As IPL 2020 is almost above us, the fans have been extremely excited to talk about their favourites of the fray. Given the popularity of the cricketers, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are the two most successful cricketers of the domestic Indian extravaganza.
In a few discourses hither and yon, the batting flair of these two was juxtaposed to each other and the battle lines were drawn, citing, “who is the better batsman”?
Answering this question is a conundrum in itself because both of these cricketers have shown immense grit, exotic stroke play, firsthand belligerence, laudable consistency and most importantly tremendous leadership skills.
However, if it is a fence-buster that whom will I pick between the two, I will always go for Virat Kohli. It isn’t just his copious fan base that makes me pick up the Indian captain over Raina but a few numbers that will do the rounds to underline the answer.
Going by the number of runs, Virat is ahead of Suresh Raina as the Indian skipper has managed to amass 5412 runs vis-à-vis Raina’s 5368. Also to keep in mind, the Indian captain has played 16 games less than the Chennai southpaw.
Secondly, Kohli’s batting average of 37.84 is quite a fair bit advanced when placed alongside Raina’s 33.34. However, when it comes to striking rate, Suresh Raina is a much more aggressive player as his numbers read 137.14 which is pretty ahead of Kohli’s 131.
Despite playing lesser matches, the Bangalore captain has faced more balls than Raina as the former’s figures stand at 4112 deliveries while the latter stands at 3914.
Once again as we have all said about the aggression through the difference in their strike rates, the number of boundaries struck by both is also a burning testimony to the aforementioned fact. Kohli has smashed 480 fours while Raina has amassed 493 fours. Taking the aerial route of exploration, Raina still flies higher with 193 sixes while Kohli has smashed 190.
However, when we cut down the chase for the centuries and the half-centuries, Kohli reigns supreme again as he has scored 4 centuries while Suresh Raina could only manage one. However, the CSK vice-captain has more number of half-centuries with 38 vis-à-vis Kohli’s 36.
With all said and done, the one difference that changes the entire complexion of the number duel is the captaincy. Kohli has been the solitary pennant-bearer of excellence for RCB while Suresh Raina has found himself considerable support from his colleagues. Kohli does his entire batting stunt with the captaincy on his head, however, Raina has always played second-fiddle to Mahi.
Despite Kohli coming up trumps over Raina, the two have contributed significantly to Indian cricket and also to their respective franchises. A healthy comparison is what we would love to keep always, detracting the nuisance of the game.
