India is ready to face thunder down under starting with the first test on boxing day in Melbourne on 26 December. This tour of Australia is India's possibly best chance to beat Australia in Australia. Indian squad for the first test is almost set. The team is most likely to be Sehwag, Gambhir. Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Dhoni, Zaheer. Ishant, Yadav and Ashwin. The only position uncertain is the no. 6 slot that would be either filled by Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. Both are impressive youngsters who are very good players and both equally deserve to be in the squad. But who should be the one playing his first test in Australia?
Career so far- Well Rohit Sharma is yet to play an international test game for India whereas kohli has featured in 4 test matches, all against West indies. He has scored 191 runs at an average of 27.28 with 2 fifties and a best of 63. Not very impressive given the amount of expectations. On first class front, Rohit has played 46 matches and has scored 3748 runs at an average of 63 with 12 hundreds and a best of 309. Kohli on the other hand has played 34 matches and has scored 2322 runs at an average of 52.77 with 7 hundreds and a best of 197. So even though Kohli has some nice experience of playing test cricket for India but its Sharma who looks to be much more impressive, experienced and a better performer in first class cricket. Add to that the fact that he has been in international cricket for more time than Kohli.
ODI career- Even though we are talking about a test spot but still these 2 youngsters have much more experience in one day cricket than tests. So it would be better to compare them on that front. Rohit has played 72 matches scoring 1810 runs at an average of about 34 with 2 hundreds and 11 fifties. Kohli on the other hand has played 74 ODI's scoring 2860 runs at an average of 46.88 with 8 hundreds and 18 fifties. Kohli is the one who has made rapid progress and has impressed everyone with his technique and temperament. He has played big innings and has been a part of India's high pressure WC campaign of 2011. Sharma has been a little inconsistent and has been in and out of the team frequently. But he has shown vast improvement lately. But as far as the ODI career is concerned, Kohli is the one who seems ahead in the race.
Recent Form- This is the most important part in choosing a player. All the runs and averages may go unnoticed if current form is not good. In the last 5 months Kohli has played 15 ODI's scoring 707 runs at an average of 58.91 with 3 hundreds. Sharma in this period played in only 6 matches but has scored 305 runs at an average of 76.25. Even though Sharma's 100 column is empty during this period but its the amount of match winning innings he has played that stand out. Add to that the fact all these performances are very recent. He was the one who stood alone against the West indies whenever India was in trouble last month. In current form both are equally matched but its Rohit Sharma whose recent staggering performances might just take him ahead.
Experience down under- Rohit Sharma has handy experience of playing in Australia. He has played 10 ODI's in Australia during 2007/08 with a brilliant innings of about 70 which he hit during the first final in partnership with Tendulkar to take India to victory in a high voltage final. Kohli is yet to play an international game in Australia. But we should not forget that in the recent tour match against Australia Kohli scored a 100 while Rohit managed 47 runs. In the first practice game at Manuka Oval Rohit scored a fifty while Kohli was a failure. So maybe the fact Rohit Sharma has had experience of playing under may tilt the scales in his favour.
Neverthless both are highly talented young batsmen and both have the potential to tackle this Australian attack. Lets see who gets the nod in the first test.
Career so far- Well Rohit Sharma is yet to play an international test game for India whereas kohli has featured in 4 test matches, all against West indies. He has scored 191 runs at an average of 27.28 with 2 fifties and a best of 63. Not very impressive given the amount of expectations. On first class front, Rohit has played 46 matches and has scored 3748 runs at an average of 63 with 12 hundreds and a best of 309. Kohli on the other hand has played 34 matches and has scored 2322 runs at an average of 52.77 with 7 hundreds and a best of 197. So even though Kohli has some nice experience of playing test cricket for India but its Sharma who looks to be much more impressive, experienced and a better performer in first class cricket. Add to that the fact that he has been in international cricket for more time than Kohli.
ODI career- Even though we are talking about a test spot but still these 2 youngsters have much more experience in one day cricket than tests. So it would be better to compare them on that front. Rohit has played 72 matches scoring 1810 runs at an average of about 34 with 2 hundreds and 11 fifties. Kohli on the other hand has played 74 ODI's scoring 2860 runs at an average of 46.88 with 8 hundreds and 18 fifties. Kohli is the one who has made rapid progress and has impressed everyone with his technique and temperament. He has played big innings and has been a part of India's high pressure WC campaign of 2011. Sharma has been a little inconsistent and has been in and out of the team frequently. But he has shown vast improvement lately. But as far as the ODI career is concerned, Kohli is the one who seems ahead in the race.
Recent Form- This is the most important part in choosing a player. All the runs and averages may go unnoticed if current form is not good. In the last 5 months Kohli has played 15 ODI's scoring 707 runs at an average of 58.91 with 3 hundreds. Sharma in this period played in only 6 matches but has scored 305 runs at an average of 76.25. Even though Sharma's 100 column is empty during this period but its the amount of match winning innings he has played that stand out. Add to that the fact all these performances are very recent. He was the one who stood alone against the West indies whenever India was in trouble last month. In current form both are equally matched but its Rohit Sharma whose recent staggering performances might just take him ahead.
Experience down under- Rohit Sharma has handy experience of playing in Australia. He has played 10 ODI's in Australia during 2007/08 with a brilliant innings of about 70 which he hit during the first final in partnership with Tendulkar to take India to victory in a high voltage final. Kohli is yet to play an international game in Australia. But we should not forget that in the recent tour match against Australia Kohli scored a 100 while Rohit managed 47 runs. In the first practice game at Manuka Oval Rohit scored a fifty while Kohli was a failure. So maybe the fact Rohit Sharma has had experience of playing under may tilt the scales in his favour.
Neverthless both are highly talented young batsmen and both have the potential to tackle this Australian attack. Lets see who gets the nod in the first test.
well this is only my humble opinion, but between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, I would choose Rohit Sharma over VIrat Kholi of course!
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