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Virat Kohli - The Mega Discussion

KingKhanWC said:
Terrible XI

Dhoni is no test player & Laxman is better than Kohli in tests. Not to mention many others from earlier eras.
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Dhoni is picked up for wicket keeping, for which he is good enough. Laxman is most definitely nowhere near Kohli in tests, Kohli is couple of levels above him easily.

Players from earlier eras don't have good enough stats both home and away.
 
My order for Indian test batsman is :-

Tendulkar
Gavaskar
Dravid
Kohli
Sehwag
Laxman
Pujara
Ganguly
Rohit / Rahane

From the other batsman of 70s and 80s, Vishwanath is rated quite highly so he will be just below Laxman for me. Azhar, Vengsarkar will be around same level to Pujara. Hard to rank Mohinder Amarnath though.
 
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Joseph Gomes said:
Dhoni is picked up for wicket keeping, for which he is good enough. Laxman is most definitely nowhere near Kohli in tests, Kohli is couple of levels above him easily.

Players from earlier eras don't have good enough stats both home and away.
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Dhoni wasnt teh best keeper in tests, he missed plenty in England. Mongia was better with the gloves.

You dont always need stats, simply watch the players play.

Azhar, Vengsarker, Viswanath and even Ganguly was better in tests.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Dhoni wasnt teh best keeper in tests, he missed plenty in England. Mongia was better with the gloves.

You dont always need stats, simply watch the players play.

Azhar, Vengsarker, Viswanath and even Ganguly was better in tests.
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I would pick stats over names who clearly didn't do as well as claimed. You can replaced Dhoni with whoever you think is better, rest of the team is well backed up by their performance.
 
Ashraful_Rox said:
Kohli is still the best Indian captain, even Ganguly couldn't win a series in Australia, Kohli won it twice and will win it in England :kohli

Best subcontinental player of the decade
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Kohli won it twice? Last time I check the last series in Aus, India were all out for 36 under Kohli in the 1st test match, Kohli left, and India went on to win the series. It's a myth Kohli was responsible for the recent series win in Aus.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Kohli won it twice? Last time I check the last series in Aus, India were all out for 36 under Kohli in the 1st test match, Kohli left, and India went on to win the series. It's a myth Kohli was responsible for the recent series win in Aus.
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That's correct, Kohli captained one match where India got humiliated. Rahane won the series. Kohli's previous series win was against an Australia without Warner and Smith.

He is a great batsman but extremely overrated as captain.
 
Kohli has been averaging in the mid 20s for nearly 3 years now in test cricket while Ashwin was the leading wicket taker in the last WTC cycle and was one of the biggest reasons we won in Australia.

In a parallel universe, Ashwin would be the Indian test team captain who would be benching Kohli for not performing, instead of Ashwin being benched for the series by Kohli for providing balance to the team.
 
'Virat Kohli should call Sachin Tendulkar, ask what to do': Gavaskar after Anderson dismisses India captain again

This was the seventh time Kohli was dismissed by Anderson in Test cricket – joint-most along with Nathan Lyon. The England legend had dismissed the Indian captain for a golden duck in the first Test at Nottingham too.

Sunil Gavaskar said India captain Virat Kohli should think about giving a call to Sachin Tendulkar to sort out the technical problems he has been having in England, particularly against pacer James Anderson. Gavaskar’s comments came after Kohli was dismissed by Anderson on Day 1 of the third Test at Headingley in Leeds for 7 runs after facing just 17 balls.

This was the seventh time Kohli was dismissed by Anderson in Test cricket – joint-most along with Nathan Lyon. The England legend had dismissed the Indian captain for a golden duck in the first Test at Nottingham too.

“He should give a quick call to SRT (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) and ask what should I do?" said Gavaskar during commentary on Wednesday.

It happened in the 11th over of the Indian innings when a full of confidence Anderson got one to just hold its line to Kohli and the latter went for the drive without getting a big stride in, only to get an outside edge to keeper Jos Buttler.

