India vs England Tests: ICC No 1 Test Batsman Virat Kohli And Sachin Tendulkar Have Similarities, Times When They Were One-man Army

One thing that separates modern-day great Virat Kohli from the rest is also the fact that he was never extraordinary like a Virender Sehwag, but he is a slave of hard work and that is the reason why he is where he is.

India vs England Tests: Yes, former legend Sachin Tendulkar was the lone warrior since November 1991-December 2001, before the rest came into the picture and he was relieved of his burden. A decade later, current India captain and World No 1 Virat Kohli is facing similar problems. Mind you, we are talking of overseas, which does not include the sub-continent. We are talking of countries like England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, where the pitch offers a lot for the seamers, unlike the Asian sub-continent.

In the Edgbaston Test, Kohli exorcised the horrors of 2014 in just one inning. He scored 149 runs in the first innings against the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes. In 2014, he played five Tests and managed to stitch together merely 134 runs. Just not the batsman he is today.

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One thing that separates modern-day great Virat Kohli from the rest is also the fact that he was never extraordinary like a Virender Sehwag, but he is a slave of hard work and that is the reason why he is where he is. During the early 1990’s, India was heavily reliant on a teenager named Sachin Tendulkar, as India cricket was in a transition after the exit of greats like Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. A short-height teenager was carrying the dreams of a billion from an early age, talks a lot about his strong mental state and also the maturity he gained so early thanks to the situations he was thrown in. He grew up to become arguably the best batsman in the world.

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Virat Kohli, a modern great is facing the same problem as his great predecessor did in overseas conditions.

Sachin Tendulkar (Nov ’91-Dec ’01) 

Tests: 23

Runs: 1991

Average: 52.39

100s/50s: 9/5

Team Runs %: 20.2%

Virat Kohli (Dec ‘2013-Till Date)

Tests: 17

Runs: 1798

Average: 54.48

100s/50s: 8/5

Team Runs%: 20.2%

This clearly shows that the two greats from different eras scored one-fifth of the team’s total runs. That shows the dominance they had when others were disappointing, over and over again.

Meanwhile, after losing the Edgbaston Test by 31 runs, India will look to settle scores at Lords during the 2nd Test, starting August 9. Cheteshwar Pujara could be slotted back into the side in place of Shikhar Dhawan.