Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson: What the stats say

Tanay Tiwari 17:00 21/09/2016
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  • Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson: Two of the finest batsmen in the world

    If Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson were classmates, let’s just say they would not have been the best of friends. One wears his heart on his sleeve and is always in-your-face while the other is a typical Kiwi gentleman – softly spoken and emotionally unperturbed.

    The closer you look, though, the more you see. They might be on either ends of a massive island, but they are, in their might, perfect candidates for greatness.

    When both of them take the field in Kanpur on Thursday for the first Test between India and New Zealand (also India’s 500th Test), they will know that apart from their teams’ performances, the world will watch keenly how two of the best batsmen in the current generation fare.

    HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

    Kohli is 27 years old and has played 45 Test matches for India, captaining his side in 14 of them. Williamson is a slightly younger counterpart at 26 years old but has already played 53 Tests for New Zealand and has captained the Kiwis in four of those matches.

    Williamson’s Test numbers are astounding for someone of his age. He has scored 4393 runs at a world-class average of 51.08 which includes 14 hundreds and 22 half-centuries.

    On the other hand, Kohli, when it comes to Test cricket, is that student who realised his potential a little late and is now playing catch-up. But he is doing that pretty quickly.

    The Indian skipper has already scored 12 centuries and 12 half-centuries in his 45 matches as an Indian Test player. He has aggregated 3245 Test runs at an average of 45.06, which is impressive given how much of his Test cricket he has played overseas.

    Both Williamson and Kohli do a significant bulk of their scoring under pressure, even in Test matches, which adds even greater value to the kind of numbers they produce consistently.

    Having made his debut in 2011 against the West Indies in Jamaica, Kohli only began to really grow as a Test batsman in 2013. He started scoring big runs, converting half-centuries into three-digit scores and stayed at the crease for long periods.

    Williamson, on the other hand, was always the best batsman in the Kiwi side. Having made his debut against India in Ahmedabad, Williamson’s form also improved post late 2013. He has scored 2599 runs in the 23 Tests that he played since then at a whopping average of 72.19, with a total of 10 centuries.

    Kohli’s numbers since the same time period are extremely impressive too, but somehwat pale in comparison to Williamson’s.

    Kohli, post 2014, has played the same number of Tests as Williamson (23), but has scored only 1738 runs at an average of 45.73 with seven centuries. While those are exceptional numbers, Williamson has done it far more consistently for New Zealand.

    As a captain though, Kohli’s numbers are slightly more impressive, though that is in part because Williamson has only captained the Blackcaps in just four Tests.

    As a Test player, Kohli averages in the mid-40s, but as a captain his average catapults to the mid-60s which is a phenomenal feat given the pressure that comes with the Indian Test team’s captaincy.

    Williamson’s batting record while being a captain is promising too. In the four matches that he has captained New Zealand in, he has scored at a very healthy average of 89 – 356 runs, with one century. The fact that two of those matches were against Zimbabwe count against him.

    In what is set to be a special Test match for both the teams, the captains from either side will want to set the tone for the rest of the series. Along with their respective team’s performance, the two captains will be keen to prove their mettle with the bat in hand as well.

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