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Peak Sachin Tendulkar vs Peak Virat Kohli

Peak Sachin Tendulkar or Peak Virat Kohli in Tests?


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  • Poll closed .
A lot of people here who are choosing Tendulkar over Kohli are saying that Kohli didn't have a good WC. Keeping in mind Rohit's form which led Kohli to bat for a limited amount of time, to end with ~450 runs is quite good in my opinion.
It's true that he is not as good as Tendulkar in WCs, but he is ahead in other aspects when it comes to ODIs.

Ten batsmen outscored Virat Kohli in 2019 World Cup. He wasnt even in list of Top 10 run getters.

Likes of Shakib, Root, Williamson, Babar scored more runs than Kohli. Even Ben Stokes scored more runs than Kohli.

In Bi-Laterals he always scores tons of runs but in a competition with batsmen from all around the World, he has been largely outperformed.
 
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Ten batsmen outscored Virat Kohli in 2019 World Cup. He wasnt even in list of Top 10 run getters.

Likes of Shakib, Root, Williamson, Babar scored more runs than Kohli. Even Ben Stokes scored more runs than Kohli.

In Bi-Laterals he always scores tons of runs but in a competition with batsmen from all around the World, he has been largely outperformed.

Compare that to Tendulkar who DONINATED 3 world cups and was quite decent in the other 3.

1992 - Impressive for a teenager to score some good fities especially against Pakistan

1996 - Dominated, Top scorer

1999 - Average for his standards but wasn't a failure. Averaged 40+

2003 - Dominated, Top scorer once again

2007 - Early knock out. Was made to bat at #4. Played 3 games. Had only 1 good outing.

2011 - Dominated. Among Top 2-3 scorers
 
I have seen every one of them. Most of them live. But apart from his 98 at the centurion most of my favorite Sachin ODI innings came in other tournaments or bilaterals. Till date no Indian innings can come even remotely close to Kapil's 175 in the world cup

Some of them I can mention now and I would argue they all are better innings than any knock that Kohli played in WC:-

1996 WC:-

1)Vs Sri Lanka, he scored a 130 odd at 100 SR in India's total of 272, which was an excellent score in 1st inning. This was arguably one of his best knocks in WC outside of the Pakistan one.

2)Vs Australia, he got a 90 which you already know.

2003 WC:-

3)75 ball 98 vs Pakistan, enuff said.

2011 WC:-

4)111(101) vs a strong South African team

4)120(115) vs England

6)Arguably, a match winning 80 odd vs Pakistan in WC semi final.

He had some more quality knocks like the one vs WI in '96, Aus in '11 and a century vs Sri Lanka in '03 WC but the impact was bigger in the mentioned six games and they all are better performance than any inning Kohli has played in World Cup.
 
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Some of them I can mention now and I would argue they all are better innings than any knock that Kohli played in WC:-

1996 WC:-

1)Vs Sri Lanka, he scored a 130 odd at 100 SR in India's total of 272, which was an excellent score in 1st inning. This was arguably one of his best knocks in WC outside of the Pakistan one.

2)Vs Australia, he got a 90 which you already know.

2003 WC:-

3)75 ball 98 vs Pakistan, enuff said.

2011 WC:-

4)111(101) vs a strong South African team

4)120(115) vs England

6)Arguably, a match winning 80 odd vs Pakistan in WC semi final.

He had some more quality knocks like the one vs WI in '96, Aus in '11 and a century vs Sri Lanka in '03 WC but the impact was bigger in the mentioned six games and they all are better performance than any inning Kohli has played in World Cup.

That Srilanka knock 137 i watchced live. Still vividly remember. It was such an easy surface to bat on. But Tendulkar did not attack the bowler until say 45th over or so. He was very cautious upto that point. I Jayasuriya/Kalu started with 42 runs in 3 overs. I wish he had started the acceleration a bit sooner. His 90 was a quality one. His 65 in the semi was a decent one given the nature of the surface.
 
That Srilanka knock 137 i watchced live. Still vividly remember. [V]It was such an easy surface to bat on.[/B] But Tendulkar did not attack the bowler until say 45th over or so. He was very cautious upto that point. I Jayasuriya/Kalu started with 42 runs in 3 overs. I wish he had started the acceleration a bit sooner. His 90 was a quality one. His 65 in the semi was a decent one given the nature of the surface.

If it was such an easy pitch to bat on, then why did the other Great Opener Prabhakar scored 7 ( 36) ? How did Manjrekar perform ?

Jaya and Kalu were known to give explosive starts in those days irrespective of the surface, sometimes it clicked and sometimes it didnt ( Semifinals 96 ) . Even Jayasuriya only scored 79 in 76 balls nearly 100 SR, while Tendulkar also scored 137 in 137 Balls..... What more were you expecting from Tendulkar? To single handedly score 200 in 137 Balls while likes of Manjrekar and Prabhakar take their sweet little time.

