Is Kohli better than Ponting?

[Shri]

Shri you had one job to do ffs

yeah you have one job too as a staff member but you don't see me complaining

 

[Black_Warrior]

yeah you have one job too as a staff member but you don't see me complaining

I don't have control over Thread titles

 

[ankitj]

Ponting's average went up to about 60 before dropping to under 52. Kohli's average has never touched 55 which gives you a sense of how much it can drop if he tails off like Ponting. Too early to start the comparison even though Kohli is bossing everything coming at him right now.

 

[ankitj]

Kohli will end up as a better batsman imo. Some of the knocks that he's played in away tours this cycle will probably enhance in stature with time. Has been very difficult conditions for a batsman.

And Ponting had his best years when batting was the easiest it has been in long long time. That can be a factor when comparing these 2.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Factor 3 is Ponting is 14 years older and no longer plays. Kohli better than him.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Ponting's average went up to about 60 before dropping to under 52. Kohli's average has never touched 55 which gives you a sense of how much it can drop if he tails off like Ponting. Too early to start the comparison even though Kohli is bossing everything coming at him right now.

Ponting's peak was about 6 years from 03 to 09.

Kohli's peak started in late 2016. Still about 4 years to go.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Ponting prior to about 2009 was obscenely, terrifyingly good, and people forget that. That's all that I really have to offer on the topic tbh.

Ponting's peak was about 6 years from 03 to 09.

Kohli's peak started in late 2016. Still about 4 years to go.

Bit of a stretch to say Ponting's peak lasted till 2009. Ponting's peak ended with the 07 Ashes imo. Never really that great after that.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Didn't he get hundreds against South Africa in 08 home series and twin hundreds in South Africa in South Africa early 2009?

 

[OverratedSanity]

I think he played a couple of excellent knocks in the 08 home series but don't remember much of 09 in SA apart from hughes.

 

[akilana]

I think he played a couple of excellent knocks in the 08 home series but don't remember much of 09 in SA apart from hughes.

He got a hundred, offering lot of chances and made a few ducks in 2008 against SA. I believe it was the series against India that started his decline with all the controversy. Can’t remember maybe it was played right after The ashes.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Pretty sure he got two hundreds in the first two tests or 2 in one test. Too lazy to check now. Also a hundred in Ashes 09, double hundred against Pak at home late 09. Guy's real decline started from June 2010 when he was a walking wicket against Asif in England and then poor in India late 2010 and of course the horror of horrors - Ashes 2010

 

[Spark]

I remember 2008 he made a hundred in just over a session, then almost went two in the Test. Probably his last genuinely great Test.

 

[cnerd123]

How do we compare a #3 against a #4?

Ponting obviously with the better career, and probably the better captain too (in that I feel Kohli is actively a bad captain and not just a bland one).

 

[Black_Warrior]

I find these 'Kohli is a bad captain' takes so amusing when for about 2 years all everyone wanted was for the aggressive Kohli to replace the defensive Dhoni as Indian captain

 

[stephen]

I find these 'Kohli is a bad captain' takes so amusing when for about 2 years all everyone wanted was for the aggressive Kohli to replace the defensive Dhoni as Indian captain

That was before everyone discovered that Kohli as captain comes with far too big of an ego and has sycophants around him who don't stop him from making boneheaded off- field decisions. His on- field captaincy isn't too bad but his constant tinkering with the team has definitely lost India tests.

 

[cnerd123]

I think Kohlis cult of personality is his best attribute as captain. I love it. I wish he (and Shastri) would just stop ****ing around with the starting XI.

Hi on field captaincy has improved recently. He's actually used his bowlers fairly well, and I can't recall any outrageously bad moves or strategies in the field in recent times

 

[Black_Warrior]

That was before everyone discovered that Kohli as captain comes with far too big of an ego and has sycophants around him who don't stop him from making boneheaded off- field decisions. His on- field captaincy isn't too bad but his constant tinkering with the team has definitely lost India tests.

Must have been a huge shock to find a player who comes with too big of an ego become a captain with too big of an ego.

 

[subshakerz]

If Kohli were to retire today, I dont think he would have Ponting's status. Ponting was just a shade below Lara and Tendulkar in peer rating and by most consensus the best batsman of the 2000s.

70 odd tests in this day and age is not enough to cement your reputation as an ATG. Kohlis needs to have played the game for at least a decade and 100 + tests for him to be in serious consideration. Longevity is one of the importants measures for modern day players since virtually every major batsman has a pretty patch where they average 60 or so.

 

[Daemon]

Remember how between the shitshow that was the end of his career he still averaged 100 against India

 

[trundler]

It's fun to compare Kohli to greats of yesteryear who played 70 odd test with 6000 runs. Hammond and Harvey are 2. We still don't think of Kohli as having had a complete career and times have changed but where does he rank compared to those 2?