Kohli’s problems outside the off stump in this series, has brought back memories of the 2014 tour when he could not score a single fifty in the five matches and got out to Anderson multiple times.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/virat-kohli-should-call-sachin-tendulkar-ask-what-to-do-sunil-gavaskar-after-james-anderson-dismissed-india-captain-again-101629941870821.html
 
I was watching average and ranking of virat
I mean man with such a bad or we can say worst slump he still average 50 in both formats and still is in top 5 in all formats this shows what a beast he was during his peak. To be honest he still should be in his peak as he is not too old right now God knows whats going in his life and why cant he focus on his batting and why he is showing fake agression when the real fire in his eyes in missing and i can bet with england leading by 200 runs and still he will celebrate next.wicket like its 0 for 4
 
As a kashmiri i know what a threat he used to be for pakistan and for any other team as our elders used to say 'aagaya kohli ab dekhna 100 maarega' even during that asia cup when Aamir was on fire everyone in our family said 'Kohli out hoga toh phir celebrate karte hai abhi rehne do' this was the respect and fear that he earned during his peak
 
rkpv31n0ikj71.jpg

Sachin and Dravid had mid career declines but Kohli's looks much steeper and dare I say, terminal.
 
Look at the volume of Cricket Kohli has played in the last 10 years. No surprise that a decline was inevitable. It happened to Ricky Ponting as well who was averaging close to 60 in test matches at one point and then that average fell by a good 6-7 runs.
 
raashidkhan89079 said:
I never ever in my life even imagined that kohli will go through such worst slump
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I always did and knew he will struggle pretty badly. You can thank IPL for that. Always maintained that Kohli should give up IPL for next few years to prolong his test career. He needs to take a break for 2 months every year but he isn't taking it. He is averaging around 23 in the last 10 tests. :inti
 
Laxman over Kohli in Tests for me. VVS seemed to come up with his signature gun innings when the pressure was at its greatest.
 
OMB said:
'Virat Kohli should call Sachin Tendulkar, ask what to do': Gavaskar after Anderson dismisses India captain again

This was the seventh time Kohli was dismissed by Anderson in Test cricket – joint-most along with Nathan Lyon. The England legend had dismissed the Indian captain for a golden duck in the first Test at Nottingham too.

Sunil Gavaskar said India captain Virat Kohli should think about giving a call to Sachin Tendulkar to sort out the technical problems he has been having in England, particularly against pacer James Anderson. Gavaskar’s comments came after Kohli was dismissed by Anderson on Day 1 of the third Test at Headingley in Leeds for 7 runs after facing just 17 balls.

This was the seventh time Kohli was dismissed by Anderson in Test cricket – joint-most along with Nathan Lyon. The England legend had dismissed the Indian captain for a golden duck in the first Test at Nottingham too.

“He should give a quick call to SRT (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) and ask what should I do?" said Gavaskar during commentary on Wednesday.

It happened in the 11th over of the Indian innings when a full of confidence Anderson got one to just hold its line to Kohli and the latter went for the drive without getting a big stride in, only to get an outside edge to keeper Jos Buttler.

Kohli’s problems outside the off stump in this series, has brought back memories of the 2014 tour when he could not score a single fifty in the five matches and got out to Anderson multiple times.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/virat-kohli-should-call-sachin-tendulkar-ask-what-to-do-sunil-gavaskar-after-james-anderson-dismissed-india-captain-again-101629941870821.html
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If Younis can ask Azharuddin, surely Kohli can ask Sachin too. But doubt he will.
 
Ab Fan said:
If Younis can ask Azharuddin, surely Kohli can ask Sachin too. But doubt he will.
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Not sure how that's gonna help as Tendulkar himself was an Anderson bunny.

Who Kohli really needs to take advice from is the smiling legend himself, George Bailey.
 
Virat Kohli, to me always has been the modern day version of Ricky Ponting. A massive impact player, ultra aggressive and overall a great great player. Ponting had a monstrous(probably second only to Bradman) peak for a period of 5-6 years and then had an equally monstrous slump. Will Virat's career take the same route? Interesting couple of years ahead.
 
Sad to see such a great player struggle in Tests and getting vilified.

Much as I don’t like his current form, I would still bet on Kohli as a tried and tested player. Hope he comes out of his slump soon.
Drop Pujara for SKY if you will
 
he'll be back, averages 65 at home, will continue to pile on runs in slightly less testing conditions. hes fallen behind the other big 4 on recent form but hes still world class.

india have bigger problems with replacing pujara at number 3, who looks to be closer to the end of the road than kohli.
 
