Joe Root vs Virat Kohli: England Batter Has Outperformed King Kohli In Last 3 Years

Root's numbers in the last three years have not been less than phenomenal. He has scored 3299 runs in 62 innings, averaging over 58. In this period, he has also scored 13 centuries. In this same time, Kohli has accumulated just 1162 runs in 37 innings.

Source: AP

England batter Joe Root was in sublime form on Day 1 of the first Ashes 2023 Test on Friday. He struck 118 off 152 balls, completing his 30th Test century to get a standing ovation from the spectators at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham. He looked in total control throughout the knock and had Ben Stokes not declared the England innings at 393 for 8, right before the stumps, Root could have easily got a 150. A 200 was also on the cards if he was given on more session to bat. The fact that this knock came at a strike rate of 77.63 underlines the effect of 'Bazball'.

Root, who used to bat as per the batting textbook, did not show any doubt or apprehension to adjust to the new style of cricket England management wanted all players to  adopt. This change in approach has given England massive success in the last one year. But Root's numbers have been improving from even before that. 

What more can we say about Joe Root? _

All the boundaries from his 118* _ pic.twitter.com/ERtJ4gftyd — England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023

In the last three years (since 2021), Root has accumulated 3299 runs in 52 innings, with 6 not outs, and averages 58.91. He has scored 9 fifties and 13 centuries in this period. His highest score is 228. No other batter can match these numbers in the last 3 years in Tests, not even Kane Williamson, Steve Smith or Virat Kohli. No other batter has scored over 2,000 runs or hit more than seven hundreds in this period.

Talking about India's Kohli, his numbers have been rather poor. Given the form, it is quite surprising why selectors don't want him dropped from the side. Maybe the reputation and the past record is saving him. But for how long?

From 2021 to 2023, in the same period when Root scored 3299 runs, Kohli has scored 1162 runs in 37 innings, at an average of 31.4. He has hit just 1 hundred and 5 fifties in the same period. These are abysmal numbers for a batter of his stature and this needs a discussion over his future in the Test side.

India play 2 Tests in West Indies in July after which they don't play any till December. Expect Kohli to feature in the squad. Windies are a low-ranked team. Chances are some India batters may end up with huge scores. But what happens when the team needs to win the big games. Kohli did not have many innings of substance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and in the final of the two World Test Championship finals. Maybe the team is in dire need of revamp.