There have been several interesting coincidences in the careers of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Here is a look at them all.
Comparisons are inevitable in sports. People love to compare their favorite cricketers with each other, to have a better idea of who performs betters given any situation.There have been many such popular comparisons among cricketers in the past - Sachin vs Lara, Sachin vs Bradman, Sachin vs Ponting - the list goes on. It is said the higher the number of comparisons, the greater is the player.Even current cricketers have not been spared, with many of them being compared with each other as part of daily conversations - Smith vs Kohli, Kane vs Root, Kohli vs Rohit - again, it's an endless list.
Comparisons usually arise when two cricketers perform at a similar level. But the research done to properly flesh out the comparison can also sometimes lead to the unearthing of a few striking coincidences.That is very much the case with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma two of the most dependable Indian batsman in limited overs cricket. Here is a look at the remarkable coincidences in their careers so far:
1. In IPL:
Kohli has been an integral part of his IPL side, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, ever since the inception of the tournament. He joined the team as a young player and has developed a lot since then, having been the leader of the side for the past few seasons.
Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, started in Mumbai before making a mark in Deccan Chargers, and came back to Mumbai Indians in a later edition of the IPL. Since he made his captaincy debut for MI in 2013, he has gone on to win the trophy thrice.
Coincidences: Kohli has won 6 Man of the match awards at RCB's home ground, the iconic M.Chinnaswamy stadium. Rohit has won the same number of match-player awards at the Mumbai Indians' home ground, the Wankhede stadium.Both of them also have 34 half-centuries against their name in the IPL till date.
The two players rarely miss the ball when they move out of the crease to play a shot. Nevertheless, it has still happened a few times - as both of them have got out stumped thrice each in the IPL.
2. In Test Cricket:
In terms of batting numbers, Kohli is miles ahead of Rohit in Test cricket. He is one of the best players in the world when it comes to the longer format, while Rohit is still struggling to find his place in the Test team.Rohit made his Test debut vs West Indies in 2013. He started his career with back-to-back centuries, but his career has gone downhill since then.Kohli also made his Test debut against the same opposition - the West Indies, in 2011. He managed to score just 4 runs in the first innings and 15 runs in his second innings.
Kohli’s third century came against England in Nagpur in 2011, and the game ended in a draw with England scoring big in the second innings thanks to Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell's gritty centuries.
Rohit scored his first two centuries in consecutive Tests but it took four years to register his third century which also happened to be at the same venue - Nagpur, but against Sri Lanka. He was the fourth centurion in that innings along with Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli, who scored yet another double century. India recorded one of their biggest ever Test wins in that game, triumphing by an innings and 239 runs.
3. In ODI World Cup:
Kohli has a World Cup medal to his name, having been a part of the squad when India won it in 2011. Rohit, however, was unlucky to miss out on a similar opportunity, as India got knocked out from the 2015 World Cup when he was a part of the contingent along with the likes of Kohli.
The current Indian captain scored his first World Cup century in his first World Cup match against Bangladesh in 2011. Virender Sehwag started the proceedings with his trademark first-ball four and went to score 175 runs, and Kohli gave him very good support at the other end as India began the campaign with a win by 87 runs.
Rohit also recorded his maiden World Cup century against the same opponents - Bangladesh - when he scored 137 runs in a day-night encounter at the MCG. India won the game by 109 runs and Rohit was adjudged the man of the match.
Both players have also won one Man of the Match award each in World cup games till date. Rohit's was against Bangladesh as mentioned above, and Kohli's came against Pakistan, just a few games earlier.Both of them have also bowled exactly three overs in ODI World Cups.
4. As ODI and T20 Captain:
Both Rohit and Kohli have very good captaincy records for India in limited overs cricket. Whenever Kohli has taken a break from captaincy, Rohit has been the automatic choice for the role by the selectors in recent years. And he has proved his worth whenever the opportunity has been given.
Rohit made his ODI captaincy debut against Sri Lanka, but managed to score only two runs and India lost the game. Upul Tharanga was the top scorer for the Lankan side.
The same happened when Kohli made his captaincy debut - again, Lanka were the opponents - and he ended up scoring only two runs. Sri Lanka won the game again, and again, Tharanga was the top scorer.
Though they both lost their first games as captains, both of them went to win their next 7 ODIs, and got their captaincy careers back on track with style.
Kohli scored a century and won the Man of the Match award in his second match as ODI captain. Rohit did even better in his second match as ODI captain, going on to score a double century, and unsurprisingly winning the Man of the Match too.
5. In ODI and T20 Cricket:
If you had to pick the top five batsmen in limited overs contests in the present generation, the duo would get into the top three with utmost ease. They are one of the reasons why India is doing exceedingly well in limited overs cricket these days.
Both Kohli and Rohit love scoring big in limited overs cricket. Whenever they score a century in ODIs, they try to maximize their scoring - which is why they have crossed 125 runs 13 times each in their career.
It’s very hard to get them out when they are set, but then run outs often turn into villains. Unfortunately for them, run outs happen quite often when they bat together.Both Kohli and Rohit have gotten run out 12 times each in their career.
Both players have also reached a few of their milestones in similar manner - their 1,000th ODI runs were completed against Sri Lanka and their 2,000th T20I runs were completed against England. They also recorded their first ducks in T20I against Australia.
Apart from all these coincidences, Kohli and Rohit share the record for scoring most 50+ scores in T20I history - with 19 such scores each.
With quite a few years left for them in the circuit, one of their biggest dreams would be to win the 2019 World Cup for India. If they continue their good form, the dream could well turn into reality - adding one more item to the list of things they have achieved together.
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