Ab Fan said:
If Younis can ask Azharuddin, surely Kohli can ask Sachin too. But doubt he will.
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Gavaskar is simply asking Kohli to do what he has already done in the past. I assumed everyone knew that after his horrid 2014 tour of England, Virat went to Mumbai and worked with Sachin in the nets for a couple of days. Just some basics were worked out and he went to Australia and had a memorable tour. This is something he's always mentioned whenever he talks of 2014.

But the tone in which Gavaskar said this on air came across like:
Drop your ego, you're not that great, learn from the guru :afridi
 
pillionrider said:
Gavaskar is simply asking Kohli to do what he has already done in the past. I assumed everyone knew that after his horrid 2014 tour of England, Virat went to Mumbai and worked with Sachin in the nets for a couple of days. Just some basics were worked out and he went to Australia and had a memorable tour. This is something he's always mentioned whenever he talks of 2014.

But the tone in which Gavaskar said this on air came across like:
Drop your ego, you're not that great, learn from the guru :afridi
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Gavaskar isn't wrong though. Both Gavaskar and Tendulkar were the best test batsman for much of their respective careers. Whereas Kohli is nowhere near Smith and likely behind Root as well.
 
With every passing day the Kohli Brand has increased in last 2 years but his form has receded.
He is living the lifestyle of a List A celebrity. He is one of the most famous athletes in the world. Is married to an actress. Has sponsorships all over the world. Became a father recently. It must all become too much at some stage. Maybe he needs a little break from all that. Relax a little. Play some domestic FC cricket.
He'll be fine.

Needs to go on an aggressive mood in the second innings. Might get a century.
 
I love how people waited for years for Kohli's form to dip so that they can take out their daggers and make fun of him. He is indeed the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket.
 
Kohli needs a series against BD and SL to regain his confidence. The form will return when the confidence returns.
 
Ab Fan said:
Tests :-

ABD - 8500 runs, AVG 50.7
Kohli - 7500 runs, AVG 51.2

Comparison with another all-format bat:-

Viv - 8500 runs, AVG 50.2

Conclusion:- Viv = Kohli = ABD

#BVB owned! :yk
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And Kohli has played 20 matches less than both. Funny how you ignored "all international formats" deliberately and don't even want to talk about that. :)) Last couple of days have been quite tough for you it seems. :inti
 
11 not out at the moment, so can't really state he's settled at the crease. However, the feet are moving well and there's a bit of conviction in the forward defensive strokes also.

Little signs but promising for all that.
 
I think it will be his 100th test match when he will most likely finish the dearth of a test match century.
 
What does Kohli’s (Test) avg of less than 36 in each of Eng, NZ & WI say about him?

Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of the last decade.

But the average (combined & individual) of less than 36 in the countries where the ball moves, does it say something about his technical flaw?

Personally I did expect him to avg at least 40+ in all these countries

Eng: 33.62
NZ: 36.00
WI: 35.61

Combined: 34.53
 
That he is a typical modern era LOI slog king that most now are.

I feel Babar Azam is similiar in his own way. He averages 57 in odis but is failing to make an impact in tests.
 
As a test batsman, he is in same league as Clarke, Jayawardene and Amla. Only the very best average 40+ in all major cricket nations and that includes the likes of Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Lara, Smith, de Villiers and Root.
 
Has deteriorated very very rapidly. The worst part is, his arrogance is intact, perhaps even greater.
 
Ab Fan said:
As a test batsman, he is in same league as Clarke, Jayawardene and Amla. Only the very best average 40+ in all major cricket nations and that includes the likes of Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Lara, Smith, de Villiers and Root.
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Remember, stats can be manipulated to show quite a few things. Although Root might average pretty decently (not 40+, btw) in most 'major' test nations, only a year ago, there were calls for him being dropped from the 'Fab 4'. Not too long ago it felt like Cummins was toying around with Root in Root's own backyard. He was called 'soft' and 'a tier below the other 3'. Needless to say, I did not agree then and I don't now. My point is, form is temporary. Don't let that cloud your judgement.

