Destined to be greatest than the greatest he came, he saw and he conquered. His technical purity, unflappable temperament, a fondness for big stage and that ability to patiently construct an innings under all conditions -- Virat Kohli is a marvel to watch. And the Indian captain once again displayed these qualities in abundance in his 50th Test match where he went on to score 167 and 81 in both the innings, respectively, that propelled him into top 10 of ICC Test Player Rankings.
Kohli is a tale of grime, guts and glory. His is a tale of one of those men who prefer to go uphill during the toughest of times when others prefer to go downstream. The youngster came into the spotlight when he decided to play for his team – Delhi -- against Karnataka on the day after his father's death and went on to score 90 that showed his immense commitment. He went directly to the funeral after he was dismissed. The episode somehow turned the 18-year-old boy into a man.
In Vizag, Kohli became the 28th Indian player to play 50 or more Tests with the ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar leading the list with 200 Test appearances. Ever since Virat became the new poster boy of Indian cricket, his comparison to the Master Blaster is quite obvious.
Tendulkar played his 50th Test match against West Indies in 1997. He at that time had scored 3438 runs, which are in fact less than that of Kohli’s. However, Sachin's average was on a little higher side with 49.82 compared to Kohli’s 48.03.
But, again Kohli had 14 centuries as compared to 11 hundreds that Tendulkar scored in 50 Tests. However, Tendulkar went on to play 200 Test matches and piled on 15,921 runs with an average of 53.78 and the highest being 248 against Bangladesh. Tendulkar has 51 hundreds and 68 fifties to his name and Kohli has a lot of catching to do in this regard.
In the 52 Tests that he has played so far, Kohli has scored 4194 runs with 15 hundreds and 14 fifties, his highest score being 235.
Kohli in the meantime has proved to be a better Test captain as he has led the team to 13 victories from 21 matches and has become India's fourth most successful captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni (27 wins), Sourav Ganguly (21) and Mohammad Azharuddin (14). Sachin's captaincy was below standard compared to his stature, as the Master Blaster has only four Test match wins in 25 matches that he has led Team India.
At present Kohli remains in a world where no shot is beyond his imagination. No bowler can expect any mercy from this predator on prowl. Players like him come once in many generations and his instinctive ability to grasp, adjust and deliver is what makes him such an outstanding cricketer.
