NotTheFootyShow

Kohli the Conqueror

March 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm Leave a comment

Indian opening batsman Virat Kohli contiues to carry his side in one day International cricket. The opening batsman is in unbelievable form.

Just last month he crashed 133 runs off 86 balls in Hobart as India overhauled Sri Lanka’s 320, and the other night he scored a massive 183 off 148 balls for India to chase down Pakistan’s 330.

His achievements mean that he has now scored more centuries than any other batsman in one day cricket who has completed 85 matches. He has notched 11 centuries, the next nearest are Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting who had scored five each at that point in their careers.

His strike rate is currently third, with only MS Dhoni’s 96.26 and Viv Richards 86.99 ahead of his 86.31. When it comes to his average only Michael Bevan is ahead of him, Bevan boasting 56.54 while Kohli sits at 50.56.

In India talk is that Kohli is the greatest one day batsman of all time, but it is far too early to start making such claims, after all he is only 23 years old. There is no doubt he is in a rich vein of form and batting superbly well, but let us wait and see if he can replicate this form over several more years at the top.

One thing that his success has done is paper of the cracks within this Indian team, who have disappointed their millions of fans on their recent tours of England and Australia. Changes need to be made if India are to stay competitive. However as long as they win games and manage to chase down huge totals on the back of Virat Kohli’s incredible performances the selectors will continue to stick to the same group of players, when it is clear to many, new blood needs to be found.

Entry filed under: Cricket. Tags: Australia, Bian Lara, England, Hobart, India, Michael Bevan, MS Dhoni, Pakistan, Ricky Ponting, Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli, Viv Richards.