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Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Who’s the better Batsman
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Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Who’s the better Batsman

Dec 2, 2024

It is evident that one of the most engaging player contests to follow in cricket currently is that of INDIAN skipper, Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s Babar Azam. It must be noted that spectators and the leading international cricket specialists have turned bitter rivals concerning the Pakistani player as he slowly climbed up the world’s rank ratings.

Besides India vs Pakistan, there is a Kohli vs Babar Azam kind of match. The two batsmen have set bases in international cricket and have been part of the batting order of their national teams. The senior of the two, Virat Kohli started his international journey in 2008, while Babar Azam officially joined the international phase in 2015. For more related news regarding sports and cricket follow Exchmarket News.

Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: Comparison

Two of the best batsmen of our time are Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. Let’s examine their statistics in various formats: 

Test Cricket

StatisticVirat KohliBabar Azam
Matches11355
Runs88483898
Average48.6748.04
Centuries289
Half-Centuries2826
Highest Score254196

ODI Cricket

StatisticVirat KohliBabar Azam
Matches268117
Runs128985882
Average57.7259.04
Centuries4619
Half-Centuries6532
Highest Score183158

T20I Cricket

StatisticVirat KohliBabar Azam
Matches115123
Runs41884145
Average48.6941.03
Centuries13
Half-Centuries3830
Highest Score122122

Babar vs Kohli stats are just amazing from the last couple of years.

Read more:- Most Runs Against Pakistan in T20, ODI, and Test Matches

Important Points to Note:

  • Test Cricket: Both players have comparable averages and strike rates, despite Kohli having played a lot more Test matches. Kohli has an advantage due to his higher-century total.
  • In ODI cricket: Kohli has a distinct edge thanks to his experience and record-breaking stats. Azam, however, is a strong opponent due to his reliability and high average.
  • T20I Cricket: With comparable stats, both players have performed admirably in the shortest format. Azam has a slight advantage due to his slightly higher strike rate and century total.

Overall

  • Consistency: In every format, both players have shown exceptional consistency.
  • Run-Scoring Ability: Both are capable of sewing long concentration spells and hitting big runs at a particular stretch.
  • Captaincy: Babar Azam has mostly been the skipper of the Pakistan cricket team for the limited-over cricket while Kohli has been the captain of India across all formats of the cricket.

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Virat vs Babar: Comparison – ODI

Nonetheless, the comparison level of Virat Kohli in ODIs is different right from Babar Azam. From 2012 to 2019, Kohli demonstrated why he is the world’s best in ODI cricket with his father’s hundreds. In 265 ODI innings, Kohli has scored 12898 runs at an average of 57.32 ODI innings to give context. 

While comparing Babar, the latter has already crossed more records than Kohli and scored 5353 runs with an average of 59.79 in 90 innings. Only the South African great, AB De Villiers, reached the 5000-scarce ODI mark quicker than Babar, who was only the second fastest to the 4000 and 5000 ODI run marks. There has been debate in the media for a long time and it is still now, who is the better cricket player between Virat and Babar Azam. An interesting thing has also arisen in the last couple of years that compares Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. 

Babar Azam has scored 19 hundred and 28 fifty plus while Kohli has 65 fifty plus and 46 hundred. They say Babar can break all the current records, even those set by Kohli as a great cricketer of the current generation of players. 

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Virat Kohli Vs Babar Azam Comparison – T20

This is a rather extensive T20I series record we have between Kohli and Babar Azam. Babar has featured in 104 matches across T20I format while Kohli has featured 115 times in T20I. Kohli has made more than 4000 T20I runs with 107 innings under his belt, making him the record holder of most T20I runs. In this form of t20 Babar Azam stands equal to Virat Kohli in terms of the number of innings which has been played.

Babar is equal to the Indian Captain Kohli to reach this mark in 81 Innings and is fourth on the list for scoring more than 3000 runs in the shortest format. Kohli has only managed to record one hundred in the short format of the game, while Babar has a record of three. 

Virat Kohli Vs Babar Azam Comparison – Tests

Comparing Babar Azam and Virat Kohli is particularly hard at this time because test cricket is heavily one-sided. Being part of the format for more than ten years, Kohli has scored as many as 8500 runs for a confirmed record of 29 fifties and 100 hundred-knocking efforts. Comparing Babar Azam against Virat Kohli, we’re comparing the two players at the highest level of cricket.

Up till now, Babar has played 49 tests in which he has made 3772 runs with an average of 47/75 while Kohli since he has played 111 tests, has made 8676 runs with an average of 49/30. In total, Pakistani batsmen have nine hundred- twenty-six Test fifties in total in the last seven years. Babar and Kohli always are an enticing battle for fans around the world to watch in the game. Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli statistics are perceived by a lot of effort and commitment.

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Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli Who is best

One of the biggest questions in the global format is which player is better: Virat Kohli or Babar Azam? After deeply analyzing all the data, one cannot deny that Kohli has an immensely greater amount of experience in comparison to Babar, the latter is just inferior. According to time and season, the Pakistani batter will be given a shot occasionally, and barriers would be expected to appear once in a while to build up this player’s referrals in an international environment. Records set by Babar Azam against Records set by Virat Kohli are quite embarrassing to let go of.

Thus, with more than ten years of presence in the Indian team mainly as the batsman, Kohli is currently the better of the two. However, in the next years, Babar Azam, who is considered the best all-format player in modern cricket, will have a say. Currently, Babar Azam and Virat Kohli have for example set high targets within the cricket.

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