Those were not the days of Phatta tracks and bigger bats like the current Kohlis era where its usual for batsmen to score at 150-200 S/R.

Maybe if Prabhakar and Manjrekar didnt bat like snails coupled with some late order big strikes down the order India might have reached around 300 and put up a better challenge. But even then it would be necessary to dismiss Jaya and Kalu cheaply.

Tendulkar made a contribution of 137 in 137 balls, cant expect more than that from an opener against a Top Side in 90s era.
 
If it was such an easy pitch to bat on, then why did the other Great Opener Prabhakar scored 7 ( 36) ? How did Manjrekar perform ?

Jaya and Kalu were known to give explosive starts in those days irrespective of the surface, sometimes it clicked and sometimes it didnt ( Semifinals 96 ) . Even Jayasuriya only scored 79 in 76 balls nearly 100 SR, while Tendulkar also scored 137 in 137 Balls..... What more were you expecting from Tendulkar? To single handedly score 200 in 137 Balls while likes of Manjrekar and Prabhakar take their sweet little time.

Those were not the days of Phatta tracks and bigger bats like the current Kohlis era where its usual for batsmen to score at 150-200 S/R.

Maybe if Prabhakar and Manjrekar didnt bat like snails coupled with some late order big strikes down the order India might have reached around 300 and put up a better challenge. But even then it would be necessary to dismiss Jaya and Kalu cheaply.

Tendulkar made a contribution of 137 in 137 balls, cant expect more than that from an opener against a Top Side in 90s era.

Don't look at the scorecard. Tendulkar was confident and at peak of his powers. Just that he did not choose to attack up until that point.
 
Tendulkar was a treat to watch. His innings against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup was exceptional. Some of the shots were just world class.

Cricket is changed compare to Tendulkars time. Kohli got flatter pitches and weaker bowlers compare to who Tendulkar faced.
 
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Tendulkar was a treat to watch. His innings against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup was exceptional. Some of the shots were just world class.

Cricket is changed compare to Tendulkars time. Kohli got flatter pitches and weaker bowlers compare to who Tendulkar faced.

Disagree. Tendulkar faced very very weak bowlers as well. He infact underachieved against some teams. For instance Tendulkar could have absolutely dominated obliterated 1993 England attack, ZImbabwe attack, Srilanka attack. Also in England he didn't exactly face ATGs either. He threw his wicket away many times with loss of concentration. I won't entirely blame him. Tendulkar at his peak hardly had chance to play tests. There was awful low number of Test matches at that point. He played mostly one dayers. So some one day habits crept into his batting. He didn't exactly realize his peak potential. Still ended up with an average of 58 in the 90s. Tendulkar's most challenging, daunting point of his career was upfront when he made debut. Almost exclusively overseas tours. Pakistan, NZ, England, Australia. He passed with flying colors in each series. In the mid 90s he hit the peak. They hardly scheduled any test matches which is sad.
 
Tendulkar didn't use to field in slips? Well, you learn something new everyday....

And even if one takes your statement at its face value, its better to stay away from slips especially if you keep on dropping catches there....However Kohli has this very big ego of him which sometimes helps his team and sometimes is detrimental to it.

Tendulkar didn't feid in slips in England, Australia and South African conditions. Ever wonderd why ?

Kohli saves more runs on the field and takes catches that arent' catches even if you add the dollies he dropped it still makes up. I never watched Murali or Ganguly drop a single catch ever. Does that mean they are better fielders ?
 
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Tendulkar didn't feid in slips in England, Australia and South African conditions. Ever wonderd why ?

Kohli saves more runs on the field and takes catches that arent' catches even if you add the dollies he dropped it still makes up. I never watched Murali or Ganguly drop a single catch ever. Does that mean they are better fielders ?

You have clearly not seen his drops then lol No India will forget this drop by Kohli. He shelled a simple one Baz was on 9. NZ would have been 78/4 with 168 runs behind to avoid innings defeat. He went on to make 302 and match was shut down

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Mohammed Shami to McCullum, no run, dropped at silly mid-on! Kohli, that was a relatively easy one! It was fullish and McCullum went through with a drive even though he wasn't to the pitch of it. It went to the left of Kohli but he snatched at it with his left hand and doesn't hold on. Came a lot slower than he expected. How costly is that going to be?

ANother one was he dropped Warner and he made 180 runs.
 
