Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats | Analysis: Who is better batsman?

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats

Undoubtedly, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the great assets of team India. One is the most successful opener while other is the run machine and chase master of the team.

The playing style of both these players is different. Rohit Sharma’s lazy elegance and ability to hit sixes effortlessly is remarkable. While Virat Kohli’s class, consistency, and aggression are exceptional.

The Indian fans are mainly divided into Rohit, Virat and Dhoni fans. And, Who is better batsman between Rohit and Virat? is always a hot topic of debate among their fans. In this article, we will compare the stats of Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli and will try to analyze the better batsman among them.

We will compare the stats of ODI, Test, T20I, World Cup, IPL, and Home-Away matches one by one. Now, let’s get started with the ODI format.

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats in ODIs

Rohit and Virat are the ODI greats and it reflects from their stats too. Now, for analyzing the better ODI batsman the most important factors are- Average, Man of the Match awards(MoM), and the number of centuries.

The average shows the consistency of a batsman while the MoM awards show his capability of winning the games for the team. Also, the frequency of scoring big runs can be judged by the number of centuries.

In the above stats comparison, Virat Kohli is ahead of Rohit Sharma in all the departments except the number of double centuries. There is a ten-point difference in their averages. Also, there is a big difference in the MoM awards and the number of centuries scored by them.

Thus, the consistency of scoring runs and centuries makes him a bigger match-winner than Rohit Sharma in ODIs.

Winner- Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats in Tests

Rohit Sharma has not been a constant member of the test team. He has played only 32 test matches with a quite good average of 46.54. In the recent series against SA, he opened the innings and has scored centuries in both the innings. Thus it is a new start of Rohit’s test career who was prior not well established.

In contrast, Virat Kohli has proved himself as one of the best test batsmen. He is leading the above stats comparison with a great margin.

But Rohit has played very few matches and hence it will be unfair to analyze the better player in tests from these stats.

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats in T20Is

In T20 format, the average of a batsman along with a good strike rate is very important. Again man of the match(MoM) awards is the second most important factor and thereafter comes the number of centuries and half-centuries.

Even though Virat has played 26 innings less than Rohit, he has more runs than him. There is a tie between the strike rates but there is a clear dominance of Virat Kohli in averages.

Rohit is the only batsman to score four centuries in T20I but the low average of 32.24 shows his inconsistency as compared to Virat. Also, Virat is a little ahead in winning the MoM awards.

Thus, Virat’s consistency of scoring runs in T20Is makes him a bigger match-winner than Rohit Sharma.

Winner- Virat Kohli

Comparison of World Cup Stats

It’s a dream of every cricketer to play a world cup for their country. The pressure, excitement, and expectations are high in the world cup than the regular international matches.

Rohit has played two WC while Virat has played three WC tournaments. The stat shows that Rohit Sharma raises his game to another level in world cup matches. He is performing better in every department than Virat Kohli.

Rohit scored five centuries in WC19 and created the record of most centuries in a single world cup on his name. Thus, all these stats and records say Rohit Sharma is a bigger match-winner in the world cup than Virat Kohli.

Winner- Rohit Sharma

Comparison of IPL Stats

IPL is the biggest T20 league in the world. Rohit Sharma is the captain of Mumbai Indians while Virat is the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore. As it is a T20 league, average along with good strike rate is very important.

Here, Virat Kohli is ahead in terms of scoring runs, average, and centuries. Also, he has a slightly better strike rate while there is a tie in terms of half-centuries.

But in another most important factor i.e man of the match awards, Rohit Sharma is leading the race. And the obvious reason for this is the overall team performance.

The winning percentage of MI is a way better than RCB and that’s why most of the runs of Virat Kohli comes in the losing cause. Also, mostly the MoM award is given to the player from the winning side.

But as an individual batsman Virat is definitely ahead of Rohit Sharma in ipl.

Winner- Virat Kohli

Home and Away Stats

Another important factor in analyzing the players is How they perform in away conditions. It happens with many players that they perform very well at home but their performance goes down at away conditions.

The above graphs compare the home and away averages of Rohit and Virat. Both perform exceptionally well at home but Virat has an edge in T20Is while ODI averages are nearly the same.

The averages of both these players drop in away conditions but still, Virat Kohli has a brilliant average in all formats. Thus, whether it is home or away, Virat Kohli has an edge over Rohit Sharma.

Winner- Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats in Knockout matches

Knockout matches are the high-pressure games. It tests the player’s mental strength and ability to keep calm and handle the pressure.

The record of the Indian team is bad in knockout matches. After winning Champions Trophy in 2013, India was unable to win any other ICC tournament. The reason may be the failure of key players and inexperienced batting line up.

It’s a bitter truth that Virat Kohli mostly fails to deliver in knockout matches. Whether it’s a semi-final of WC15 against Australia, the semi-final of WC19 against NZ or it’s a champions trophy final against Pakistan in 2017, Virat Kohli has choked up and the stats clearly show this.

Now, stats of Rohit Sharma shows that he hasn’t performed according to his standard but though his performance was much better than Virat Kohli.

Winner- Rohit Sharma

Contribution of Runs in Winning Cause

When we talk about the list of players with the highest contribution of runs in winning cause, then both Rohit and Virat are way ahead of other players. Virat comes at 2nd position while Rohit acquires the 4th position.

There is a difference of nearly 4000 runs in the contributions of Virat and Rohit. This might be mainly because Rohit Sharma has played fewer test matches. Also, Virat has played 52 International matches more than Rohit. Hence it will not be fair to choose a winner for this factor.

Conclusion

From the above detailed analysis, we can conclude that…

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are one of the greatest cricketers of this era. They are the backbone of team India. They are the major contributors to India’s winning cause.

Rohit is less consistent as compared to Virat Kohli. He scores big hundreds even double hundreds when it’s his day but on other days his scores are very low.

Virat Kohli is a better batsman than Rohit Sharma in ODI and T20 formats. In test cricket also, Virat is a great player while Rohit Sharma needs to play more matches and has to prove himself.

There’s no doubt about Virat Kohli’s abilities but it’s also true that he has choked up many times in the big games and it’s a very important part he needs to lookup. Whereas, Rohit Sharma shows more character and mental strength in knockout games.

Kindly, comment your views and suggestions on this analysis.