In terms of scoring runs when it matters, Kohli is far superior to Root. Obviously the latter does have a chance to cash in on his recent run of form to try and dominate in Australia, but he hasn't doesn't done that yet.

Kohli may not be in the best forms, but let's not pretend the guy wasn't playing crazy good cricket for a significant period of time. Let's not be fickle.
 
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The last time Kohli scored a century in internationals; There wasn’t even a single covid case in the world (even that was againstShakib-less Bangladesh)
 
Ricky Ponting from his debut to the last time he enjoyed the services of playing with the Invincible Australian team in June 2007 averaged 60 in test cricket.

After the great players left, he averaged only 40 in test cricket from June 2007 to his retirement in 2012. A very revealing and telling Statistic.

Perhaps Kohli is going through a similar decline
 
Is it that easy?

==

"It's nice to get Kohli, after he got me for two fours in the over -- it's a simple plan to Virat, fourth and fifth stump, get it to angle away, and hope he nicks it and he did," Ollie Robinson
 
MenInG said:
Is it that easy?

==

"It's nice to get Kohli, after he got me for two fours in the over -- it's a simple plan to Virat, fourth and fifth stump, get it to angle away, and hope he nicks it and he did," Ollie Robinson
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Yes. These days it is. :inti
 
I have some sympathy for him these days. Actually also some sympathy for those who tought that he was the best ever or whatever close to this.
He is currently the battling himself to have a 50+ test batting average, and is, at best, on par with Williamson and Root as test batsman.

Root will surpass him, without any doubt.

Smith is in a different league.
 
His dictatorial and terrible captaincy aside, still the best test batsman in the team.

Masterpiece incoming :sarf
 
Mobashir said:
I have some sympathy for him these days. Actually also some sympathy for those who tought that he was the best ever or whatever close to this.
He is currently the battling himself to have a 50+ test batting average, and is, at best, on par with Williamson and Root as test batsman.

Root will surpass him, without any doubt.

Smith is in a different league.
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Williamson does not average 40+in any SENA country. (a metric used since 1980s)

As of now the competition is with Root coz he is doing really well, but looks like Kohli is also finally getting out of that slump, will be nice to see their battle.
Smith obviously is on different planet in tests just how Kohli is on different Galaxy in lois.
 
India captain Virat Kohli has overtaken Sachin Tendulkar as he became the fastest cricketer to score 23,000 international runs. He achieved the feat with a wonderful on drive off his nemesis James Anderson and did so in just 490 innings, compare this to Sachin who had taken 522 innings to achieve the same feat. Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting is the third highest in the list, who had taken 544 innings; South Africa’s Jacques Kallis comes in next with 551 innings. The only other Indian on the list is Rahul Dravid who got to 23k in 576 innings.

Earlier Virat Kohli had to face a lot of heat on Twitter as he dropped Ravi Ashwin for the fourth consecutive Test match.

Indian fans were really expecting Ravichandran Ashwin to make the cut for the fourth Test at Oval. But, no, Kohli and the team management had other ideas. With series level at 1-1, India didn’t want wholesale changes. They did bring two bowlers in Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, but they were seamers. As far as the lone spinner in the team was concerned, it was Ravindra Jadeja not Ashwin.

A number of fans—high profile fans like Shashi Tharoor-couldn’t make much of it and criticised the team’s decision on Twitter.

Earlier Team India wore black armbands as they gave a tribute to Vasu Pranjape at the Oval just before the start of fourth Test match against England. Paranjape, a man synonymous with everything that is pristine about Mumbai cricket, breathed his last on Monday. He was 82 years old and is survived by his wife, retired professor Lalita, two daughters and former India cricketer and national selector son Jatin


E-R5bWeVIAEvmPh
 
End of another great tour of England for the best ever!
9 innings for 275 runs, average 30, SR 43, 2 fifties.
 
'Too good for you': What it's like on the receiving end of a Kohli masterclass

Over the course of his career, Glenn Maxwell has made plenty of jaws drop. At the 2016 T20 World Cup, the Australian found himself at the other end of one of those jaw-dropping performances as Virat Kohli stitched together one of the tournament's greatest-ever innings.


“It was one of those times in T20 cricket where one player has a day out and is too good for you.”

