Expert
What a coincidence that the current four top batsmen in Tests and ODIs are captains.
They are Steve Smith from Australia, Virat Kohli from India, Joe Root from England and Kane Williamson from New Zealand, and it’s debatable who the best of the four is. That is why I have presented their statistics in the two tables below.
Batting record: Tests
Players | Tests | Runs | Average | Highest | Strike Rate | 100s | 100s/Test |
Smith | 61 | 6057 | 63.75 | 239 | 55.76 | 23 | 0.377 |
Kohli | 66 | 5554 | 53.4 | 243 | 58.26 | 21 | 0.318 |
Root | 65 | 5701 | 53.28 | 254 | 55.76 | 13 | 0.2 |
Williamson | 63 | 5214 | 50.62 | 242* | 50.51 | 17 | 0.27 |
Smith and Kohli stand out. Smith has the best batting average and the most number of centuries, and he also has the best century-per-Test rate among the four. Kohli has the highest strike rate.
Batting record: ODIs
Players | ODIs | Runs | Average | Highest | Strike Rate | 100s | 100s/ODI |
Smith | 108 | 3431 | 41.84 | 164 | 86.35 | 8 | 0.074 |
Kohli | 208 | 9588 | 58.1 | 183 | 92.14 | 35 | 0.168 |
Root | 102 | 4226 | 50.91 | 133* | 86.79 | 10 | 0.098 |
Williamson | 123 | 4977 | 46.51 | 145* | 83.56 | 10 | 0.081 |
Unlike for the Tests, there is a clear winner in the ODIs: Kohli. It’s because of him as the captain and a batsman that India is ranked number one in Tests and ODIs.
Skipper Virat Kohli was outstanding in the away ODI series against South Africa, leading India to a first-ever series win (5-1) on Proteas turf. It was a whopping victory thanks to his 558 runs – he had a high score of 160 not out – at 168.00 and his strike rate of 99.46, hitting three centuries at 0.5 century per ODI.
At the post-match press conference on Friday night after India defeated South Africa by eight wickets in Centurion to win the series 5-1 Kohli said that, “At this stage I don’t feel like competing with anyone.
“It’s my job. I am supposed to do what I am doing and I am not doing anyone a favour.
“It’s all about how I prepare before the game and what my work ethics are and how I am feeling on game day. My only motivation is to get into that frame of mind.”