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https://sports.ndtv.com/south-africa-vs-india-2021-22/india-vs-south-africa-1st-odi-virat-kohli-goes-past-sachin-tendulkar-for-most-runs-by-indian-player-in-away-odis-2717949#pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

Star batter Virat Kohli on Wednesday surpassed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 5065 runs to become the Indian player with most runs in away One-day Internationals. He achieved the feat during the first ODI against South Africa. Kohli made 51 off 63 balls, with the help of three boundaries. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (5,518) holds the top spot for most runs in overseas ODIs. When he reached 27, Kohli also went past former skippers Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for most runs scored against the Proteas.

Succeeded recently by Rohit Sharma as India's full-time limited-overs skipper, Kohli came into the game with 1287 runs.

Kohli now remains only behind Tendulkar, who has scored 2,001 runs against South Africa in ODIs, the most by any player across countries.

In the overall list, Kohli is now the sixth-highest run-scorer against South Africa. Apart from Tendulkar, Kohli is behind Ricky Ponting (1,879), Kumar Sangakkara (1,789), Steve Waugh (1,581), and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (1,559).

Kohli shocked the cricket fraternity last week by announcing his decision to step down as India's Test captain, a day after the team lost the three-match series 1-2.
 
In ODIs also, I will pick Tendulkar. He has a World Cup average of 56 and was the leading run scorer/2nd leading run scorer for three tournaments.

Kohli has disappointed in this regard as he has never been among the top 10 run scorers in any given ODI World Cup.
 
I would say Tendulkar handled the pressures of carrying the burden, expectations of the entire nation much better. He handled failures, disappointments with dignity
 
Sachin is to Pakistanis what Babar is to Indians.

They will never be respected in each other's countries the way Wasim, Kohli, Imran, Dhoni, Sehwag, Anwar are, no matter what they do. Amir/Rizwan will get more respect in India and Rishabh Pant/Bumrah in Pakistan.

Obviously Sachin and Babar are no comparison at this stage of Babar's career but just providing my viewpoint in terms of the respect they receive. Even if all of world's experts are on side, and even if, atleast Sachin has a very good record against Pakistan.

I feel personally it has to do with how they seem as if they are playing the game for themselves, and how they deliver when the chips are truly down.

There will be arguments made by both sets of supporters to the contrary but it won't change a single mind.
 
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That is a stellar record. Kohli once said that he wanted 'to play cricket forever' when asked by ABDV at what age he would retire. But I doubt Kohli will continue till age 40 like Tendulkar did. Next year's ODI WC in India could be his swansong.
 
Peak Kohli is much better than peak Tendulkar.

Trough Kohli is also better than trough Tendulkar.

Tendulkar really is an asterisk in Indian cricket history. Only stats padding. Achieved nothing else.
 
Peak Kohli is much better than peak Tendulkar.

Trough Kohli is also better than trough Tendulkar.

Tendulkar really is an asterisk in Indian cricket history. Only stats padding. Achieved nothing else.

Just a matter of 2278 runs / 9 man of the matches in world cup. Carried India to 2 finals with his batting. Even in 1996 he was the sole guy fighting on an unplayable track
 
Kohli in T20 and ODI. Tendulkar in test cricket
 
Kohli in T20 and ODI. Tendulkar in test cricket
ODI WC is pinnacle of ODI cricket and Kohli's performances (so far) have not even been a patch on Tendulkar's WC performances.

So no, Kohli is no match as an ODI cricketer to what Tendulkar was.
 
Just a matter of 2278 runs / 9 man of the matches in world cup. Carried India to 2 finals with his batting. Even in 1996 he was the sole guy fighting on an unplayable track
Futile to argue with them.
 
ODI WC is pinnacle of ODI cricket and Kohli's performances (so far) have not even been a patch on Tendulkar's WC performances.

So no, Kohli is no match as an ODI cricketer to what Tendulkar was.

There is a huge gap in their limited overs averages and strike rates.
 
Tendulkar is the greater batter with more versatile technique.
He could do everything Kohli can do and then some.
 
There is a huge gap in their limited overs averages and strike rates.
The era Tendulkar played in was a totally different with diametrically different rules for ODI cricket, not to forget the pitches and the bowlers both faced in their respective careers.
 

What makes it special for Sachin is he played against better teams and bowling attacks. He scored 15000 test runs compared to 8000 of Kohli. For Kohli, almost 4000 runs out of those 24k are in T20s. Sachin only played 1 T20. If we start giving weightage to those runs based on formats. Sachin wins hands down. He would win anyway. :inti
 
Just a matter of 2278 runs / 9 man of the matches in world cup. Carried India to 2 finals with his batting. Even in 1996 he was the sole guy fighting on an unplayable track

He choked in each final. He even choked vs Pakistan in the 2011 semi but we gave him 5 chances.
 
tendulkar is a nobody in front of kohli
he wishes he was a match winner like kohli
 
Yes, how can you compare 100 t20is to 100 odis lol

Kohli's run scoring is on another level.