Variations of that sentence have often been said of Glenn Maxwell, but this time around it’s the Australian doling out the praise.

The man and the moment he’s speaking of? Virat Kohli and his Mohali masterclass against Australia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016.

In what was a quarter-final in everything but name, Australia faced India in the last match of Group 2 of the Super 10 stage. The two favourites to progress from the group, they had each suffered campaign opening defeats against New Zealand, leaving them in a sudden-death situation for the remainder of the tournament.

Australia had managed comfortable wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan to sit second in the group going into their final pool match but for India, it had been a much bumpier road. Against Pakistan, their ambitions nearly went down the drain as rain lashed Kolkata, eventually overcoming the downpour thanks to the hard work of the groundstaff, and their rivals thanks largely to a silky 55 from Kohli. A game later they beat Bangladesh by one run thanks to the ever youthful hamstrings of MS Dhoni.

Given the way India had whitewashed Australia earlier in the year, the momentum the Australians had built set things up perfectly, ensuring there was no clear favourite.

Electing to bat first, Australia managed a total of 160/6 – a total Maxwell believes was “decent” five years on.

It was a total that looked even better as Nathan Coulter-Nile removed Shikhar Dhawan early, and Shane Watson, determined to extend his international career, dismissed Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina to leave India at 49/3 by the eighth over.

A rolled ankle to Yuvraj Singh had further stymied the Indians, with the veteran swinging in earnest before eventually limping off for 21 off 18. By that point, India’s required run-rate had climbed to 11.16 an over and before the end of the match it would get as high as 13.

Despite all of that, while Kohli was still there – and now in the company of Dhoni too – there was a sense that something special was coming and so it proved.

There were early signs that Kohli was in a mood when he opened his account with back-to-back fours off Josh Hazlewood but the Australians had managed to keep him in check for a while. The first 20 deliveries he faced brought him 20 runs, and he raised his fifty – almost unnoteworthy for Kohli that tournament – off 39 deliveries.

It was what came afterwards that was really special.

“I just remember Virat Kohli coming out and not missing the middle of the bat the whole innings,” Maxwell, an ICC Live the Game ambassador, recalled of the innings. “He played some of the most extraordinary shots. Just the way he manipulated our field and manipulated his hands around the ball and was able to just basically pierce gaps where there wasn’t gaps. It was just basically mastery of batting.

“It was hard not to watch in awe. Just an incredible innings. It was one of those times in T20 cricket where one player has a day out and is too good for you.”

'Mastery of batting': Maxwell breaks down a Kohli special
With India needing 39 runs off the final 18 deliveries, and the excellent Watson’s spell over, Kohli pounced. In the space of three deliveries, the chase was reduced to 25 off 15 as Kohli pulled and guided Faulkner for back-to-back fours before driving him over the long-off boundary.

With 19 needed off the final two overs, he helped himself to four boundaries against Coulter-Nile, scoring through three of the four quadrants, going through point, fine leg and the covers twice.

At the start of the next over Dhoni connected sweetly with a slog to long-on to finish off the match but there were no doubts over who this victory belonged to.

Australia and India haven’t been drawn in the same group this time around, meaning if they meet in this tournament it will once again be a sudden-death match. If that comes about, Australia will be hoping lightning does not strike twice with Kohli.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2266588
 
Is this the beginning of the end for Virat Kohli?


T20I has always been best format, he is possibly the greatest T20I batsman ever, and was by far the best batsman in 2 World Cups. However his decline since 2019 has started to affect his LOI form. As for captaincy, he's been of the worst for India in a long time.

Maybe time to plan retirement before his legacy is irreparably ruined?
 
Rana said:
He is finished

Should simply focus on Tests
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So you know if Kohli is an age fudger? No performance since he is in his 30's.
Never seen such a high quality batsman play so poorly over 2 years in their early 30's.
 
Dude's finished. He should go the AB way and retire from international cricket and play just the IPL.

He struggled in the England test series too but gradually found form with his 2 (or was it 3) consecutive fifties but I'm not sure if he can continue playing all forms plus the IPL. He at the very least needs to retire from LOI cricket where he's been struggling to score at the same rate he used to in his prime, and focus on creating a legacy as a Test captain.
 
street cricketer said:
Dude's finished. He should go the AB way and retire from international cricket and play just the IPL.

