IS KOHLI THE GREATEST ODI CHASER OF ALL TIME?
November 19th, 2014
With Virat Kohli seemingly set to rewrite the ODI record books, James Marsh asks whether he’s already the greatest chaser the game has ever seen.*
......The raw stats place him alongside the headiest of names. Among those with over a thousand runs in winning chases, only MS Dhoni – very much the trailblazing target stalker of our aggressive era – has a higher average at a staggering 103 dead to his young charge’s 88.63. Among those who have scored over 2,500 runs in winning chases, Kohli stands alone, that 88.63 figure towering over those of his nearest rivals, which happen to be the not inconsiderable pair of Brian Lara (68.58) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (63.13).
His strike-rate is also the fourth-highest on that list (96.86), dwarfing the likes of Saeed Anwar (83.61) and Ricky Ponting (78.21). Just six years into his ODI career, he is currently ninth on the roster of total runs scored in victorious pursuits, with 3,119 from 52 innings, and it’s not inconceivable he could overhaul Ganguly, Haynes, Lara and Jayasuriya in that list by the time the World Cup ends next March. Sachin Tendulkar remains out in front with 5,490 at 55.45, but Kohli at his present rate is set to comfortably pass the Little Master. This has to be couched slightly against the fact that Sachin faced the new ball for much of his career, whereas Kohli has mainly peacocked in at three or below. But, nevertheless, the hugely favourable comparison with India’s favourite son and most popular current author is striking.
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