humiliated Amla with his individual performance. CT 2013, WT20 2014, WC 2015, CT 2017.

The only time Amla has outperformed Kohli in an ICC tournament match was in the WC 2011, but in that match the 21 year old Kohli was sent to bat at number 6 in the 43rd over, because India had a huge opening stand and they promoted hitters like Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni ahead of Kohli to hit some sixes.

Now if it would have been the other way around and Amla would have outperformed Kohli in 4 consecutive ICC tournament matches with SA winning all 4 encounters, you would have never let the world forget and would probably have made it your signature.

So to summarize:

- Kohli has a hundred against Pakistan in a World Cup but Amla does not have a single World Cup hundred against a non-associate team.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in the Champions Trophy.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in WT20.

- Kohli has outperformed Amla in India vs South Africa encounters in ICC tournaments.

But yet, your point is "that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments".

As I said, you never fail to amaze me.

Finally, I don't claim that I have a crystal ball, but when it comes to predicting Amla's failures in ICC tournaments, my record - along with a few others - has been pretty good, and it goes all the way back to 2013.

Hence, I can say with confidence that InshAllah Amla will once again choke in the 2019 World Cup and will once again be outperformed by Kohli if India and South Africa play, and you will continue to clutch at straws and embarrass yourself in your quest to prove that Amla is a better pressure player than Kohli.
 
So Amla getting caught off his boot is not a choke, but Kohli getting out due to an excellent catch in a World Cup final, after preventing India from collapsing at the age of 21, was a choke?

Amla has not been below-par in ICC tournaments, he has been embarrasing, and Kohli has been far better in ICC tournaments.

He played a match-winning innings in the Champions Trophy final and it doesn't matter if it was a 20 over game. It had the status of an ODI match and it won India an ODI trophy, so the number of overs is irrelevant. The conditions were tough for batting and Kohli played a quality knock under pressure.

In addition, he has a World Cup hundred against Pakistan and has been the greatest batsman in WT20 history. Now before you try to wiggle your way out of this because you don't care about T20s, but the fact is that it is an ICC tournament.

Not to forget every time Kohli and Amla face-off in an ICC tournament, Kohli has humiliated Amla with his individual performance. CT 2013, WT20 2014, WC 2015, CT 2017.

The only time Amla has outperformed Kohli in an ICC tournament match was in the WC 2011, but in that match the 21 year old Kohli was sent to bat at number 6 in the 43rd over, because India had a huge opening stand and they promoted hitters like Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni ahead of Kohli to hit some sixes.

Now if it would have been the other way around and Amla would have outperformed Kohli in 4 consecutive ICC tournament matches with SA winning all 4 encounters, you would have never let the world forget and would probably have made it your signature.

So to summarize:

- Kohli has a hundred against Pakistan in a World Cup but Amla does not have a single World Cup hundred against a non-associate team.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in the Champions Trophy.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in WT20.

- Kohli has outperformed Amla in India vs South Africa encounters in ICC tournaments.

But yet, your point is "that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments".

As I said, you never fail to amaze me.

Finally, I don't claim that I have a crystal ball, but when it comes to predicting Amla's failures in ICC tournaments, my record - along with a few others - has been pretty good, and it goes all the way back to 2013.

Hence, I can say with confidence that InshAllah Amla will once again choke in the 2019 World Cup and will once again be outperformed by Kohli if India and South Africa play, and you will continue to clutch at straws and embarrass yourself in your quest to prove that Amla is a better pressure player than Kohli.

What would be your top 5 in last 15 years??
 
One player cannot win you games single-handedly.



Lolwut? We are speaking about Kohli's innings, not Pakistan's batting or field placements. Misbah retired a Pakistani legend and second best captain, get over it. :misbah



:)))

Amir bowled around ten deliveries to Kohli, maybe less. If that is enough to rubbish his catalogue of failures against the moving ball, whether in England, South Africa and against our very own Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir, in a latter game, then good for you. I know surviving even three overs of Mohammad Amir is a big thing for someone like Kohli but seriously, the "best batsman of the last 15 years" should be held to higher standards.

If you want me to say that Kohli is better at facing the moving ball than the hopeless Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, then I've already said as much.



*******. They're so desperate to put him at top that they fail to acknowledge his many weaknesses.



Yes, because having the ball ricochet off his boot and into the keeper's hand was a "choke". Or falling cheaply in a chase of 130 runs is a choke.

Besides, I don't deny that Amla has been below-par in ICC tournaments and needs a big World Cup in 2019. My point is that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments and like him, needs to have a good run in the 2019 version.

InshAllah, Amla will do better than Kohli in the 2019 version and you will be left saltier than ever before. Already you've been getting embarrassed left, right and center when it comes to your predictions. :))

We're talking about ODIs so Misbah isn't anywhere close to a Pakistani "great" in ODIs.

And I don't know why you're such a Kohli hater man. If Kohli was a Pakistani, I doubt you'd be saying the same stuff about him. Since you're so adamant on proving Kohli is "as bad, if not worse, as Amla" then we'll see when these 2 face off in the IND-SA series coming up in January.

I'LL EAT MY HAT IF AMLA OUTPERFORMS KOHLI IN ANY FORMAT OF THE TOUR.
 
We're talking about ODIs so Misbah isn't anywhere close to a Pakistani "great" in ODIs.

And I don't know why you're such a Kohli hater man. If Kohli was a Pakistani, I doubt you'd be saying the same stuff about him. Since you're so adamant on proving Kohli is "as bad, if not worse, as Amla" then we'll see when these 2 face off in the IND-SA series coming up in January.

I'LL EAT MY HAT IF AMLA OUTPERFORMS KOHLI IN ANY FORMAT OF THE TOUR.

Yawn. Misbah is not part of this discussion in any way, shape or form. That comment about Kohli being worse was concerning ODI World Cups and Champions Trophy tournaments. Othereise both have been among the top three ODI batsmen of this generation.

I'm not a hater, unlike Mamoon. I simply do not agree that Kohli is better than Viv, Sachin, Ponting, ABD and Amla in ODIs. However, I have no problems admitting that he's better than 99% of of all other ODI batsmen.

So Amla getting caught off his boot is not a choke, but Kohli getting out due to an excellent catch in a World Cup final, after preventing India from collapsing at the age of 21, was a choke?

Amla has not been below-par in ICC tournaments, he has been embarrasing, and Kohli has been far better in ICC tournaments.

He played a match-winning innings in the Champions Trophy final and it doesn't matter if it was a 20 over game. It had the status of an ODI match and it won India an ODI trophy, so the number of overs is irrelevant. The conditions were tough for batting and Kohli played a quality knock under pressure.

In addition, he has a World Cup hundred against Pakistan and has been the greatest batsman in WT20 history. Now before you try to wiggle your way out of this because you don't care about T20s, but the fact is that it is an ICC tournament.

Not to forget every time Kohli and Amla face-off in an ICC tournament, Kohli has humiliated Amla with his individual performance. CT 2013, WT20 2014, WC 2015, CT 2017.

The only time Amla has outperformed Kohli in an ICC tournament match was in the WC 2011, but in that match the 21 year old Kohli was sent to bat at number 6 in the 43rd over, because India had a huge opening stand and they promoted hitters like Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni ahead of Kohli to hit some sixes.

Now if it would have been the other way around and Amla would have outperformed Kohli in 4 consecutive ICC tournament matches with SA winning all 4 encounters, you would have never let the world forget and would probably have made it your signature.

So to summarize:

- Kohli has a hundred against Pakistan in a World Cup but Amla does not have a single World Cup hundred against a non-associate team.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in the Champions Trophy.

- Kohli has been better than Amla in WT20.

- Kohli has outperformed Amla in India vs South Africa encounters in ICC tournaments.

But yet, your point is "that Kohli has been just as bad, if not worse, than Amla in ICC tournaments".

As I said, you never fail to amaze me.

Finally, I don't claim that I have a crystal ball, but when it comes to predicting Amla's failures in ICC tournaments, my record - along with a few others - has been pretty good, and it goes all the way back to 2013.

Hence, I can say with confidence that InshAllah Amla will once again choke in the 2019 World Cup and will once again be outperformed by Kohli if India and South Africa play, and you will continue to clutch at straws and embarrass yourself in your quest to prove that Amla is a better pressure player than Kohli.