He struggled in the England test series too but gradually found form with his 2 (or was it 3) consecutive fifties but I'm not sure if he can continue playing all forms plus the IPL. He at the very least needs to retire from LOI cricket where he's been struggling to score at the same rate he used to in his prime, and focus on creating a legacy as a Test captain.
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As a batsman he will struggle more in tests. Most often teams play good bowling line ups. His best chance is to accumulate runs in ODI's at 3.
If he faces Boland, Tye, Hastings and Faulkner in ODI's I am sure he can still score big against them in Australia.
 
Mobashir said:
As a batsman he will struggle more in tests. Most often teams play good bowling line ups. His best chance is to accumulate runs in ODI's at 3.
If he faces Boland, Tye, Hastings and Faulkner in ODI's I am sure he can still score big against them in Australia.
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Nah.. He has lost the ability to accelerate in LOIs. His game has not completely nosedived in Test cricket.
 
street cricketer said:
Nah.. He has lost the ability to accelerate in LOIs. His game has not completely nosedived in Test cricket.
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You are talking about an ability he never had in abundance. He has been able to hit some innings at a high strike rate, but it was pyjama cricket as in the home series vs Australia. The pitches had 400 written all over them, and Australia were not playing any fast bowler.
He has never been someone who is your go to guy in the last 10 overs.
 
Mobashir said:
You are talking about an ability he never had in abundance. He has been able to hit some innings at a high strike rate, but it was pyjama cricket as in the home series vs Australia. The pitches had 400 written all over them, and Australia were not playing any fast bowler.
He has never been someone who is your go to guy in the last 10 overs.
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Nobody says he was Gayle in his prime, but he was a very dynamic batsman at his peak and dismantled attacks containing Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Rabada and even his Asia cup knock vs against a Pak attack containing Umar Gul, Wahab, Ajmal and Afridi. He just has lost his hitting ability even against ordinary attacks now.
 
street cricketer said:
Nobody says he was Gayle in his prime, but he was a very dynamic batsman at his peak and dismantled attacks containing Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Rabada and even his Asia cup knock vs against a Pak attack containing Umar Gul, Wahab, Ajmal and Afridi. He just has lost his hitting ability even against ordinary attacks now.
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He is often mentionned alongside AB de Villiers in this forum...
 
Mobashir said:
He is often mentionned alongside AB de Villiers in this forum...
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Most of AB's 100 off 50 balls kinda innings are against B grade attacks too.

Very hard to find a batsman who has many epic knocks against top attacks. They're called top attacks for a reason.
 
street cricketer said:
Dude's finished. He should go the AB way and retire from international cricket and play just the IPL.

He struggled in the England test series too but gradually found form with his 2 (or was it 3) consecutive fifties but I'm not sure if he can continue playing all forms plus the IPL. He at the very least needs to retire from LOI cricket where he's been struggling to score at the same rate he used to in his prime, and focus on creating a legacy as a Test captain.
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He is still a great LOI batsman. Just because he is not performing up to the unreal standards he has set for himself doesn't mean he isn't good. That being said, his workload is crazy and even when he's not playing cricket, the man takes no time to actually CHILL OUT. Its always crazy brand shoots, franchise deals, business ventures, Bollywood stress or continuous working out - its no surprise that he is bound to burn out.

If I were Kohli, I would retire from T20Is after the next WC, play only important IPL matches, perhaps towards the second leg, take a HUUUUUUGE vacation and put a bit of a pause on all the shoot and brand deals that he's doing.
 
street cricketer said:
Most of AB's 100 off 50 balls kinda innings are against B grade attacks too.

Very hard to find a batsman who has many epic knocks against top attacks. They're called top attacks for a reason.
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You don't necesseraly have to score a 50 ball hundred to be a good hitter. But ABDV has many great attacking innings against every attack. His 70 something against our top attack, his hundred against Australia's good attack in the final was epic, he also demolished India's best.

Recently Smith score two 60 balls hundred against India's best bowling attack.

From the fab 4 + Babar Azam, Babar is the most at ease when playing high quality bowling in LOI's.
 
