Virat Kohli vs AB De Villiers
If not for anything else, we surely have to thank the IPL franchise of Royal Challengers Bangalore for giving us the joy of watching two of the greatest modern-era batsmen bat together at the crease – Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Having played together for 9 years for RCB, they have come up with several superlative performances however, it is the 2016 season that will be remembered for their master-class. With multiple century partnerships, including a 200-run partnership, both of them were at their very best. Comparing them is quite difficult as they are just too incredible to be true. Even they consider the other one as the best modern-day batsman! To have a better understanding of how they have performed till now, let us read through some of their records.
Table of Contents:
Virat Kohli Statistics
| Years | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT |
| 2008-2019 | 177 | 26 | 5412 | 113 | 37.84 | 4,112 | 131.61 | 5 | 36 | 480 | 191 | 74 |
Virat Kohli has had an impressive IPL career to say the least and has played for just one franchise – Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is the highest run-scorer in IPL history and the second highest in the list of players with most centuries with 5, out of which 4 came in a single season in 2016. He has been a batting stalwart to say the least with his superlative performances but unfortunately is yet to win an IPL title. It is fair to say that the lack of performances as a complete unit has hurt the RCB team a lot. As a result, Kohli’s captaincy and team selection has come under scrutiny time to time.Â
Best Finish of Kohli
- Runners-up (2009, 2011, 2013)
AB de Villiers Statistics
| Career | Mat | No | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | CT | ST |
| 2008-2019 | 154 | 32 | 4395 | 133* | 39.95 | 2,906 | 151.23 | 3 | 33 | 357 | 212 | 93 | 7 |
An average close to 40, strike rate above 150 and close to 4500 runs – only one player can have such a record in T20s and that is AB de Villiers. In fact, he is the only player in IPL to average above 50 and score more than 450 runs in three different seasons. He started his IPL career at Delhi Daredevils where he played for 3 seasons but ever since he joined the RCB camp, there has been no turning back. It has been more of a competition between Kohli and him on who will outscore the other, ending up helping the side as a result. The best part about de Villiers is how he has at least 4 options to play every single delivery and hence always outsmarting the bowler, making him one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world.Â
Best Finish of AB De Villiers
- Runners-up (2011, 2013)
With both of them still playing for the RCB team in the coming season as well, they will be hoping to string together some stellar partnerships and guide their team through to its maiden title. When creating your Indian T20 Fantasy Cricket League team, including both the players in your team should be a no-brainer.