These 531 matches of Kohli have 100+ t20is where batsman gets only 20 overs at most.
 
As an all format Bat Kohli is the greatest of all time.

Sachin didn't play t20is and it's not his fault.

I still consider Sachin as the greatest Indian batsman (bcoz of his test exploits) but would never say something like Kohli isn't a patch on Tendulkar, things like those can only come out of the mouths of Sachin bh@kts and imbeciles.
 
As an all format Bat Kohli is the greatest of all time.

Sachin didn't play t20is and it's not his fault.

I still consider Sachin as the greatest Indian batsman (bcoz of his test exploits) but would never say something like Kohli isn't a patch on Tendulkar, things like those can only come out of the mouths of Sachin bh@kts and imbeciles.

Just few days ago you called Sachin a 'choker' yourself and then you were put in place by almost everyone who has watched both Sachin and Kohli. :shhh :inti
 
I said imbecile and the biggest of em all got agitated. :yk :inti
It's fun dealing with fake fans and fanatics.
 
Just few days ago you called Sachin a 'choker' yourself and then you were put in place by almost everyone who has watched both Sachin and Kohli. :shhh :inti

Strange, isn't it? We 80's guys grew up watching cricket in the 90's, and yet you'll never see anyone of us put down the great Sunny, or other Indian cricketing greats like Kapil or Vishwanath. I mean it's one thing to see sore loser neighbours like we see in this thread doing such things simply because they haven't produced one batsman good enough to lace SRT's boots, as evident by the fact that their greatest batsman who averages 29 against the West Indies, doesn't even make it to any damn World XI. But to see upcoming generation of Indian fans show the same attitude is outright pathetic.
 
Strange, isn't it? We 80's guys grew up watching cricket in the 90's, and yet you'll never see anyone of us put down the great Sunny, or other Indian cricketing greats like Kapil or Vishwanath. I mean it's one thing to see sore loser neighbours like we see in this thread doing such things simply because they haven't produced one batsman good enough to lace SRT's boots, as evident by the fact that their greatest batsman who averages 29 against the West Indies, doesn't even make it to any damn World XI. But to see upcoming generation of Indian fans show the same attitude is outright pathetic.
Did you actually see the post where fanatics were saying Kohli isn't a patch on Tendulkar?
Or is it just my post that is visible here?

Don’t know why you are so hurt by that, just above this post I called Sachin Indias greatest batsman.
 
Did you actually see the post where fanatics were saying Kohli isn't a patch on Tendulkar?
Or is it just my post that is visible here?

Don’t know why you are so hurt by that, just above this post I called Sachin Indias greatest batsman.

Tendulkar faced all the criticism in the world from 2005 till the end of the 2007 WC, when he was struggling with his injuries. Did you see us on PP ever rubbish Kohli's genius for him underperforming in the last 3 years? Therein lies the difference between grown men and immature ones.
 
Tendulkar faced all the criticism in the world from 2005 till the end of the 2007 WC, when he was struggling with his injuries. Did you see us on PP ever rubbish Kohli's genius for him underperforming in the last 3 years? Therein lies the difference between grown men and immature ones.

It seems he has never seen Sachin play live. Those who have watched him play know what bowling attacks he faced and what he was. Kohli got support from Rohit, Dhawan, Dhoni whereas Sachin was playing alongside duds for almost a decade. Things changed after Ganguly became captain and he created so many match winners for India. :inti
 
Did you actually see the post where fanatics were saying Kohli isn't a patch on Tendulkar?
Or is it just my post that is visible here?

Don’t know why you are so hurt by that, just above this post I called Sachin Indias greatest batsman.

Would like to know in which context they said that? You also called him a 'choker' just like Pakistanis used to call him. :rabada2 :inti
 
Did you see us on PP ever rubbish Kohli's genius for him underperforming in the last 3 .

Yes I did, not you but there are others right.
They wanted him to be dropped.

Now that he has come back to form and humiliated them, they are again jumping on the bandwagon.

Read other posts too.
 
Yes I did, not you but there are others right.
They wanted him to be dropped.

Now that he has come back to form and humiliated them, they are again jumping on the bandwagon.

Read other posts too.

It's one thing to consider Sachin better than Kohli. Another to rubbish Kohli's achievements, like you kids have a tendency to do so for Tendulkar.
 
Tendulkar faced all the criticism in the world from 2005 till the end of the 2007 WC, when he was struggling with his injuries. Did you see us on PP ever rubbish Kohli's genius for him underperforming in the last 3 years? Therein lies the difference between grown men and immature ones.

A lot form certain posters who always cry on Kohli and Dhoni just for nothing (Tendu fans).

Not you, I know you are genuine Tendu-Kohli fan
 
He choked in each final. He even choked vs Pakistan in the 2011 semi but we gave him 5 chances.

