Has Kohli proved his critics wrong?

[Jumno]

Two WC finals

2011 WCF: a match saving 30 odd

2023 WCF: 54 runs at an important time

And the other amazing stats

I think him needing to play a knock in a pressure game was all that was

Has he proved his critics wrong in that big game regard?

 

[Aidan11]

You can never have too many Kohli threads.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

If Kohli farts, someone will critique him.

 

[Athlai]

What criticism? That hes not very good at cricket? Ridiculous. He is almost certainly in the top 5 greatest limited overs bats ever.

That he is a dire? Bloke is arrogance personified on the field.

 

[SteveNZ]

What criticism? That hes not very good at cricket? Ridiculous. He is almost certainly in the top 5 greatest limited overs bats ever.

That he is a dire? Bloke is arrogance personified on the field.

It's interesting that you say he's almost certainly in the top 5..when he's so clearly #1, even daylight isn't second. And unless the answer is Murali/Waqar/Wasim, he's the greatest ODI player of all time.

No one else in the top 10 of all time averages over 44, and he's at 58. He has more tons than Sachin in 171 less matches. His strike rate is the best in the top 10 (I know that's somewhat era dependent).

Yeah he has critics, based around lack of runs in knockout matches. Guess that was somewhat put to bed this week.

 

[Athlai]

Definitively saying anyone is best outside Bradman is irritating across eras

 

[SteveNZ]

*ODIs

Only my opinion of course, but to me Kohli is so far ahead as the ODI GOAT. There's always that nostalgic desire to give it to someone from 10-20 years ago but his numbers in that format are in their own category.

 

[Jumno]

*ODIs

Only my opinion of course, but to me Kohli is so far ahead as the ODI GOAT. There's always that nostalgic desire to give it to someone from 10-20 years ago but his numbers in that format are in their own category.

Tendulkar played against:

Marshall
Botham
Imran
Ambrose, Walsh
Donald, Pollock
Wasim, Waqur
McGrath, Warne
Murali
Anderson
Steyn
Bond, Vettori
Johnson

 

[Burgey]

I would have Kohli only marginally behind Viv as the greatest ODI batsman, arguably on par with him. He's leagues ahead of Tendulkar or anyone else in the argument apart from Richards tbh.

 

[Flem274*]

*ODIs

Only my opinion of course, but to me Kohli is so far ahead as the ODI GOAT. There's always that nostalgic desire to give it to someone from 10-20 years ago but his numbers in that format are in their own category.

Viv?

 

[Jumno]

I would have Kohli only marginally behind Viv as the greatest ODI batsman, arguably on par with him. He's leagues ahead of Tendulkar or anyone else in the argument apart from Richards tbh.

Kohli has faced

Johnson
Cummins, starc, Hazelwood
Lyon, zampa
Anderson, broad
Woakes
Southee, Boult
Matthews
Hasan Ali
Shakib
West Indies pacers
Rabada, Steyn, Morkel

 

[Skipper Pup]

Within 1 page this turned from 'has he proved his critics wrong?' ..to 'is he the greatest ODI player ever?'.

I didn't realise he even had critics in white ball cricket.

This thread reads as copium

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Tendulkar played against:

Marshall
Botham
Imran
Ambrose, Walsh
Donald, Pollock
Wasim, Waqur
McGrath, Warne
Murali
Anderson
Steyn
Bond, Vettori
Johnson

List as many bowlers as you like, it still doesn't account for or justify Kohli reaching the same number of hundreds in 170+ less innings and I say this as someone who doesn't even like Kohli. @Silver Silva pointed out in a post somewhere on CricketWeb that Kohli has more hundreds in run chases than Tendulkar and Ponting combined , we talking about guys with like 700 odi matches between them. Got to give the man his flowers.

 

[SteveNZ]

Viv?

You'd definitely have to put him in the conversation, can certainly see the argument about eras/run scoring/quality of bowling etc.

But I'd struggle to think you adjust that much for 11 more runs average an innings, a hundred every 5.5 innings as opposed to 17 etc. Virat really didn't have a weak opponent while Viv battled a bit against Pakistan.

 

[SteveNZ]

I would have Kohli only marginally behind Viv as the greatest ODI batsman, arguably on par with him. He's leagues ahead of Tendulkar or anyone else in the argument apart from Richards tbh.

Genuine question without bias - why would you rank Viv ahead of Kohli?

 

[SteveNZ]

Within 1 page this turned from 'has he proved his critics wrong?' ..to 'is he the greatest ODI player ever?'.

I didn't realise he even had critics in white ball cricket.

This thread reads as copium

That was me, because I struggled to think why he'd have critics. Although I get it, because before this week he didn't have any knockout ODI scores to hang his hat on...and now he does.

 

[Prince EWS]

If Kohli farts, someone will critique him.

Farters are often criticised at the time tbf, seems a weird analogy.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Farters are often criticised at the time tbf, seems a weird analogy.

Yeah…but only if it’s pulling the finger

 

[Flem274*]

You'd definitely have to put him in the conversation, can certainly see the argument about eras/run scoring/quality of bowling etc.

But I'd struggle to think you adjust that much for 11 more runs average an innings, a hundred every 5.5 innings as opposed to 17 etc. Virat really didn't have a weak opponent while Viv battled a bit against Pakistan.

Fair. I rank Viv #1 because he was so much better than everyone else in his era, a guy decades before his time.

Kohli top 5 and probably podium at least for me though. We're spoilt for choice. Viv, Kohli, Tendulkar, Ponting and ABDV is my first instinct.

 

[howitzer]

If Kohli farts, someone will critique him.

Bhogle would issue a glowingly positive critique