The choke wasn't the dismissal but his tuk tuk innings which made the task more difficult for the batsmen coming in after him. Had those 30 runs come at a SR of 90-100, it would have been a good innings and I woulf have agreed that Kohli left India's situation better than he found it. However, that was not the case and he played a slow innings. You whine about Babar Azam's tempo yet glorify this innings of Kohli's as anything other than a choke?

You yourself admitted that he fell to the pressure of the home crowd and match context. This innings was definitely a choke in the catalogue of chokes that Kohli has created over the years.

You can stomp your feet all you want, I refuse to mix up formats and include Kohli's performances in T20s in this discussion. This thread is about One Day Internationals. So unfortunately, Kohli's 40 runs in the CT 13 final are irrelevant because that was not an ODI. Same goes for all the T20 WCs and T20s. Amla is by far the greater test player and has played innings under pressure that Kohli never will, unless you want to compare them across formats, a comparison which Amla wins hands down, I suggest you stay on topic.

I agree that Kohli has the upper hand in their head to head battles. However, Kohli failing in the four biggest matches of his career is unforgivable for someone who is hyped up for his supposed pressure-handling abilities. Not only that but these matches that you are talking about don't say much because Kohli hardly contributed in them. Yes, he scored more runs than Amla but how much better is a 30 compared to a 25? They're both pretty mediocre innings.

Glorify that hundred against Pakistan all yiu want but anyone who saw the innings knew that Kohli was extremely nervous and out of it. It was the worst hundred of his career. Meanwhile, Amla scored a very classy half-century against India in a World Cup match and unlike Kohli, Amla has a hundred in the Champions Trophy.

Aside from all this tournament talk, Kohli is a bunny against the moving ball and has zero centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away, while also never playing Pakistan away. Amla on the other hand, is a master against all types of bowling and has a super 150 against England and a century against Ajmal, Akhtar and Afridi away from home. He also has several match-winning hundreds in South Africa and a 90-odd in a winning cause in Australia.

Kohli has not only been out of his depth against South Africa and England away but he has been outbatted in Australia. He averages 20 in Indian wins in these countries with zero hundreds and fifties.

So for my own conclusion:

Kohli is not only any less of a choker than Amla in ICC ODI tournaments but he is also a bunny against the moving ball and has no contribution to his team's wins in Australia, England or South Africa, countries in which he has yet to score a match-winning hundred, against the home team.

Tl;dr:

Amla > Kohli.
 
The choke wasn't the dismissal but his tuk tuk innings which made the task more difficult for the batsmen coming in after him. Had those 30 runs come at a SR of 90-100, it would have been a good innings and I woulf have agreed that Kohli left India's situation better than he found it. However, that was not the case and he played a slow innings. You whine about Babar Azam's tempo yet glorify this innings of Kohli's as anything other than a choke?

Had he scored at a SR of 90-100, it would have been a fantastic innings. However, it was still a good innings considering the context of the situation. India could not afford losing another wicket at that stage and he absorbed the pressure. It was anything but a choke, and considering the context, those 35 runs were crucial and it was far from a choke.

What does Babar have to do with it? Again, the context matters. Scoring at the SR of 65 when you are chasing 370, or scoring at a SR of 65 when you are batting first and other batsmen are striking at a 100, is simply not comparable to the mature innings Kohli played in the World Cup final. That innings in isolation does not appear to be any great, but when you consider the circumstances, it was a vital innings. I am not suggesting that it was a legendary innings, but it was far from a choke.

You yourself admitted that he fell to the pressure of the home crowd and match context. This innings was definitely a choke in the catalogue of chokes that Kohli has created over the years.

Looks like you are struggling to comprehend plain English. He did not "fell" to the pressure; he absorbed it. Everyone feels pressure, but the clutch players are able to absorb that pressure and perform. Kohli at 21 did what Amla has never been able to do in his entire Limited Overs career.

You can stomp your feet all you want, I refuse to mix up formats and include Kohli's performances in T20s in this discussion. This thread is about One Day Internationals. So unfortunately, Kohli's 40 runs in the CT 13 final are irrelevant because that was not an ODI. Same goes for all the T20 WCs and T20s. Amla is by far the greater test player and has played innings under pressure that Kohli never will, unless you want to compare them across formats, a comparison which Amla wins hands down, I suggest you stay on topic.

Again, you seem to be struggling with your linguistic skills today. You yourself brought "ICC tournaments" to the table, and now you are throwing a tantrum over why I am bringing up WT20s to the discussion. If I am not wrong, ICC tournaments = World Cup, Champions Trophy and WT20.

You can refuse all you want, but unfortunately your refusal doesn't mean anything. The fact is that the CT final was an ODI game and that win gave India an ODI trophy. The numbers of overs are irrelevant. Maybe you should request the ICC to recall the 2013 Champions Trophy from India's trophy cabinet. If you are able to do that then I will agree that the CT final win was irrelevant.

Also, it is hilarious how you stated that you refuse to mix up formats, but then proceeded to bring in Amla's Test performances to prove that he is better than Kohli. Comical.

I agree that Kohli has the upper hand in their head to head battles. However, Kohli failing in the four biggest matches of his career is unforgivable for someone who is hyped up for his supposed pressure-handling abilities. Not only that but these matches that you are talking about don't say much because Kohli hardly contributed in them. Yes, he scored more runs than Amla but how much better is a 30 compared to a 25? They're both pretty mediocre innings.

Every player will fail under pressure every now and then. There is not a single player in history who has performed under pressure every single time. Kohli needs to deliver big time in a World Cup to become the ODI GOAT, but he has delivered under pressure more times than any batsman of this era. His incredible run chases and his performance in WT20s proves it.

Again, you can throw a tantrum over how the WT20 is irrelevant, but the fact is that it is also an ICC tournament. Amla has not delivered in any ICC tournament in any format but Kohli has, which proves that Kohli is superior when it comes to handling the pressure of ICC tournaments.

Secondly, before you claim that Kohli has not chased down big totals in Australia, England, South Africa etc., the fact is that other batsmen are not even able to do half of what Kohli does in run chases even at home against mediocre bowling attacks, which automatically makes Kohli much better than his competition when it comes to chasing totals.

Amla certainly doesn't have the guts to chase big totals, and he is not a patch on Kohli when it comes to limited Overs. Kohli is miles better.

Also, I simply listed the matches where Kohli has outscored Amla in ICC tournaments, and he has done that even in ODIs. Most recently in the CT of course, where he dumped Amla back to Durban.

Glorify that hundred against Pakistan all yiu want but anyone who saw the innings knew that Kohli was extremely nervous and out of it. It was the worst hundred of his career.

In spite of being 'nervous', he still performed. On the contrary, Amla never performs under pressure.

Meanwhile, Amla scored a very classy half-century against India in a World Cup match and unlike Kohli, Amla has a hundred in the Champions Trophy.

Half-century in a World Cup < Century in a World Cup
Hundred in a CT against SL < 82* at a SR of 130 against Pakistan in a CT, especially when Pakistan's bowling proved to be the best in that particular tournament.

Aside from all this tournament talk, Kohli is a bunny against the moving ball and has zero centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away, while also never playing Pakistan away.

Please list the batsmen who have scored centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away. Kohli has done it in Australia and England, and he has an 89* in South Africa. Pakistan? Well perhaps Kohli would have played in Pakistan if we wouldn't have welcomed SL with rocket-launchers and AK-47s in 2009.

Amla on the other hand, is a master against all types of bowling and has a super 150 against England and a century against Ajmal, Akhtar and Afridi away from home.

Kohli has also destroyed your favorite chucker numerous times. He made the chucker cry in Dhaka when he scored 183*, and played a match-winning innings in the WT20 2012 as well. Akhtar retired in 2011, and Afridi has always been smashed by Kohli.

But yes, had he faced them in Pakistan and UAE, he would have not been able to put bat on ball. Same Pakistan which has not won an ODI series in Pakistan or UAE against Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand since 2007 :)), but they would have certainly made life hell for Kohli.

he also has several match-winning hundreds in South Africa and a 90-odd in a winning cause in Australia.

Kohli has not only been out of his depth against South Africa and England away but he has been outbatted in Australia. He averages 20 in Indian wins in these countries with zero hundreds and fifties.