Mobashir said:
You don't necesseraly have to score a 50 ball hundred to be a good hitter. But ABDV has many great attacking innings against every attack. His 70 something against our top attack, his hundred against Australia's good attack in the final was epic, he also demolished India's best.

Recently Smith score two 60 balls hundred against India's best bowling attack.

From the fab 4 + Babar Azam, Babar is the most at ease when playing high quality bowling in LOI's.
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You were talking about elite attacks, not every attack. India's best doesn't mean it's an elite attack. Bumrah is our only elite fast bowler. Bhuvi is not really a great fast bowler and neither is Shami. The great fast bowlers are Starc, Malinga, Bumrah and Shaheen in the recent times.

What was the attack AB faced vs Pakistan and was it an elite attack?
 
Btw Babar doesn't even come into the conversation. He doesn't have a single iconic innings and is more like a Joe Root type batsman.
 
street cricketer said:
Btw Babar doesn't even come into the conversation. He doesn't have a single iconic innings and is more like a Joe Root type batsman.
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And what is Kohli? A De Villiers type batsman?
Babar, Root, Smith, Kohli and Williamson are all 5 same type players in ODI's. They bat at 3, look to play the 50 overs and accumulate runs. With wickets in hand, they attack at the end of the innings.
 
Mobashir said:
And what is Kohli? A De Villiers type batsman?
Babar, Root, Smith, Kohli and Williamson are all 5 same type players in ODI's. They bat at 3, look to play the 50 overs and accumulate runs. With wickets in hand, they attack at the end of the innings.
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Name me one iconic innings that Babar has played.
 
street cricketer said:
Name me one iconic innings that Babar has played.
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That's another question. All 5 are not on the same level.
Just telling you that Kohli isn't Viv Richards who was striking at nearly 90 in the 70'S, 80's when other were striking at 65/70.

All 5 batsmen mentionned are same type.
 
Mobashir said:
That's another question. All 5 are not on the same level.
Just telling you that Kohli isn't Viv Richards who was striking at nearly 90 in the 70'S, 80's when other were striking at 65/70.

All 5 batsmen mentionned are same type.
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You're yet to name me one iconic innings that Babar has played.

Iconic innings is an innings when playing first, the batsman nearly puts the opposition out of the game after the first innings like Fakhar's innings in the CT final.

And while chasing, it's when a batsman plays a very good innings to get your team home in very difficult chase.

It's the type of innings that make you go "I'm so happy I witnessed this live" type of innings.

Babar is undoubtedly a very good anchor batsman in LOIs, but he doesn't have a single iconic innings that make you remember it even after a decade. Like the Afridi century off 30 odd balls, Kohli's knock vs Malinga at Hobart, AB's blitzkrieg vs the Windies in the 2015 WC or Gibbs knock chasing 435 vs Australia. Or more recently, when Fakhar quite literally batted India out of the final in the Champions trophy. I'm sure Pak fans won't forget it even after a decade or two. Not sure about many of Babar's innings.
 
Cricwc2021 said:
Pak vs NZ wc. I have never seen kohli playing such an innings in a WC while chasing against a quality bowling attack.
Click to expand...

If you think chasing 230 in an ODI is an iconic innings, then you haven't watched much cricket in the past and you have to watch more cricket.

Kohli's serial failures in ODI world cups do not make Babar's innings an iconic one.
 
Greatness in LOIs is defined based on three factors :-

1. Consistency
2. Hitting ability
3. Iconic knocks( 4-5 such knocks)

Viv had all three boxes ticked.
Kohli has boxes 1 and 3 ticked and a bit of 2.
ABD has boxes 1 and 2 ticked and a bit of 3.
Rohit has a bit of all three.

But for Babar, I am not sure about how much of 2 and 3 yet.
 
street cricketer said:
If you think chasing 230 in an ODI is an iconic innings, then you haven't watched much cricket in the past and you have to watch more cricket.

Kohli's serial failures in ODI world cups do not make Babar's innings an iconic one.
Click to expand...

If chasing 240 is a piece of cake Kohl’s should have done it against that very attack in the semis. Target alone doesn’t define greatness of an innings but there are many other factors too including, conditions, bowling attack, pressure of the situation, importance of that player’s wick etc etc.
 
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