[MENTION=134809]sensible-indian-fan[/MENTION] where are you bro ?
Here I am. lol. Was busy.
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As for this thread, at first the comparison may throw people off guard and comments here suggest that but if you look deeper, the thread DOES make sense.
Here's what I mean:
Every batsman has a style of play.
Viv's batting had brutality in his shots.
Sachin's batting had a mixture compactness and perfection in execution.
Lara's batting had a mixture of style and brutality.
Sanga's batting had grace.
Dravid's batting had technical perfection in defense.
Laxman's batting had classiness and effortless style.
Similarly Ponting's batting had CRISPNESS (with aggression) in his shots. That's the way he would play. The shots he plays would feel like taking out freshly baked buscuits and breaking them in half.
Kohli has a similar crispness in his batting. Watch his highlights of his 4 centuries in Australia and you would see it. Crisp batting is a lot charismatic. If you love it, you will feel that particular batsman is the best. That's probably why some starrted comparing Kohli with Sachin cos the shots Kohli played were more fun and energy filled than Sachin played (his style is different). Same way people get enamoured by Ponting's batting and his style has got a lot to do with it. Its not just pulling and hooking but the way he meets the ball, the sound he makes and the way it races off. Crispness in full flow is probably more amazing to watch (even better than Viv's brutality or Sachin's timing/power/compactness combo or Sanga's grace).
As for performance, Kohli can't hold a candle to Ponting's swing playing ability (Kohli can play pace and bounce but swing is a problem). He is probably a better player of spin though (regardless of Ponting's average in SL and Pak - he wasn't as assured against spin). Overall, Kohli is NO MATCH for Ponting the batsman but that's natural cos Ponting is an elite ATG and some even put him in SRT/Lara bracket as the best bat in the last 30 years.
But similarities between Kohli and Ponting:
1. Aggressive attitude in nature
2. Batting style - crispness of batting
3. Have to win at all costs
Whether he can reach Ponting's stature in test cricket is a big question mark. Heck, Kohli has a long way to go before he can seriously be considered as potential ATG bat leave alone Ponting level.
There are so many issues Kohli has to sort out (he can - I have seen enough of him to know he has the potential) but there are a lot of issues. Let's see what he does.
If I compare these two, I would do it for their style, attitude, etc. Performance, won't even go there for now.