Just 2 finals. But he was the one who carried them to final. India was never going to chase 360. Back in those days it was next to impossible. He took a chance against Mcgrath. Didn't come off. 2011 semi? if you give him 5 chances that means you choked lol not him.
 
Indian cricket evolved over the years from Sachin era.. Ever since he started opening in 1994 and later partnered with Ganguly India's ODI stature improved a lot. But it was still missing some elements as it was a top heavy side with Sachin. He was in a situation to start, build and also finish. Then came the imperious Dhoni. That is when India became chase masters. Combination of Yuvi/Dhoni complemented the top order. India started winning more matches chasing. By the end of 2009 enter Kohli. He combined all the attributes of the above players perfected the art of chasing. Not like he stayed not out every time. He almost always brought to the brink of win.

Only DHoni has better average in ODI chasing a target. Averaing 102 @88 strike rate. Kohli 93@97 strike rate
 
I grew up watching Tendulkar. When you think “batsman”, you think Tendulkar. He was picture perfect. Watching him in full flow is something that is difficult to put into words.

People thing longevity is easy to achieve, they try to discredit his records by saying he simply played too many games, but the reason he did so was because he was a prodigy. He is arguably the greatest teenage player ever.

He was a Test class batsman at 16, and he started way earlier than anyone else including Kohli could. By his 20s, he had already established himself as a legend.

Having said that, if you could give me the choice of having Tendulkar or Kohli in my team, I would pick Kohli any day of the week, any format.

There is something about Kohli that was missing in Tendulkar. I won’t go into cliches like bigger match-winner etc. which are true anyway, but Kohli’s presence on the crease is something else.

When he is in the middle he is in control even if the situation is not in India’s favor on paper.

Unless Kohli is dismissed, especially in a run chase, it is hard to think that you can win the match. When India was 36/4 against Pakistan, everyone knew that if Kohli bats through the innings, there is no way India is not winning.

Tendulkar never had that psychological impact. He was much more timid and shy, and that is also reflected in the fact that there is no competition between the two when it comes to captaincy and leadership.

Kohli’s presence uplifts the whole team while someone like Tendulkar will at best take care of his own end only.

Tendulkar fans should not feel uneasy or insecure if some people rate Kohli higher, especially those who saw both play. Both are Indians, and what did Tendulkar did for Indian cricket will never fade away.

His legacy will live on forever, and maybe Kohli wouldn’t exist without him, but it is okay for a student to surpass his mentor. In fact this is how it should be.
 
I grew up watching Tendulkar. When you think “batsman”, you think Tendulkar. He was picture perfect. Watching him in full flow is something that is difficult to put into words.

People thing longevity is easy to achieve, they try to discredit his records by saying he simply played too many games, but the reason he did so was because he was a prodigy. He is arguably the greatest teenage player ever.

He was a Test class batsman at 16, and he started way earlier than anyone else including Kohli could. By his 20s, he had already established himself as a legend.

Having said that, if you could give me the choice of having Tendulkar or Kohli in my team, I would pick Kohli any day of the week, any format.

There is something about Kohli that was missing in Tendulkar. I won’t go into cliches like bigger match-winner etc. which are true anyway, but Kohli’s presence on the crease is something else.

When he is in the middle he is in control even if the situation is not in India’s favor on paper.

Unless Kohli is dismissed, especially in a run chase, it is hard to think that you can win the match. When India was 36/4 against Pakistan, everyone knew that if Kohli bats through the innings, there is no way India is not winning.

Tendulkar never had that psychological impact. He was much more timid and shy, and that is also reflected in the fact that there is no competition between the two when it comes to captaincy and leadership.

Kohli’s presence uplifts the whole team while someone like Tendulkar will at best take care of his own end only.

Tendulkar fans should not feel uneasy or insecure if some people rate Kohli higher, especially those who saw both play. Both are Indians, and what did Tendulkar did for Indian cricket will never fade away.

His legacy will live on forever, and maybe Kohli wouldn’t exist without him, but it is okay for a student to surpass his mentor. In fact this is how it should be.

Absolutely. I've never been insecure of Kohli. He is one of my favourite batsman ever. In fact I seriously rated him slightly better than Tendulkar until 3 years ago when his century scoring habit stopped temporarily. Kohli is a batting genius with the heart of a lion.
 
I grew up watching Tendulkar. When you think “batsman”, you think Tendulkar. He was picture perfect. Watching him in full flow is something that is difficult to put into words.

People thing longevity is easy to achieve, they try to discredit his records by saying he simply played too many games, but the reason he did so was because he was a prodigy. He is arguably the greatest teenage player ever.

He was a Test class batsman at 16, and he started way earlier than anyone else including Kohli could. By his 20s, he had already established himself as a legend.