So for my own conclusion:

Kohli is not only any less of a choker than Amla in ICC ODI tournaments but he is also a bunny against the moving ball and has no contribution to his team's wins in Australia, England or South Africa, countries in which he has yet to score a match-winning hundred, against the home team.

Tl;dr:

Amla > Kohli.

Kohli has been superb in ODIs in all countries, and he is the greatest run chaser of all time. He has surpassed many greats of the game before entering his peak years, and he is one great World Cup away from achieving GOAT status in ODIs.

Kohli has been much better than Amla in ICC tournaments and he has scored heavily in Australia, England etc. but has been letdown by his team's bowling. South Africa have generally had a better bowling attack than India.

Yes in your conclusion Amla is an ATG and the second best opener ever, but unfortunately the world doesn't live in your parallel universe, and they recognize the fact that Kohli is levels above Amla in Limited Overs. However, as a parting gift and to ease your pain, I will admit that Amla is much better than Kohli in Tests.
 
[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION]

One final thing. According to you, Kohli is not a great player because he has been able to win series for his team against Australia, England and South Africa away from home, but on the other hand, Chucker has not been able to prevent Pakistan from getting thrashed in the UAE in ODIs by all teams except SL.

Hence, that means that we cannot consider Chucker a great ODI bowler because he couldn't prevent those defeats, all the javelins he threw were in vain. You will now say that Chucker was let down by his batsmen, but then you refuse to extend that logic to Kohli who was let down by his bowlers in Australia, England etc.

I salute your double-standards.
 
What would be your top 5 in last 15 years??

It is difficult to talk about the last 15 years because I will have to consider the likes of Tendulkar, Ponting, Gilchrist, Ganguly, Sanath etc., and putting them in the same category as players of today does not make sense, which is why I like to group players by decades.

If we talk about this decade, then my top 5 ODI batsmen are : Kohli, Dhoni, de Villiers, Warner and Sangakkara. However, I think I will be adding de Kock to this list soon.
 
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] - Those were some epic knock out punches :))
 
[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION]

One final thing. According to you, Kohli is not a great player because he has been able to win series for his team against Australia, England and South Africa away from home, but on the other hand, Chucker has not been able to prevent Pakistan from getting thrashed in the UAE in ODIs by all teams except SL.

Hence, that means that we cannot consider Chucker a great ODI bowler because he couldn't prevent those defeats, all the javelins he threw were in vain. You will now say that Chucker was let down by his batsmen, but then you refuse to extend that logic to Kohli who was let down by his bowlers in Australia, England etc.

I salute your double-standards.


:))) good one.
 
It is difficult to talk about the last 15 years because I will have to consider the likes of Tendulkar, Ponting, Gilchrist, Ganguly, Sanath etc., and putting them in the same category as players of today does not make sense, which is why I like to group players by decades.

If we talk about this decade, then my top 5 ODI batsmen are : Kohli, Dhoni, de Villiers, Warner and Sangakkara. However, I think I will be adding de Kock to this list soon.


De Kock isn't better than Warner now?
 
De Kock isn't better than Warner now?

I think it is very close, they are probably on the same level, but based on their careers so far I would go with Warner. However, things can change in the future and I think QdK will surpass him, who I think will finish as the second best ODI batsman of the 2010 era, marginally ahead of Warner/Root and some distance behind Kohli.

In the long run, the number two spot could go to anyone out of QdK, Warner, Root and maybe Smith too. Speaking of players who have either debuted post 2010, or have played vast majority of their cricket in this decade.
 
I think it is very close, they are probably on the same level, but based on their careers so far I would go with Warner. However, things can change in the future and I think QdK will surpass him, who I think will finish as the second best ODI batsman of the 2010 era, marginally ahead of Warner/Root and some distance behind Kohli.

In the long run, the number two spot could go to anyone out of QdK, Warner, Root and maybe Smith too. Speaking of players who have either debuted post 2010, or have played vast majority of their cricket in this decade.


De Kock can make a case for being the best ODI batsmen in the South African team right now. Don't think Warner is better than Smith.
 
[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION]

One final thing. According to you, Kohli is not a great player because he has been able to win series for his team against Australia, England and South Africa away from home, but on the other hand, Chucker has not been able to prevent Pakistan from getting thrashed in the UAE in ODIs by all teams except SL.

Hence, that means that we cannot consider Chucker a great ODI bowler because he couldn't prevent those defeats, all the javelins he threw were in vain. You will now say that Chucker was let down by his batsmen, but then you refuse to extend that logic to Kohli who was let down by his bowlers in Australia, England etc.

I salute your double-standards.

Good one, thanks
 
:))) good one.

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] - Those were some epic knock out punches :))

Nice cheerleading, guys. Don't forge the pom poms next time.

[MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION]

One final thing. According to you, Kohli is not a great player because he has been able to win series for his team against Australia, England and South Africa away from home, but on the other hand, Chucker has not been able to prevent Pakistan from getting thrashed in the UAE in ODIs by all teams except SL.

Hence, that means that we cannot consider Chucker a great ODI bowler because he couldn't prevent those defeats, all the javelins he threw were in vain. You will now say that Chucker was let down by his batsmen, but then you refuse to extend that logic to Kohli who was let down by his bowlers in Australia, England etc.

I salute your double-standards.

Talk about having a bad day. I consider Kohli the third best ODI batsman of his generation, behind Amla and ABD. That's pretty great. One of the reasons, I don't place him any higher is because he has zero match-winning ODI centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away from home and averages 20 in the matches that India has won against these teams away. What does the bowling have to do with him being outbatted by the opposition and failing when the rest of his team does well?

Saeed Ajmal meanwhile ensured that we became the first Asian team to win in South Africa and has pretty good averages in wins against South Africa and England away, one point lower than Kohli's aforementioned batting average in fact.

Nothing wrong with a player failing here and there or being let down by his team-mates but when a batsman has zero match-winning centuries against four of the top teams away from home and averages 20 in the matches that his team has won against those teams away from home, one is forced to conclude that Kohli's match-winning prowess is lacking.

Forget Ajmal, who has nothing to do with this thread. Let's talk about Amla's match-winning hundreds in England and the UAE against the home teams and his several match-winning hundreds in South Africa.

How can Kohli be rated among the top five ODI batsmen of all time if he has won zero matches for his team against four major teams away from home?

So there is your homework for now. Your other post will be addressed at a later time.
 
Yawn. Misbah is not part of this discussion in any way, shape or form. That comment about Kohli being worse was concerning ODI World Cups and Champions Trophy tournaments. Othereise both have been among the top three ODI batsmen of this generation.

I'm not a hater, unlike Mamoon. I simply do not agree that Kohli is better than Viv, Sachin, Ponting, ABD and Amla in ODIs. However, I have no problems admitting that he's better than 99% of of all other ODI batsmen.



The choke wasn't the dismissal but his tuk tuk innings which made the task more difficult for the batsmen coming in after him. Had those 30 runs come at a SR of 90-100, it would have been a good innings and I woulf have agreed that Kohli left India's situation better than he found it. However, that was not the case and he played a slow innings. You whine about Babar Azam's tempo yet glorify this innings of Kohli's as anything other than a choke?

You yourself admitted that he fell to the pressure of the home crowd and match context. This innings was definitely a choke in the catalogue of chokes that Kohli has created over the years.

You can stomp your feet all you want, I refuse to mix up formats and include Kohli's performances in T20s in this discussion. This thread is about One Day Internationals. So unfortunately, Kohli's 40 runs in the CT 13 final are irrelevant because that was not an ODI. Same goes for all the T20 WCs and T20s. Amla is by far the greater test player and has played innings under pressure that Kohli never will, unless you want to compare them across formats, a comparison which Amla wins hands down, I suggest you stay on topic.

I agree that Kohli has the upper hand in their head to head battles. However, Kohli failing in the four biggest matches of his career is unforgivable for someone who is hyped up for his supposed pressure-handling abilities. Not only that but these matches that you are talking about don't say much because Kohli hardly contributed in them. Yes, he scored more runs than Amla but how much better is a 30 compared to a 25? They're both pretty mediocre innings.

Glorify that hundred against Pakistan all yiu want but anyone who saw the innings knew that Kohli was extremely nervous and out of it. It was the worst hundred of his career. Meanwhile, Amla scored a very classy half-century against India in a World Cup match and unlike Kohli, Amla has a hundred in the Champions Trophy.

