Kohli vs Rohit: 'King' More Consistent with ODI 100s Than 'Hitman'; but Stats Don't Tell All

India have been blessed to have the services of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, especially in ODIs, for nearly two decades. Both are not just our premier batters in the 50-over format, they were also once captains. Now with Shubman Gill at the helm, both are in the twilight of their careers as they look to end on a high note.

Who Is Better Between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

These two players have a combined tally of over 25,000 ODI runs and have played almost 600 games in total. But the question fans have always asked is who is the better batter among them? Yes, stats are a good way of determining that but even they do not tell the whole story on the surface at least. So let’s dig a little deeper and find out.

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Virat Kohli Loves Scoring 100s

Kohli has made 51 centuries in 291 innings. That means he’s scored a hundred every 5.70 innings. Not just that, he’s also hit 74 50s so that’s a total of 125 50+ scores. That shows Kohli has made at least 50 every 2.32 innings. Also, whenever he goes past 50, Kohli converts 40.8% of those 50+ scores into tons. That’s just amazing consistency as his average of 57.65 proves.

Rohit Sharma’s Rate of Scoring Centuries

Now coming to Rohit, the legend has made 32 100s in 266 innings. That’s a century every 8.31 innings. His total tally of 50+ scores is 90 as he has 58 50s under his belt as well. So he scores at least 50 every 2.95 innings. Whenever Rohit does hit a 50+ score, he converts 35.55% of them into 100s. To top all that his ODI average is 48.59.

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Where Rohit Sharma Outperforms Virat Kohli

So Kohli’s rate of scoring centuries and conversion rate of 50-plus scores are both above Rohit. But when it comes to the big scores, Rohit beats Kohli hands down. Both have a strike rate in the early 90s so both are quick scorers but Rohit’s 100s are usually big. Out of his 32 tons, eight are in excess of 150 and three of those 150+ scores are over 200. One of those 200s is over 250. Meanwhile, Kohli has only crossed 150 five times out of his 51 100s. He’s never breached the 200-mark. In other words, Kohli may get more centuries but Rohit makes them really count.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s Legacies in Indian Cricket

At the end of the day, both players have proved to be good for India. Individually, they are brilliant and together, they are lethal. The time for them to walk off into the sunset is coming but fans hope it’s later rather than sooner. The day it does happen, cricket will be poorer and India shall have a huge void to fill.