Having said that, if you could give me the choice of having Tendulkar or Kohli in my team, I would pick Kohli any day of the week, any format.

There is something about Kohli that was missing in Tendulkar. I won’t go into cliches like bigger match-winner etc. which are true anyway, but Kohli’s presence on the crease is something else.

When he is in the middle he is in control even if the situation is not in India’s favor on paper.

Unless Kohli is dismissed, especially in a run chase, it is hard to think that you can win the match. When India was 36/4 against Pakistan, everyone knew that if Kohli bats through the innings, there is no way India is not winning.

Tendulkar never had that psychological impact. He was much more timid and shy, and that is also reflected in the fact that there is no competition between the two when it comes to captaincy and leadership.

Kohli’s presence uplifts the whole team while someone like Tendulkar will at best take care of his own end only.

Tendulkar fans should not feel uneasy or insecure if some people rate Kohli higher, especially those who saw both play. Both are Indians, and what did Tendulkar did for Indian cricket will never fade away.

His legacy will live on forever, and maybe Kohli wouldn’t exist without him, but it is okay for a student to surpass his mentor. In fact this is how it should be.

While this is true is many respect, we need to understand that it was not just Tendulkar but the overall support system and Indian team around him was very timid. For first 7 yrs of his career he was hardly getting any support from rest of the group barring few innings from Azhar who has been always a moody player. Tendulkar would have been a completely different beast had he started his career under an aggressive captain like Ganguly, infact inspite of his apparent timidness his innings against Donald on that SA debut series, his first opening bout against NZ and multiple other innings demonstrates his aggressiveness and steel(ofcourse Kohli is even better in that regard). It was only after emergence of Ganguly and Dravid and later Sehwag, Tendulkar was able to get proper support from the team. Kohli obviously is Uber aggressive and has that aura of nothing is beyond him when in full rhythm but remember he did not play the calibre of bowlers Sachin played. Sachin started his career against Imran and Qadir, went to play Mcdermot , Ambrose , Walsh, Donald, Pollock and the carried on against Akram, Akhtar, Waqar, Saqlain, Murali, Warne, McGrath, Lee. These are bowlers from Cricket hallmark, how many legends did Kohli tame other than Anderson in England? His innings against Malinga and Ajmal are great individual exploits under pressure, not necessarily against ATG bowling line ups.
 
I grew up watching Tendulkar. When you think “batsman”, you think Tendulkar. He was picture perfect. Watching him in full flow is something that is difficult to put into words.

People thing longevity is easy to achieve, they try to discredit his records by saying he simply played too many games, but the reason he did so was because he was a prodigy. He is arguably the greatest teenage player ever.

He was a Test class batsman at 16, and he started way earlier than anyone else including Kohli could. By his 20s, he had already established himself as a legend.

Having said that, if you could give me the choice of having Tendulkar or Kohli in my team, I would pick Kohli any day of the week, any format.

There is something about Kohli that was missing in Tendulkar. I won’t go into cliches like bigger match-winner etc. which are true anyway, but Kohli’s presence on the crease is something else.

When he is in the middle he is in control even if the situation is not in India’s favor on paper.

Unless Kohli is dismissed, especially in a run chase, it is hard to think that you can win the match. When India was 36/4 against Pakistan, everyone knew that if Kohli bats through the innings, there is no way India is not winning.

Tendulkar never had that psychological impact. He was much more timid and shy, and that is also reflected in the fact that there is no competition between the two when it comes to captaincy and leadership.

Kohli’s presence uplifts the whole team while someone like Tendulkar will at best take care of his own end only.

Tendulkar fans should not feel uneasy or insecure if some people rate Kohli higher, especially those who saw both play. Both are Indians, and what did Tendulkar did for Indian cricket will never fade away.

His legacy will live on forever, and maybe Kohli wouldn’t exist without him, but it is okay for a student to surpass his mentor. In fact this is how it should be.

Nothing to argue , if kohli can finish his career as smoothly as tendulkar latter should feel proud that his junior is surpassing his milestones one after other..
 
Sachin easily for me, Sachin at peak was a different level ,his batting against Aus in 1998 CT was in a level, I can't see Kohli able to match that in ODI, Tests we all know the difference.

People also forget Sachin the bowler was clutch.
 
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Sachin easily for me, Sachin at peak was a different level ,his batting against Aus in 1998 CT was in a level, I can't see Kohli able to match that in ODI, Tests we all know the difference.

People also forget Sachin the bowler was clutch.

Yup, men with golden arm - Him and Sourav. When a wicket was needed one of these two used to get the breakthrough.
 
Yup, men with golden arm - Him and Sourav. When a wicket was needed one of these two used to get the breakthrough.