Aside from all this tournament talk, Kohli is a bunny against the moving ball and has zero centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away, while also never playing Pakistan away. Amla on the other hand, is a master against all types of bowling and has a super 150 against England and a century against Ajmal, Akhtar and Afridi away from home. He also has several match-winning hundreds in South Africa and a 90-odd in a winning cause in Australia.

Kohli has not only been out of his depth against South Africa and England away but he has been outbatted in Australia. He averages 20 in Indian wins in these countries with zero hundreds and fifties.

So for my own conclusion:

Kohli is not only any less of a choker than Amla in ICC ODI tournaments but he is also a bunny against the moving ball and has no contribution to his team's wins in Australia, England or South Africa, countries in which he has yet to score a match-winning hundred, against the home team.

Tl;dr:

Amla > Kohli.



He destroyed Australia in Australia in 2016 in a fashion that Amla couldn't even dream of. I don't think I need to explain his record against Pakistan and if you think he isn't good enough to score against us on the garbage UAE tracks where even duds like Hafeez can get runs - your understanding of cricket is limited.

I understand that your a fan of Amla but in the last 2 years he isn't even in the top 5 ODI batsmen let alone in discussion with Kohli. As Mamoon mentioned in another thread, you are using different yardsticks for Amla and Kohli, which is where your argument stops. The simple matter is, Amla has played absolutely no iconic innings in the ODI format and mentioning Kohlis failures in the biggest matches of his career cant hide the fact that Amla has been arguably the biggest choker of this decade.
 
When the word Kohli comes to mind you can automatically think of multiple, iconic innings where he has taken the game by the scruff of the neck under high pressure situations. He's the prize wicket in world cricket right now. Look no further than the reaction to his wicket in the CT vs Imad's dismissal of Amla. You don't get given an aura, it's built over years once you play countless, match saving innings as a stand out batsman. Name a single innings Amla has played as good as these;

133* vs SL at Hobart, 183 vs Pakistan, Twin not out hundreds vs Australia chasing 350 twice in 1 series, 107 vs PAK in the 2015 WC, 122 vs ENG chasing 351... the list goes on.

He's got more 100s than Amla, he's conquered the best ODI teams unlike Amla, he wins matches unlike Amla, he's performed in ICC events unlike Amla and he plays the most high pressure job in world cricket; No.3 for a cricket-crazy nation of a billion that scrutinise his every move. A random bilateral ODI in India puts Kohli under more pressure than Amla has had to endure in his entire career.

Hes leagues above Amla, who isn't even the best ODI batsman in his own team.
 
With all the talks going around in this forum, it seems to be a general consensus that Virat Kohli is already the best Odi batsmen of his generation and has already surpassed the likes of ABDV, Dhoni, Amla and others, which, in my view is far from reality.

For all the fact that Kohli is great under pressure, he has failed to win his team who is strong on paper, a single ICC tournament with the bat.

Do you think he is already the best Odi batsmen of last 15 years or not? Discuss!

Best to debut in the last 15 years or what?

If the question is if he is the best to bat in that time than the answer is certainly no as Ponting, Gilly and Tendulkar were still around.

If it is in terms of the best to have debuted since 2002 then it is a very difficult question to answer. I personally rank ABD higher with Kohli and Amla joint second. On of the major criteria I have is how someone performs in conditions that are not the same as home conditions.

Considering pitches across Asia are pretty similar (more turn in India, a bit more life in SL but not a huge difference), I always think of Kohli's performances outside of Asia, against the better sides (Aus, Eng, NZ and SA) as not that good. I guess someone could back me up with stats but I'm a bit lazy right now. I just don't remember KOhli performing all that well in the countries I names against decent pace attacks and on pitches that werent roads (although England have gone very flat these days).

AB, off the top of my head, would have done better against those same top teams (We can include him playing India). Plus, beyond simply numbers, he has great 360 hitting range and is a MUCH better striker of the ball than both Kohli and Amla.

All that said, I don't think any of them match Viv, Ponting, Tendulkar or Gilly in the ODI all time batting greats. These guys played in a tougher era, with better bowlers, none of this powerplay nonsense, larger boundaries, smaller bats, no free hits etc etc etc
 
He destroyed Australia in Australia in 2016 in a fashion that Amla couldn't even dream of. I don't think I need to explain his record against Pakistan and if you think he isn't good enough to score against us on the garbage UAE tracks where even duds like Hafeez can get runs - your understanding of cricket is limited.

He never destroyed Australia in Australia. That series was won by Aus 4-1 and that one match was won by Manish Pandey.

That 3rd string Australian bowling attack is comparable to Bangladesh or Lankan bowling attack.
 
Best to debut in the last 15 years or what?

If the question is if he is the best to bat in that time than the answer is certainly no as Ponting, Gilly and Tendulkar were still around.

If it is in terms of the best to have debuted since 2002 then it is a very difficult question to answer. I personally rank ABD higher with Kohli and Amla joint second. On of the major criteria I have is how someone performs in conditions that are not the same as home conditions.

Considering pitches across Asia are pretty similar (more turn in India, a bit more life in SL but not a huge difference), I always think of Kohli's performances outside of Asia, against the better sides (Aus, Eng, NZ and SA) as not that good. I guess someone could back me up with stats but I'm a bit lazy right now. I just don't remember KOhli performing all that well in the countries I names against decent pace attacks and on pitches that werent roads (although England have gone very flat these days).

AB, off the top of my head, would have done better against those same top teams (We can include him playing India). Plus, beyond simply numbers, he has great 360 hitting range and is a MUCH better striker of the ball than both Kohli and Amla.

All that said, I don't think any of them match Viv, Ponting, Tendulkar or Gilly in the ODI all time batting greats. These guys played in a tougher era, with better bowlers, none of this powerplay nonsense, larger boundaries, smaller bats, no free hits etc etc etc

Those who played most part of their career in last 15 years. So comparison is between Abdv, Kohli, MSD, Amla and Sanga.
 
Those who played most part of their career in last 15 years. So comparison is between Abdv, Kohli, MSD, Amla and Sanga.

Ponting played most of his career from 2002 onwards and was better than all those you named. Plus he spent some time playing against Wasim, Waqar, Akhtar, Pollock, Ntini, Murali and many other better bowlers.
 
Nice cheerleading, guys. Don't forge the pom poms next time.



Talk about having a bad day. I consider Kohli the third best ODI batsman of his generation, behind Amla and ABD. That's pretty great. One of the reasons, I don't place him any higher is because he has zero match-winning ODI centuries against Australia, England and South Africa away from home and averages 20 in the matches that India has won against these teams away. What does the bowling have to do with him being outbatted by the opposition and failing when the rest of his team does well?

Saeed Ajmal meanwhile ensured that we became the first Asian team to win in South Africa and has pretty good averages in wins against South Africa and England away, one point lower than Kohli's aforementioned batting average in fact.

Nothing wrong with a player failing here and there or being let down by his team-mates but when a batsman has zero match-winning centuries against four of the top teams away from home and averages 20 in the matches that his team has won against those teams away from home, one is forced to conclude that Kohli's match-winning prowess is lacking.

Forget Ajmal, who has nothing to do with this thread. Let's talk about Amla's match-winning hundreds in England and the UAE against the home teams and his several match-winning hundreds in South Africa.

How can Kohli be rated among the top five ODI batsmen of all time if he has won zero matches for his team against four major teams away from home?

So there is your homework for now. Your other post will be addressed at a later time.

Firstly, stop grouping Amla with Kohli and de Villiers in ODIs. He is not in their league and is not even among the top two best ODI batsmen in his own team. Not only de Villiers, but QdK is better as well. Warner is also a better ODI player and although he hasn't had a better career overall, Root has been much better than Amla over the last couple of years as well, and considering his career trajectory, he is very likely to surpass him over the course of his career.

Henceforth, Amla is at best the 6th best ODI batsman of his generation behind Kohli, de Villiers, Warner, QdK and Root, and even that seems generous because the likes of Smith have been great as well. Amla is in the top two ODI batsmen of his era only in the parallel universe where you reside.

You can use the pretext of 'Ajmal has nothing to do with this thread' and try to wiggle your way out, but your hypocrisy is there for everyone to see. Ajmal has not been able to prevent the team from getting humiliated series after series so his contribution can be deemed as irrelevant.

