There’s a little doubt that Virat Kohli is one of the most talented batsmen in world cricket at the moment. In terms of early impact on Test cricket, Kohli is one among a handful of promising players. In shorter formats, Kohli is already a great. On Friday (17th October 2014), Virat Kohli scored a brilliant match-winning century and announced his comeback. After a longish bad-patch that made him struggle in England, Kohli made a solid comeback by scoring 127 runs off 114 balls at Dharamshala in the 4th ODI against West Indies.
In this article we will analyze the impact that Virat Kohli has had on world cricket since the World Cup 2011.
Firstly, let’s have a look at Kohli’s year-by-year record since his debut (2008).
One Day Internationals (ODIs)
| Year | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | 100s | 50s | HS |
| 2008 | 5 | 5 | 159 | 31.80 | 66.52 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
| 2009 | 10 | 8 | 325 | 54.16 | 84.41 | 1 | 2 | 107 |
| 2010 | 25 | 24 | 995 | 47.38 | 85.11 | 3 | 7 | 118 |
| 2011 | 34 | 34 | 1381 | 47.62 | 85.56 | 4 | 8 | 117 |
| 2012 | 17 | 17 | 1026 | 68.40 | 93.78 | 5 | 3 | 183 |
| 2013 | 34 | 30 | 1268 | 52.83 | 97.53 | 4 | 7 | 115* |
| 2014 | 16 | 15 | 725 | 51.78 | 97.7 | 3 | 3 | 136 |
This table shows that apart from the year 2008, Kohli has never averaged below 40 in a calender year, since his debut. And, if you look at his strike-rate, it has gotten better every year. In the last years (from 2012 to 2014), Kohli’s strike-rate has been in excess of 90 (93.78, 97.53 and 97.7 respectively), which is remarkable for a No. 3 batsman.
TEST CRICKET
| Year | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | S/R | 100s | 50s | HS |
| 2011 | 5 | 9 | 202 | 22.44 | 42.7 | 0 | 2 | 63 |
| 2012 | 9 | 16 | 689 | 49.21 | 46.74 | 3 | 3 | 116 |
| 2013 | 8 | 12 | 616 | 56 | 54.65 | 2 | 3 | 119 |
| 2014 | 7 | 14 | 348 | 26.76 | 55.15 | 1 | 1 | 105* |
Virat Kohli’s record in Test cricket has also gotten better every year. Although, he struggled big time in England against the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, his numbers in Test cricket highlight the fact that he has the temperament and skills to achieve great heights in Test cricket as well.
Virat Kohli became an important member of India’s ODI squad after the World Cup 2011, and since then, he hasn’t looked back. Virat Kohli, in the last 3 years or so, has been one of the highest run-scorers in world cricket, in all three formats.
Most Runs in ODIs since World Cup 2011
| Runs | Batsman | Innings | Avg | 100s/50s |
| 3925 | Virat Kohli | 82 | 56.07 | 15/18 |
| 3680 | Kumar Sangakkara | 85 | 46.58 | 8/24 |
| 3016 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 84 | 40.75 | 7/16 |
| 2713 | Mohammad Hafeez | 77 | 38.21 | 8/13 |
| 2604 | Misbah-ul-Haq | 76 | 44.89 | 0/23 |
Most runs in all forms of international cricket since Jan 1, 2012
| Runs | Batsman | Innings | Avg | 100s/50s |
| 6322 | Kumar Sangakkara | 135 | 53.12 | 17/34 |
| 5557 | Virat Kohli | 125 | 51.45 | 18/29 |
| 4877 | AB de Villiers | 109 | 53.01 | 14/22 |
| 4778 | Hahsim Amla | 102 | 51.37 | 15/17 |
| 4222 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 117 | 40.99 | 11/22 |
Highest percentage of runs scored by Indian batsmen in ODIs since World Cup 2011
| 19.64% | Virat Kohli (87 ODIs) |
| 11.22% | Suresh Raina (84 ODIs) |
| 11.16% | Rohit Sharma (63 ODIs) |
| 10.72% | MS Dhoni (64 ODIs) |
Highest percentage of runs scored by Indian batsmen in Tests since World Cup 2011
| 14.83% | Chesteshwar Pujara (21 Tests) |
| 13.89% | Virat Kohli (24 Tests) |
| 11.53% | MS Dhoni (23 Tests) |
| 9.22% | Murali Vijay (15 Tests) |
Highest percentage of runs scored by Indian batsmen in T20Is since World Cup 2011
| 28.28% | Virat Kohli (22 T20Is) |
| 12.81% | Yuvraj Singh (17 T20Is) |
| 11.79% | MS Dhoni (22 T20Is) |
| 11.63% | Suresh Raina (22 T20Is) |
Most number of Man of the Match awards in ODIs since World Cup 2011
| 14 – Virat Kohli |
| 10 – Mohammad Hafeez |
| 8 – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thisara Perera, Shahid Afridi |
Most number of Man of the Match awards in International Cricket (all three formats) since Jan 1, 2012
| 17 – Virat Kohli |
| 12 – Thisara Perera |
| 11 – Mohammad Hafeez |
| 10 – Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan |
NOTE: STATS AS ON 18/10.2014
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image source: ESPNCRICINFO
