15 years in India jersey, Virat Kohli leaves Sachin Tendulkar behind | PERFECT Woman FASHION AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

What am I going to pen down on Virat Kohli? Ain’t I too ordinary to gauge his enormous contributions to the game of cricket? Now, let me not get into a self-deprecating mode. August 18 belongs to the King and we are better off focusing on him instead of beating about the bush.

Now, why are we talking about the former Indian cricket captain? For the ones not in the know-how, on this day way back in 2008, a street fighter made his maiden appearance for India. It happened in a one-day international against Sri Lanka at Dambulla. Mind you, he began his international career as an opener with none other than his bete-noire Gautam Gambhir, also from Delhi.

The dashing cricketer didn’t quite set the pitch on fire at the very outset. He managed a meager 12 off just 22 balls before being trapped plumb in front. His 33-minute stay in the middle was truly disenchanting. But that didn’t deter him as he worked his way back to be regarded as the biggest match-winning batter, Indian cricket has ever produced.

Well, what did I say? Pardon? Does that imply Virat is on a higher pedestal than his idol Sachin Tendulkar?

When Virat surpassed Sachin…

There’s no denying Sachin is perhaps the greatest batter India has produced just in terms of sheer statistics. A ton of tons is a tough deal, but the Little Master has had to endure the barb of not being a true match winner barring a few memorable knocks where he held the fort.

On the contrary, matches after matches, Virat has almost singlehandedly stemmed the rot and seen his team through. Have a look.

• 183(148) vs Pakistan, Mirpur, Asia Cup 2012 (ODIs)
• 160*(159) vs South Africa, 2nd ODI, Cape Town in 2018 (ODIs)
• 82* (53) vs Pakistan, 2022 — Melbourne (T20Is)
• 72* (44) v South Africa, Mirpur, 2014 (T20Is)
• 55* (37) v Pakistan, Kolkata, 2016 (T20Is)
• And these are to mention a few.
• Now if we are to drag the great man Sachin into this weighing up, perhaps he would fall behind his protégé. But, this by no means, is aimed at taking an acerbic dig at the batter with over 35,000 international runs. True, there are plenty of Sachin specials that set up the foundations of victory, yet unlike Virat, hardly did he stay till the end to wrap it up. Of course — the Chennai Test against England in 2008 and the Desert Storm — can’t think of more.
• Staying till the end is Virat’s forte
• Yes, in Test matches, Virat may not have played that many incredible knocks that have won India matches, but so far as the truncated versions of the game are concerned, Virat is in a different league. Yes, Sachin featured in one solitary T20I match for the nation. But that’s a different story.
• Sachin fanatics might fume here stating that as an opener, it would be harsh on him to stay till the end. But let’s not forget, Virat in the majority period of his career has come in at Number 3. And there have also been occasions when his opening batters rushed him into the middle. And he had no other option than shouldering the burden of the team.
• Both Sachin and Virat have another thing in common. Despite the towering presence of stalwart batters around, Indian batting revolved around them. Even here, Sachin had an edge. During his prime, he was flanked by the likes of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly — each having the ability to turn the fate of a game on his own.
• However, barring Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, if we look back, Virat found himself short of support from the other end. Of course, he has had Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, but both didn’t feature in a majority of Virat’s games for India. The southpaws have hung up their boots with Virat looking to only his current skipper to be by his side. And this, I say with due respect to KL Rahul.
• Virat scores as a leader, Sachin doesn’t
• Unfortunately, when we sit back to judge Virat as a skipper, the elusive ICC win becomes a major criterion. But let’s not do away with the fact that he won 135 of the 235 matches he was at the helm — he is the most successful Indian Test skipper with 40 wins in 68 matches including a series triumph Down Under against Australia. In ODIs, he won 65 of the 93 matches he captained the side, and in T20Is, his record states 30/50.
• Well, the Master Blaster is in no way close to Virat. There’s hardly any iota of confusion that Sachin never enjoyed captaincy. The general perception of him was that he wanted everybody to be as clinical a performer as he was. That told on his figures as a leader — 4 wins in 25 Tests and only 23 victories in 72 ODIs — dismal.
• However, Virat too was way ahead of the rest of his team members in terms of innate talent. Yet, he knew how to marshal his resources to the hilt. Virat’s aggression was contagious and still is. He led from the front even coming to the rescue of the side in dire straits.
• As a performer while being the skipper, Virat was class apart. Virat averaged 54.80 as a Test captain compared to 39.46 just as a player. In the 50-over format, he averaged 72.65.
• Sachin on the other hand, averaged 51.35 as a Test captain and 37.75 in ODIs. It’s true, the weight of captaincy had its ‘adverse’ effect on Sachin the batter.
• Any doubt?
• To conclude…
• An ardent Sachin fan would definitely not take this assessment sportingly. Even Virat won’t! But let’s not infer that yours truly attempts to demean the GREAT MAN. Sachin is Sachin — a diminutive persona who redefined class in cricket.
• But as they say, it’s one’s pivotal role in winning causes that stands him out — perhaps, Virat has the pendulum bob tilting his way on this front.