Yeah Dada got Sanath out at 189, made sure he isn't the first to get 200 lol.
 
For me it's Sachin. Without a doubt. The guy carried his team for years. I mean only later on with rule changes and flatter white ball pitches did we get a glimpse of what he would have done in this era.

People seriously mis understand what this guy did. And I'm speaking as a Pakistani. He was the equivalent of Imran khan or wasim Akram was for us. Generational change stuff. Also the bowling attacks at the start of his career were relentless. His team and cricket structure was poor riddled with infighting politics and was amateur.

Kohli came into the IPL era where pro sports people in India were finally getting support and more opps. For me personally kohli without the early years support would have been hit or miss..Sachin overcame it all and succeeded in spite of the problems.
 
For me it's Sachin. Without a doubt. The guy carried his team for years. I mean only later on with rule changes and flatter white ball pitches did we get a glimpse of what he would have done in this era.

People seriously mis understand what this guy did. And I'm speaking as a Pakistani. He was the equivalent of Imran khan or wasim Akram was for us. Generational change stuff. Also the bowling attacks at the start of his career were relentless. His team and cricket structure was poor riddled with infighting politics and was amateur.

Kohli came into the IPL era where pro sports people in India were finally getting support and more opps. For me personally kohli without the early years support would have been hit or miss..Sachin overcame it all and succeeded in spite of the problems.

Thanks for saying it as it is. Not many will understand this. :inti
 
For me it's Sachin. Without a doubt. The guy carried his team for years. I mean only later on with rule changes and flatter white ball pitches did we get a glimpse of what he would have done in this era.

People seriously mis understand what this guy did. And I'm speaking as a Pakistani. He was the equivalent of Imran khan or wasim Akram was for us. Generational change stuff. Also the bowling attacks at the start of his career were relentless. His team and cricket structure was poor riddled with infighting politics and was amateur.

Kohli came into the IPL era where pro sports people in India were finally getting support and more opps. For me personally kohli without the early years support would have been hit or miss..Sachin overcame it all and succeeded in spite of the problems.

Definitely. He was playing out of his skin in matches where someone was selling the match. Full on corruption during the 90s. Also India played very little Tests during his peak form. Ridiculously low numebr of Tests. There was a time Indian fans were longing to see India crossing 300 atleast once in a one dayer. Very first time they did was when Sachin made a 100. Against Pakistan. My most memorable match is always his very first match as opener. With Sidhu sidelined due to injury India thought of opening with Sachin chasing a meagre total. Rest is history. 82 runs in 49 balls. They have that HQ video of that match on youtube. People were watching that up at 2 AM. Those days it was surreal batting. He was only like 20 years old.
 
Definitely. He was playing out of his skin in matches where someone was selling the match. Full on corruption during the 90s. Also India played very little Tests during his peak form. Ridiculously low numebr of Tests. There was a time Indian fans were longing to see India crossing 300 atleast once in a one dayer. Very first time they did was when Sachin made a 100. Against Pakistan. My most memorable match is always his very first match as opener. With Sidhu sidelined due to injury India thought of opening with Sachin chasing a meagre total. Rest is history. 82 runs in 49 balls. They have that HQ video of that match on youtube. People were watching that up at 2 AM. Those days it was surreal batting. He was only like 20 years old.

Not one but 30% of the team. Azhar, Prabhakar, Mongia and Jadeja were directly under investigation. There probably were others as well.
 
Kohli came into the IPL era where pro sports people in India were finally getting support and more opps. For me personally kohli without the early years support would have been hit or miss..Sachin overcame it all and succeeded in spite of the problems.

Kohli made it through the U19 success not through IPL, he has no god father and Mumbai Lobbying behind him.

Sachin is from Mumbai and he had great support around him who dictates cricket in India. (OfCourse players like a Sachin don't need any backing that's a different point)

Every Mumbai player has great support from Mumbai Lobby, Rohit Sharma played 80 ODI's with average 30, if that was Kohli he would have kicked out from the team.

Srinivasan wanted S Badrinath over Virat Kohli, the decision to select Kohli eventually resulted in Vengsarkar being removed :)):))

Virat Kohli made his name by Scoring runs not by someone's support.
 
I grew up watching Tendulkar. When you think “batsman”, you think Tendulkar. He was picture perfect. Watching him in full flow is something that is difficult to put into words.

People thing longevity is easy to achieve, they try to discredit his records by saying he simply played too many games, but the reason he did so was because he was a prodigy. He is arguably the greatest teenage player ever.

He was a Test class batsman at 16, and he started way earlier than anyone else including Kohli could. By his 20s, he had already established himself as a legend.

Having said that, if you could give me the choice of having Tendulkar or Kohli in my team, I would pick Kohli any day of the week, any format.