As far as the SA ODI series is concerned, Anwar and Bilawal won us the 1st ODI and Ajmal had the luxury of defending 262 in 45 overs against a team that is probably the second worst chasing team after Pakistan. The legendary choker Amla scoring at a SR of 74 and got outclassed by Shehzad of all people. SA don't have a great record in chasing big totals because de Villiers doesn't know how to finish games and Amla soils his pants when the target is above 250.

Perhaps if Kohli has the luxury of bowling Australia or South Africa out for 200, he will score a match-winning century against those teams outside Asia which you so desire.

In 2011 in SA, he scored an outstanding 87* in pursuit of 260 when India were reeling at 140/6 and the next highest score was 20. Rain intervened and SA won by D/L, preventing Kohli from what would have been a terrific hundred.

Against SA in the CT, he was en route to a hundred but could only score 76* because your favorite choker didn't put enough runs on the board for Kohli to get to three figures.

Firstly, Pakistan has not been a major ODI team during much of Kohli's career.

Secondly, it is not Kohli's problem that Pakistan is a not a safe country and the BCCI does not want to play in the UAE.

Thirdly, Kohli scored 183 against Pakistan in Dhaka to chase down 320, which is one of the best ODI innings ever. Only a fool would think that Kohli would have failed on the UAE pitches against Pakistan, where 10x inferior batsmen like Hafeez have feasted for years, and a venue where the likes of Australia, SA, England and NZ have won more series than I care to remember.

Finally, Kohli has played great innings in the other big countries, but he has been letdown by his teammates and his bowlers. Unfortunately, when it comes to Kohli, he has to win matches on his own, but when it comes to your favorite Chucker, he couldn't win matches for Pakistan because of the lack of support from the others.

I also have some homework for you: how can Amla be considered the top two ODI batsmen of this era, when they have failed to win SA even a single knockout in an ODI tournament, and has been outclassed by Kohli almost every time they play each other in a big game?

How can Amla be considered among top two ODI batsmen of this generation, and the second best opener of all time when he is not even close to Kohli when it comes to chasing big totals?

How can Kohli be considered a choker and not Amla, when he has outperformed him in ICC tournaments overall by some distance?

Kohli and Amla aren't even comparable in ODIs, and there is not a single team in the world that would prefer Amla to Kohli in this format. SA itself would swap the two in a heartbeat, considering their inability to win big games under pressure and getting thrashed by India most of the times when they play each other in a tournament. Not forget, Kohli's ability to chase totals which SA's major weakness.

Amla is not capable of scoring 183 to chase down 320 and neither will he be able to chase 320 inside 40 overs to keep his team alive in a series - he cannot do that in a million years.

Neither can he chase down 350 after his team is 60/4, and he will never scored a 52 ball hundred to chase 360 in 43 overs, and follow it up with a 60 ball century to chase down 350 in the same series.

Kohli can do everything that Amla can in ODIs, but Amla cannot do what Kohli can. Before you bring the swing and seam nonsense, Kohli has scored runs in all countries. 1-2 bad series doesn't mean much, every batsman in history has a bad series or two including Amla.

Kohli has done everything within his powers in ODIs except for a dominant World Cup, and that is the only thing that stands between him and GOAT status in ODIs.

However, in your parallel universe, Amla is a certainly a better ODI batsman. Same universe where Ajmal doesn't chuck.
 
Best to debut in the last 15 years or what?

If the question is if he is the best to bat in that time than the answer is certainly no as Ponting, Gilly and Tendulkar were still around.

If it is in terms of the best to have debuted since 2002 then it is a very difficult question to answer. I personally rank ABD higher with Kohli and Amla joint second. On of the major criteria I have is how someone performs in conditions that are not the same as home conditions.

Considering pitches across Asia are pretty similar (more turn in India, a bit more life in SL but not a huge difference), I always think of Kohli's performances outside of Asia, against the better sides (Aus, Eng, NZ and SA) as not that good. I guess someone could back me up with stats but I'm a bit lazy right now. I just don't remember KOhli performing all that well in the countries I names against decent pace attacks and on pitches that werent roads (although England have gone very flat these days).

AB, off the top of my head, would have done better against those same top teams (We can include him playing India). Plus, beyond simply numbers, he has great 360 hitting range and is a MUCH better striker of the ball than both Kohli and Amla.

All that said, I don't think any of them match Viv, Ponting, Tendulkar or Gilly in the ODI all time batting greats. These guys played in a tougher era, with better bowlers, none of this powerplay nonsense, larger boundaries, smaller bats, no free hits etc etc etc


Are you willing to extend this logic to the bowlers as well?

If modern batsmen are inferior to the previous generation batsmen because the conditions and rules are in their favor, then that means that the modern bowlers are superior to the previous generation bowlers because the conditions and rules are not in their favor.

The likes of Wasim, Waqar, Imran, McGrath, Ambrose etc. bowled in an era where there was no power-play and free-hits, boundaries were large and bats were small.

However, the likes of Starc, Hasan, Amir, Rabada, Boult, Hazlewood etc. are bowling in an era where they have been handicapped by power-plays, free-hits, small boundaries and big bats.

I will agree with you that the likes of Kohli, de Villiers, Warner, de Kock, Root etc. are inferior to Tendulkar, Ponting, Gilchrist etc., if you agree with me that Wasim, Waqar, Imran, McGrath, Ambrose etc. were also inferior to Starc, Hasan, Amir, Rabada, Boult, Hazlewood etc.

The logic is simple: if we are not going to give modern batsmen their due credit because they are playing in a batting-friendly era, then we cannot give previous generation bowlers credit because they played in a bowling-friendly era.

So, how far are you willing to go with your logic?
 
[/B]

Are you willing to extend this logic to the bowlers as well?

If modern batsmen are inferior to the previous generation batsmen because the conditions and rules are in their favor, then that means that the modern bowlers are superior to the previous generation bowlers because the conditions and rules are not in their favor.

The likes of Wasim, Waqar, Imran, McGrath, Ambrose etc. bowled in an era where there was no power-play and free-hits, boundaries were large and bats were small.

However, the likes of Starc, Hasan, Amir, Rabada, Boult, Hazlewood etc. are bowling in an era where they have been handicapped by power-plays, free-hits, small boundaries and big bats.

I will agree with you that the likes of Kohli, de Villiers, Warner, de Kock, Root etc. are inferior to Tendulkar, Ponting, Gilchrist etc., if you agree with me that Wasim, Waqar, Imran, McGrath, Ambrose etc. were also inferior to Starc, Hasan, Amir, Rabada, Boult, Hazlewood etc.

The logic is simple: if we are not going to give modern batsmen their due credit because they are playing in a batting-friendly era, then we cannot give previous generation bowlers credit because they played in a bowling-friendly era.

So, how far are you willing to go with your logic?

Things have certainly become more difficult for bowlers in the modern era but you would have to be blind not to see the disparity in skills between, say McGrath and Hazlewood or Wasim and Hasan. Also, a lot of those guys are very eraly in their respective ODI careers, especially people like Hasan and Amir. If they get to 150, 200 or 250 ODIs and maintain an average in the low 20s, pick up lots of wickets AND showcase similar skill sets then we can start making comparisons.
 
Things have certainly become more difficult for bowlers in the modern era but you would have to be blind not to see the disparity in skills between, say McGrath and Hazlewood or Wasim and Hasan. Also, a lot of those guys are very eraly in their respective ODI careers, especially people like Hasan and Amir. If they get to 150, 200 or 250 ODIs and maintain an average in the low 20s, pick up lots of wickets AND showcase similar skill sets then we can start making comparisons.

Let's talk about the skills - modern batsmen are able to bat at a much higher SR than previous era batsmen, and can play shots than the older batsmen could not. However, you refuse to give credit to the modern batsmen because they have the luxury of playing in easier conditions.

I can accept that, but why don't you extend this logic to the skills of the previous generation bowlers? Since the bats are thicker and heavier now, a lot of the edges that the likes of McGrath or Wasim got would now be flying over the slips for fours, and the shorter boundaries would result in them conceding a lot more boundaries. Not to forget, the pitches are easier for batting now and then likes of Wasim and McGrath would have to toil harder. All these factors will make their skills look inferior.

So once again, why the double-standards?

Okay, let's talk about longevity. Kohli has the second most ODI hundreds already, but you are not giving him his due credit because he is playing in easier conditions. So your point of them getting to x number of wickets is a disingenuous attempt to free yourself of the tangle that you have walked yourself into.

