Kohli vs Williamson: Battle of the best

Former India cricket captain Virat Kohli and current New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson are undoubtedly the two most iconic batsmen of modern world cricket. Along with England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Steve Smith, they make the fab 4 of cricket. However, with Root and Smith mellowing down in recent times, the Kohli vs Williamson has been a raging one.

Kohli vs Williamson: Overall run-tally

Virat Kohli

Kane Williamson

Having debuted in ODI cricket almost two years before Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli’s higher run-tally in the 50-over format is understandable. To be fair, even if Williamson had debuted in limited-overs cricket at the same time as Kohli, there were little chances of the Kiwi cricketer overtaking Kohli in his favourite format. Kohli has been the most outstanding ODI cricketer in the past decade, a feat that eventually made him the king of cricket.

Against Kohli’s 12000 plus runs in ODIs, which the Indian has tallied with an average of 58.07, Williamson has garnered just over 6000 runs with an average of 47.48 while playing 110 matches less.

Virat Kohli had made his T20I debut more than a year before Williamson did and leads his New Zealand counterpart by almost 1300 runs. However, the former Indian captain has played 23 more matches than Williamson and has 16 more half-centuries to his name. Virat Kohli also enjoys a better average of 51.5 in T20Is as compared to Williamson’s 32.59.

Hence, while both Kohli and Williamson would be considered modern-day greats of international cricket, Virat Kohli clear triumphs over Kane Williamson in white-ball cricket. While many would argue about Kohli playing more matches than his Kiwi counterpart, the Indian batsman’s prolific run-scoring ability remains unparalleled.

Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson: Runs in Test cricket (home and away)

However, it is in the longest format of the game where Kane Williamson has seemingly had an upper hand over Kohli. While the New Zealand batsman still trails Kohli by almost 1000 runs after playing 15 matches less, Kohli enjoys a better average.

Virat Kohli 

Kane Williamson

Both Kohli and Williamson have played enough Test matches home and away to draw a fair comparison. At home, Williamson is hands down a better batsman than Kohli. he only trails the Indian star by 59 runs despite playing five matches less while enjoying a better average of 65.31 against Kohli’s 61.06. Interestingly, both the players have 13 centuries each in their backyard.

Kohli has played 16 more away Test matches than Williamson. However, he only has 1403 more runs to show in those matches and also averages just 2.28 runs more. Kohli has five more Test centuries on away conditions though.

One can, however, peg Williamson as a better Test batsman than Kohli if the number of double centuries is considered. Williamson (4) trails Kohli (7) by only three double centuries despite playing 15 fewer Test matches.

Virat Kohli also boasts of solid individual run-tallies against the toughest of Test opponents. Kohli has 1960 runs against England, 1682 runs against the mighty Australians, 1236 runs against South Africa and 1085 runs against Sri Lanka.

Williamson, on the other hand, has scored over 1000 runs only against Pakistan against whom he has 1242 runs. His second-highest run tally of 992 has come against Sri Lanka and his third-highest tally of 970 is against West Indies.

Kohli vs Williamson: Captaincy record in Tests

Kane Williamson might be the first captain in cricket history to lift the World Test Championship, but if there has been one player who revolutionised Test cricket in the 21st century, it is Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli stands as the third most successful Test captain in the history of the game with 40 wins in 68 wins, which included historic wins in Australia and England.

The Indian cricket team had managed to take all 20 wickets in a Test match 28 times under Kohli, which happened 13 times away from home. Under Kohli’s captaincy, India were the no. 1 ranked Test team in ICC rankings for a whopping 42 months.

Williamson has captained New Zealand in fewer Test matches but his win percentage is almost at par with Kohli, which makes him a very promising prospect for the future.

Kohli vs Williamson: IPL Stats

Over the past decade, the Indian Premier League has emerged as one of the biggest platforms where all world-class cricketers have proved their worth. Like in most other formats, Kohli made his IPL debut in 2008 which was way before Williamson’s 2015 debut. However, the Kiwi star has proved his mettle in the last seven seasons quite ably.

Having played 145 more IPL matches, Kohli has scored over 4300 runs more than Williamson. However, what makes this comparison interesting is the batting positions for both the batsmen. Both of them have come first down on most occasions and have an almost similar strike rate.

While Kohli leads the line in the number of runs and centuries scored, Williamson has a better average and strike rate than the former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain. Moreover, Williamson has an IPL title to his name something that has eluded Kohli for the past 14 seasons.

FAQs

What is Kohli vs Williamson’s captaincy record?

Both Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have been prolific while captaining their respective national sides. As a captain, Kohli has tallied 3328 runs in 36 Test matches with an average of 61.62, where he has 20 centuries to his name. Williamson, on the other hand, has garnered 2210 runs in 21 Test matches as captain.

What is Kohli vs Williamson T20’s record?

Virat Kohli is clearly the better batsman in the T20 format. Kohli has 3296 runs in T20Is in 97 matches with 30 half-centuries to his name. Williamson, on the other hand, has tallied 2021 runs in 74 T20Is with 14 fifties to his name.