There is something about Kohli that was missing in Tendulkar. I won’t go into cliches like bigger match-winner etc. which are true anyway, but Kohli’s presence on the crease is something else.

When he is in the middle he is in control even if the situation is not in India’s favor on paper.

Unless Kohli is dismissed, especially in a run chase, it is hard to think that you can win the match. When India was 36/4 against Pakistan, everyone knew that if Kohli bats through the innings, there is no way India is not winning.

Tendulkar never had that psychological impact. He was much more timid and shy, and that is also reflected in the fact that there is no competition between the two when it comes to captaincy and leadership.

Kohli’s presence uplifts the whole team while someone like Tendulkar will at best take care of his own end only.

Tendulkar fans should not feel uneasy or insecure if some people rate Kohli higher, especially those who saw both play. Both are Indians, and what did Tendulkar did for Indian cricket will never fade away.

His legacy will live on forever, and maybe Kohli wouldn’t exist without him, but it is okay for a student to surpass his mentor. In fact this is how it should be.
tendulkar always had that psychological impact on opposite teams.watch the anwar 194 game when sachin came as a runner for dravid.the crowd found their voice and runs began to follow quickly such that ameer sohail the opposition captain denied the bye runner and sent sachin back. thats is sachin s impact.he need not to be batting at the crease. his mere presence is enough to take the game away from opposition.
 
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David Lloyd discussed the topic during an interaction on a sports media platform. He described how he sought opinions through social media and received overwhelming support for Tendulkar:

"I did a bit of research, got on social media, and I threw it out there. You can only have one. 95 percent said Sachin. Some are telling me, criticizing me, some even asking the question. It's ridiculous. There is only one answer. The one thing that kept coming up was that Sachin would leave his ego at home. I think the other guy is quite a personable chap, Virat Kohli."

"In Test cricket, Sachin. The other guy is incredible, Virat Kohli. Dangerous. Would take the game away. Exciting player. If I had a choice in a Test match between Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, I would have Lara. He could hit the ball in places that weren't even invented, and could do it all very naturally. A different animal, Lara. He could get a bit touchy but I never saw that with Sachin Tendulkar. He was on an even keel all the time, Tendulkar. Didn't really take chances. So in Test matches, between him and Kohli, two fabulous players. It's not really an argument, Sachin.”

"Sachin was sublime. All is right with the world, but I like a bit of rock and roll. We're talking about two of the greatest players there's ever been. We're trying to look at T20s and ODIs, you could easily go for Kohli."
 
Both are atg's. Imo Sachin is still better. Kohli is better as a chaser though 100%. But in test, odi and overall skills Sachin is superior
 
Sachin's peak in tests is LONGER and BETTER than steve smith's whole career.

Virat is not in the same galaxy.
 
Tendulkar was technically better. His cover drives, straight drives were soundly better. He was better against spin too. So, I’ll choose Sachin over Kohli in tests. Tendulkar was a class above above everyone in tests, maybe except for Lara and Steve Waugh. (Players who started their careers in late 80s and later).

In ODIs it’s a challenge. While both are great batsmen but both of them had have shortcomings too. Tendulkar should have chased down that 240+ against Sri Lanka in 1996 WC final. A player of Tendulkar class playing at home shouldn’t have botched it. Also, he didn’t perform that well again Pakistan. I believe he had never scored a century against Pakistan when Wasim and Waqar both were playing or even Wasim was playing. (Thats from my memory I might be wrong). Also, I think until 2004 he might have scored only 2-3 centuries against us even though both teams played regularly in Sharjah and other places in 1990s. Said that he had played some amazing innings in pressure situations. My favorite innings of his was against Australia in 1996 WC, and against us in 2003 WC. (Even though Wasim and Waqar were on their last legs but the way he played against Shoaib was amazing).

Kohli has a swag! Tendulkar never had that swag. Kohli is that arrogant son of …. who you don’t want to score against you but you know he will. I personally like him a lot. He is arguably the best chaser the sport has seen, however 2015 WC, 2017 CT and 2019 WC would always be a big bleep on his career. He should have chased down at least one those targets.
 
Kohli any day of the week in limited overs cricket.

In test cricket, Tendulkar is inferior even to Lara, Ponting, Kallis, and Sangakarra, so there is no point in comparison.
 
Tenda v Smith as bowlers is a better comparison and worth discussing.

As test match batters Smith is far ahead

Not surprised that as a Pak fan your opinion is laughably uninformed when it comes to elite batting. Your time is best spent talking up inftimania lmao
 
Not surprised that as a Pak fan your opinion is laughably uninformed when it comes to elite batting. Your time is best spent talking up inftimania lmao
Steve Smith peaked at number 2 in the all time ICC ratings.

Tendulkar not even in the top 30.
 
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