Unfortunately you cannot have it both ways. If you are discounting the performances of modern batsman due to easier conditions, you will have to discount the performances of the previous generation bowlers as well, since the conditions were easier for them.

Not to mention, both modern batsmen and bowlers have less benefit of doubt. Due to DRS and TV Umpires, the number of umpiring howlers have been reduced. You can no longer score a hundred after edging to first slip when you were on 8, only for the umpire to be blinded by having something in his eye, and you can no longer take wickets by getting LBW decisions in your favor when the ball is missing the stumps by a yard.
 
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Kohli can only dream of playing the innings that AB did against New Zealand in 2015. A masterclass that deserved to be a match-winning knock but was denied by Steyn's last over horror show.

Didn't Miller make an 18-ball-50 something in that match where AB made 65 off-45? Also didn't AB again hide behind the top order when the ball was seaming despite him being the captain and the in-form player? It was the ideal opportunity to take the bull by the horns and win that match for his team. I'll always remember AB for the cowardice that he showed in that inning and nothing more.
 
And by the way, Kohli did not 'choke' in the 2011 World Cup final.

He was 21 at that time, playing in a World Cup final in front of the huge expectations of the home crowd and India were chasing 275 which was a big total at that time.

India were in trouble at 30/2 when he walked out and they had just lost Tendulkar, much to the disbelief of the crowd. There was pin-drop silence in the stadium and the pressure on Kohli and the other Indian batsmen was huge.

His partnership with Gambhir was crucial and played a huge part in ensuring that India did not fall apart. Those 35 runs that he scored were worth more than a 60-70 considering the context and the circumstances.

Kohli has already done more in big matches and under pressure than Amla has in his entire career, and Kohli is only entering his peak years now. He is levels above Amla when it comes to Limited Overs and it is not disputable.

Disagree.

It was an average innings at best and erred on the poor side considering he made those runs off 69 balls at a SR of 71 and the fact that Gambhir scored the bulk of those runs in that partnership.

Pin drop silence or not - he had Dhoni, Yuvraj and Raina to come after him so he should have done better.
 
I thought to be considered as a GOAT, you need to win your team a World Cup with performance from the bat.

So unless he wins a WC for his team, he won't even be considered for the GOAT status.He is an ATG till now. Nothing more. Not yet in top 5 OdI batsmen of all time.
 
I thought to be considered as a GOAT, you need to win your team a World Cup with performance from the bat.

So unless he wins a WC for his team, he won't even be considered for the GOAT status.He is an ATG till now. Nothing more. Not yet in top 5 OdI batsmen of all time.

So the top 5 batsmen are:
Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Aravinda De Silva, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting?
 
I thought to be considered as a GOAT, you need to win your team a World Cup with performance from the bat.

So unless he wins a WC for his team, he won't even be considered for the GOAT status.He is an ATG till now. Nothing more. Not yet in top 5 OdI batsmen of all time.
Whoever said that must have been traumatized by fast bowlers in his youth otherwise we'd just have 6 ATG ODI players ever :))
That is just one parameter which is for being a GOAT. Top 5 doesn't mean all five are GOAT. You have to do unbelievable stuffs in OdI bilaterals too.

And why did you left SRT and MS Dhoni??
Surely you meant WC finals, didn't you?
 
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So the top 5 batsmen are:
Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Aravinda De Silva, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting?

That is just one parameter which is for being a GOAT. Top 5 doesn't mean all five are GOAT. You have to do unbelievable stuffs in OdI bilaterals too.

And why did you left SRT and MS Dhoni??
 
Whoever said that must have been traumatized by fast bowlers in his youth otherwise we'd just have 6 ATG ODI players ever :))

I never said that firstly. I learned these things in this forum and now saying that and that was said for becoming an ATG. I am atleast saying GOAT lol.
 
Whoever said that must have been traumatized by fast bowlers in his youth otherwise we'd just have 6 ATG ODI players ever :))Surely you meant WC finals, didn't you?

Dominant WC performance. SRT is a GOAT. Dhoni is an ATG finisher+ ATG captain. These two will be in top5.
 
Dominant WC performance. SRT is a GOAT. Dhoni is an ATG finisher+ ATG captain. These two will be in top5.
Objectively speaking this is the same debate as Fedex vs Nadal, FYI for me Nadal is the best ever. But I wouldn't mind people rating Viv over SRT as the GOAT, because during the course of their long careers cricket as we know it changed a lot, even in case of Viv.

Everyone else including Kohli & ABDV are a notch or two below. The thing is these players shone more because they were not only ahead of their peers in other teams, but also way beyond their own teammates, like SRT before 2003 or ViV after 1983.
 
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That is just one parameter which is for being a GOAT. Top 5 doesn't mean all five are GOAT. You have to do unbelievable stuffs in OdI bilaterals too.

And why did you left SRT and MS Dhoni??

Because SRT didn't win us a world cup with the bat (and so is disqualified according to your criteria) and Dhoni would have been the 7th name on that list.
 
Because SRT didn't win us a world cup with the bat (and so is disqualified according to your criteria) and Dhoni would have been the 7th name on that list.

SRT at peak was great in WC 1996 and 2003 and also had a great WC 2011 which they won. He has also done unbelievable stuffs in odi bilaterals. Didn't he won an OdI series in Australia?

Dhoni led the team as a captain and won India WC 2011 by playing a great knock in the WC.He was an ATG captain and India's best ever OdI captain too.

Kohli had very minute contribution in WC 2011.He is an ATG but not yet in the top 5 odi batsmen of all time.
 
Disagree.

It was an average innings at best and erred on the poor side considering he made those runs off 69 balls at a SR of 71 and the fact that Gambhir scored the bulk of those runs in that partnership.

Pin drop silence or not - he had Dhoni, Yuvraj and Raina to come after him so he should have done better.

The point isn't how great that innings was; the point is that it was not a choke at all. The 35 (49) that he scored in those circumstances was much better than what a 35 (49) innings will be under normal circumstances. It wasn't a memorable but a brave innings.

It would have been memorable had he carried on like Gambhir who also had a low strike rate.

India had Dhoni, Yuvraj and Raina still in the dressing room, but losing a third wicket at 31 in pursuit of 278 would have put serious pressure on their batting lineup, who only managed to limp to 260 in the semifinal. Kohli handled the situation well, absorbed the pressure and the 90 odd runs that he added with Gambhir were crucial.

It wasn't a fantastic innings because he didn't kick on, but to call it a choke is laughable.
 
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

But he only scores on flat pitches:yk2

This Wankhade pitch is tough but his 92 against Australia a month ago was probably on a tougher pitch. Whenever it's not a pata, we are too dependent on Virat. Happened throughout the last Asia Cup and also the T20 WC16 (India didn't play on a flat pitch till the semi), when he made 280ish in the tournament and the next best was Dhoni/Rohit with 90 runs.
 
And by the way, Kohli did not 'choke' in the 2011 World Cup final.

He was 21 at that time, playing in a World Cup final in front of the huge expectations of the home crowd and India were chasing 275 which was a big total at that time.

India were in trouble at 30/2 when he walked out and they had just lost Tendulkar, much to the disbelief of the crowd. There was pin-drop silence in the stadium and the pressure on Kohli and the other Indian batsmen was huge.

His partnership with Gambhir was crucial and played a huge part in ensuring that India did not fall apart. Those 35 runs that he scored were worth more than a 60-70 considering the context and the circumstances.

Kohli has already done more in big matches and under pressure than Amla has in his entire career, and Kohli is only entering his peak years now. He is levels above Amla when it comes to Limited Overs and it is not disputable.

Exactly. Thanks for pointing that out. Anyone that watched that match knows that Gambhir-kohli partnership was vital.

Also he played two excellent innings in the SF and final of 2013 CT.
 
