Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest batsman of all time in ODI cricket. He has got all sorts of gears and the way he goes through them at different stages of the innings and the consistency with which he does his job, he is almost unbeatable.
Although Kohli’s ODI record against most of the bowlers around the world is brilliant, he has been particularly severe against a few of them. Here are the 5 favorite bowlers of Virat Kohli in ODI cricket:
Kemar Roach
Kemar Roach had got a lot of speed when he first burst onto the scene, but after sustaining various injuries, he has changed himself as a bowler and relies more on movement in the air and off the surface these days.
Kohli enjoys Roach, particularly if he walks in at a time when the ball is not doing much. The white ball stops doing much after a couple of overs anyway. The numbers show that Kohli has scored 274 runs off Roach’s bowling in ODI cricket so far.
Thisara Perera
Thisara, although bowls quite a bit for Sri Lanka in 50-over cricket, he is still more of a batsman who bowls rather than a bowler who bats.
Perera generally bowls in the middle phase of the innings and is brought into the attack mostly at a time when Kohli has his eyes in and is sighting the ball well. Kohli thrives on Perera’s medium pace as he has got 260 runs off his bowling in ODI cricket so far.
Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga is generally a threatening bowler in white-ball cricket whether he is bowling upfront or in the death, but Kohli, surprisingly, has dominated Malinga whenever he has played against him, despite all the skills that the Sri Lankan veteran has got.
Who can forget that knock in Hobart in 2012 where Kohli had smashed Malinga to all corners of the ground and had helped India chase down a target of more than 300 runs inside 40 overs?
Kohli’s runs’ tally against Malinga in ODI cricket stands at 225.
Jason Holder
Jason Holder is also somebody who bowls medium pace and if the ball is not swinging in the air or seaming off the pitch, Kohli manages to nullify him with ease.
Holder, who was the captain of the West Indies ODI team as well not too long ago, has conceded 223 runs while bowling to Kohli in ODI cricket.
Tim Southee
Tim Southee has been one of the topmost wicket-takers in Test match cricket for New Zealand in the last few years, but his white-ball game has deteriorated quite a bit.
Kohli hasn’t had too much trouble facing Southee in 50-over cricket at all. He has milked the Kiwi veteran without breaking a sweat and has scored a total of 205 runs against him.