For all kohli's records, I will be happy if he has a 2nd best or even behind pandya also, on the averages or whatever record as long as and if India win their matches. Even he has to improve his sf and final records. At the moment, I am willing to exchange his records for Indian wins. The 2015 sf and Ct 2017 (2 times?) have caused great pain and hurt team chances. Losing is one thing, letting down when team needs you is another. Personally, I don't rate him in finals. He has to improve against left-arm pacers. Amir and starc are the only left-arm pacers who gave him trouble. There will be many sooner than later
 
Top ODI batting record since 2003 (min 5000 runs)

[table= class: grid, align: center]
[tr][td]Player [/td][td]Span [/td][td]Mat [/td][td]Inns [/td][td]NO [/td][td]Runs [/td][td]Ave [/td][td]SR [/td][td]100 [/td][td]50 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]V Kohli (INDIA) [/td][td]2008-2017 [/td][td]200 [/td][td]192 [/td][td]32 [/td][td]8888 [/td][td]55.55 [/td][td]91.54 [/td][td]31 [/td][td]45 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]AB de Villiers (Afr/SA) [/td][td]2005-2017 [/td][td]225 [/td][td]215 [/td][td]39 [/td][td]9515 [/td][td]54.06 [/td][td]101.07 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]53 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MS Dhoni (Asia/INDIA) [/td][td]2004-2017 [/td][td]307 [/td][td]264 [/td][td]75 [/td][td]9783 [/td][td]51.76 [/td][td]88.46 [/td][td]10 [/td][td]66 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]HM Amla (SA) [/td][td]2008-2017 [/td][td]158 [/td][td]155 [/td][td]11 [/td][td]7381 [/td][td]51.25 [/td][td]89.21 [/td][td]26 [/td][td]34 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MEK Hussey (AUS) [/td][td]2004-2012 [/td][td]185 [/td][td]157 [/td][td]44 [/td][td]5442 [/td][td]48.15 [/td][td]87.16 [/td][td]3 [/td][td]39 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]S Chanderpaul (WI) [/td][td]2003-2011 [/td][td]142 [/td][td]133 [/td][td]24 [/td][td]5061 [/td][td]46.43 [/td][td]72.13 [/td][td]8 [/td][td]36 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]SR Tendulkar (INDIA) [/td][td]2003-2012 [/td][td]163 [/td][td]161 [/td][td]11 [/td][td]6882 [/td][td]45.88 [/td][td]85.69 [/td][td]16 [/td][td]40 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]KC Sangakkara (Asia/ICC/SL) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]334 [/td][td]316 [/td][td]34 [/td][td]12759 [/td][td]45.24 [/td][td]80.32 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]85 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]JH Kallis (Afr/ICC/SA) [/td][td]2003-2014 [/td][td]160 [/td][td]152 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]5677 [/td][td]44.7 [/td][td]76.18 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]44 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MJ Clarke (AUS) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]245 [/td][td]223 [/td][td]44 [/td][td]7981 [/td][td]44.58 [/td][td]78.98 [/td][td]8 [/td][td]58 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]LRPL Taylor (NZ) [/td][td]2006-2017 [/td][td]191 [/td][td]177 [/td][td]30 [/td][td]6506 [/td][td]44.25 [/td][td]82.02 [/td][td]17 [/td][td]37 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]RG Sharma (INDIA) [/td][td]2007-2017 [/td][td]169 [/td][td]163 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]6053 [/td][td]43.86 [/td][td]85.98 [/td][td]14 [/td][td]34 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MJ Guptill (NZ) [/td][td]2009-2017 [/td][td]147 [/td][td]144 [/td][td]16 [/td][td]5532 [/td][td]43.21 [/td][td]87.57 [/td][td]12 [/td][td]32 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]RT Ponting (AUS/ICC) [/td][td]2003-2012 [/td][td]224 [/td][td]215 [/td][td]20 [/td][td]8276 [/td][td]42.44 [/td][td]83.16 [/td][td]20 [/td][td]52 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]SR Watson (AUS) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]172 [/td][td]157 [/td][td]22 [/td][td]5521 [/td][td]40.89 [/td][td]91.78 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]32 [/td][/tr]
[/table]
 
Top ODI batting record since 2003 (min 5000 runs)

[table= class: grid, align: center]
[tr][td]Player [/td][td]Span [/td][td]Mat [/td][td]Inns [/td][td]NO [/td][td]Runs [/td][td]Ave [/td][td]SR [/td][td]100 [/td][td]50 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]V Kohli (INDIA) [/td][td]2008-2017 [/td][td]200 [/td][td]192 [/td][td]32 [/td][td]8888 [/td][td]55.55 [/td][td]91.54 [/td][td]31 [/td][td]45 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]AB de Villiers (Afr/SA) [/td][td]2005-2017 [/td][td]225 [/td][td]215 [/td][td]39 [/td][td]9515 [/td][td]54.06 [/td][td]101.07 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]53 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MS Dhoni (Asia/INDIA) [/td][td]2004-2017 [/td][td]307 [/td][td]264 [/td][td]75 [/td][td]9783 [/td][td]51.76 [/td][td]88.46 [/td][td]10 [/td][td]66 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]HM Amla (SA) [/td][td]2008-2017 [/td][td]158 [/td][td]155 [/td][td]11 [/td][td]7381 [/td][td]51.25 [/td][td]89.21 [/td][td]26 [/td][td]34 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MEK Hussey (AUS) [/td][td]2004-2012 [/td][td]185 [/td][td]157 [/td][td]44 [/td][td]5442 [/td][td]48.15 [/td][td]87.16 [/td][td]3 [/td][td]39 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]S Chanderpaul (WI) [/td][td]2003-2011 [/td][td]142 [/td][td]133 [/td][td]24 [/td][td]5061 [/td][td]46.43 [/td][td]72.13 [/td][td]8 [/td][td]36 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]SR Tendulkar (INDIA) [/td][td]2003-2012 [/td][td]163 [/td][td]161 [/td][td]11 [/td][td]6882 [/td][td]45.88 [/td][td]85.69 [/td][td]16 [/td][td]40 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]KC Sangakkara (Asia/ICC/SL) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]334 [/td][td]316 [/td][td]34 [/td][td]12759 [/td][td]45.24 [/td][td]80.32 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]85 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]JH Kallis (Afr/ICC/SA) [/td][td]2003-2014 [/td][td]160 [/td][td]152 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]5677 [/td][td]44.7 [/td][td]76.18 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]44 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MJ Clarke (AUS) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]245 [/td][td]223 [/td][td]44 [/td][td]7981 [/td][td]44.58 [/td][td]78.98 [/td][td]8 [/td][td]58 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]LRPL Taylor (NZ) [/td][td]2006-2017 [/td][td]191 [/td][td]177 [/td][td]30 [/td][td]6506 [/td][td]44.25 [/td][td]82.02 [/td][td]17 [/td][td]37 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]RG Sharma (INDIA) [/td][td]2007-2017 [/td][td]169 [/td][td]163 [/td][td]25 [/td][td]6053 [/td][td]43.86 [/td][td]85.98 [/td][td]14 [/td][td]34 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]MJ Guptill (NZ) [/td][td]2009-2017 [/td][td]147 [/td][td]144 [/td][td]16 [/td][td]5532 [/td][td]43.21 [/td][td]87.57 [/td][td]12 [/td][td]32 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]RT Ponting (AUS/ICC) [/td][td]2003-2012 [/td][td]224 [/td][td]215 [/td][td]20 [/td][td]8276 [/td][td]42.44 [/td][td]83.16 [/td][td]20 [/td][td]52 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]SR Watson (AUS) [/td][td]2003-2015 [/td][td]172 [/td][td]157 [/td][td]22 [/td][td]5521 [/td][td]40.89 [/td][td]91.78 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]32 [/td][/tr]
[/table]

AB actually has better stats, than Kohli, that higher SR mitigates the small difference in average. But I'd rather have Kohli if I had to pick between the two still.
 
Dhoni - 9700 runs
AB - 9500 runs
Kohli- 8800 runs

We have some gun players coming into 10k club early in the next year.
 
If ABDV or Amla would have scored a hundred today like Kohli did they would have been bashed for being tremendous in useless bilaterals and being accumulators and loosing the match for his country...
 
If ABDV or Amla would have scored a hundred today like Kohli did they would have been bashed for being tremendous in useless bilaterals and being accumulators and loosing the match for his country...

That is true.. people have different standards for different players.
 
If ABDV or Amla would have scored a hundred today like Kohli did they would have been bashed for being tremendous in useless bilaterals and being accumulators and loosing the match for his country...

if you notice Kohli has 19 ODI hundreds batting 2nd ... thats the reason for Kohli's high rating. ABD and Amla put together do not have the no.of 100s that Kohli has batting second and they have 50 more inngs batting 2nd than Kohli. This place would errupt if either came even remotely close to Kohli in chasing.


Links:

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...rby=runs;team=3;template=results;type=batting

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...rby=runs;team=6;template=results;type=batting
 
Caught his batting for the last few overs and man, he is talented. The ability to pace his batting is phenomenal. This bloke is in for the long haul. Some good cricket
 
A champion of unmatched proportions, as acknowledged by virtually all other cricketers/ex cricketers/pundits. Irrespective of what his envious haters might say, this man is truly extraordinary. He can't really take the place of Sachin and Sunny, but he can definitely make sure that his name in inscribed in golden letters after those two names in Indian cricket history.
 
A champion of unmatched proportions, as acknowledged by virtually all other cricketers/ex cricketers/pundits. Irrespective of what his envious haters might say, this man is truly extraordinary. He can't really take the place of Sachin and Sunny, but he can definitely make sure that his name in inscribed in golden letters after those two names in Indian cricket history.

Why not?
 
I only remember a handful of his clutch ODI innings. What has he done in Tests? Any memorable win scripted by him? How is his performance in global tournaments, in knock out matches? I think he may be a run machine in normal matches, but is no where a great.
 

Performance wise he definitely can. I don't think any Pak player would be able to take Imran's place even if -

1. He takes more wickets at a better average.

2. Scores more runs at a better average.

3. Leads his team to more Test series victories against better oppositions.


Why? Because Imran has already taken the place of being the most revered Pak player ever. That spot has already been taken.
 
Performance wise he definitely can. I don't think any Pak player would be able to take Imran's place even if -

1. He takes more wickets at a better average.

2. Scores more runs at a better average.

3. Leads his team to more Test series victories against better oppositions.


Why? Because Imran has already taken the place of being the most revered Pak player ever. That spot has already been taken.

That's true I suppose. Also I think SRT carried India on his own for a decade, for those of you who remember the 90's. He didn;t have the luxury of other top batsman around him.

Though I am a big Kohli fan and for me he is the best batsman of this era.
 
I only remember a handful of his clutch ODI innings. What has he done in Tests? Any memorable win scripted by him? How is his performance in global tournaments, in knock out matches? I think he may be a run machine in normal matches, but is no where a great.

You speak as if being a run machine in normal matches is a breeze. :))

1) Kohli has 19 ODI centuries in chases while averaging 65+ (in comparison Sehwag, Gilchrist, Jayawardene, Yousuf, Warner, Kallis have 19 or less ODI centuries in total )
2) Fastest batsman to 9000 ODI runs
3) 41.92 AVG in World Cups and 88.16 AVG in Champions Trophy Tournaments

He's easily an ATG and one quality knockout performance away from GOAT.

Might need an optometrist if you can't see it.
 
Last edited:
And for the Strike Rate enthusiasts.

Kohli's Career SR = 91.73
Kohli's AWAY SR = 90.26

Kohli's SR in Chases = 93.40

Gets even faster in chases. :))
 
You speak as if being a run machine in normal matches is a breeze. :))

1) Kohli has 19 ODI centuries in chases while averaging 65+ (in comparison Sehwag, Gilchrist, Jayawardene, Yousuf, Warner, Kallis have 19 or less ODI centuries in total )
2) Fastest batsman to 9000 ODI runs
3) 41.92 AVG in World Cups and 88.16 AVG in Champions Trophy Tournaments

He's easily an ATG and one quality knockout performance away from GOAT.

Might need an optometrist if you can't see it.

If one has to dig up stats to make someone great, then he is not great in my book. Fortunately cricket is not played in excel sheets.
 
His only competition now is Pointing,Sachin,and Viv. One good WC should take him past all 3.
 
He can score as many centuries in India as he likes, it won't change his status one bit. We all know he's a great batsman in Asia, what we now need to know is if he can be a match-winner against Australia, England and South Africa away. Not playing Pakistan as frequently as the others has also made it easy on him.

AB de Villiers is still #1 from this generation.
 
He can score as many centuries in India as he likes, it won't change his status one bit. We all know he's a great batsman in Asia, what we now need to know is if he can be a match-winner against Australia, England and South Africa away. Not playing Pakistan as frequently as the others has also made it easy on him.

AB de Villiers is still #1 from this generation.

You are absolutely right, Virat just averages 12 vs Netherlands. :tahir2 How can he be called No1? ABDV averages 67.
 
Both him and AB need to have a great WC to be part of the Viv, Tendulkar discussion.

They are also both comfortably in the all time top 6. Why wouldn't they be?
 
world cup win is icing on the cake not the cake itself. . Despite lack of final runs Tendulkar is incomparable in the world cup matches. Most consistent in the history. That is what i want from VK. Sure final century is sweet. But even without that it is still a cake. Damn good cake !!
 
Sir Viv Richards: Virat Kohli is proving his status as one of the all-time greats

I have been thoroughly enjoying the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and I am highly impressed with some of the performances on show.

As a batter, it has been magnificent to see and I’m not sure fans around the world could have asked for anything better.

Some of the pitches have been really good for run-scoring and we have seen so many high-class performances. There have been the record-breaking centuries from Aiden Markram and Glenn Maxwell, Quinton de Kock has had an amazing tournament and the young man Rachin Ravindra looks an exceptional talent.

There have been a whole host of talented individuals on show but to top them all, you cannot look past Virat Kohli. I am a huge fan of Virat, I have been for a long time, and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin

Virat will have been through some tough times before this World Cup and some folks were even brave enough to call for his head.

Credit must be given to the backroom staff and everyone who backed him. So much was said about his form but he is back on top of his game. It is phenomenal to see an individual who has had his low points bouncing back and playing like this. They say form is temporary – and he has certainly proven that class is permanent. I am so happy for him, he looks so focused and he is a credit to the game of cricket.

Virat is a go-getter and what sets him apart is his mental strength. He will have backed himself throughout, and on the occasions in the past in which I have chatted with him and we have discussed things, his mental strength has always been evident. That has been key to pushing him through to how he is playing now. Very few players, or people, are built like that.

Many people have made comparisons between the two of us over the years, partly because of our shared intensity on the field. I love Virat’s enthusiasm – even if he is fielding at long-on or long-off, when one of his bowlers hits the pad, he is appealing. He is always in the game and I like individuals like that.

Shubman Gill is another who bats with style and he is just one among a whole host of players who have all the big shots. I am just hoping no one forgets there was a guy without a helmet by the name of Vivian Richards who went out and played like that sometimes! Some of the shots played today are those I like to think I had in my armoury, maybe with the exception of the reverse sweep, but that would have been unwise without the lid on. I’d like to think my scoring rate matches up with the guys playing today, though the game has moved on massively – as a fan, I am delighted with where the game is at currently.

In terms of this year’s competition, India have a mindset that they can go all the way playing like this. That absolutely should be their mindset and would be mine if I was in that dressing room – let’s go out with all guns blazing. That approach has worked so far and if that changes, things may go astray.

I believe they can go all the way unbeaten, which is really something to strive for. There may be some fears of ‘we have played so well so far, there may be a bad game around the corner in the semi-final’. They have to try and nullify those and banish any negative thoughts.

Pakistan could yet join them in the knockout stages but I can’t help thinking that with the talent they have, they should have already sealed their spot. I have seen up close in recent years through my coaching work [Pakistan Super League] how much ability exists in that squad but they have made life hard for themselves – I think they are a more talented squad than their place in the table would suggest. They can beat the very best on their day so there may be some punches left in that team.

One of the highlights of this World Cup, for me, has been watching Afghanistan. If they get a score of over 250, the bowling class they have means they are in the game all the time. Although they were denied by an amazing Glenn Maxwell innings against Australia, they have made a real statement in recent weeks and their performances will be inspirational for those who play the game in Afghanistan.

By contrast, it is a shame for the fans in the West Indies that they have not had the opportunity to see their team in action. I am hoping it acts as a wake-up call as it is a competition which means so much to us. The two World Cups we won in 1975 and 1979 remain the highlights of my career.

To make our mark on the global stage and lift the trophy was an incredible feeling. I hope it serves as a reminder to the guys who are playing today and acts as inspiration for them to reach that level.

Source: ICC
 
If Sir Viv Richards, one of the all-time greats praises you, it means that Virat has accomplished something truly exceptional.
 
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