Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers will be the two big players when India take on South Africa in the quest of breaking their overseas blues. It will be the stiffest test for Indian captain Virat Kohli in the past couple of years. But this is an Indian team that has been next to unbeatable in the past couple of years will have a good chance of beating South Africa. But not to forget that the South Africans are any pushovers and are one of the best teams in the world of cricket currently. The role of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers would be pivotal for their respective teams’ chances of beating the other. AB de Villiers may not be a part of the modern Fab Four but Mr. 360 can be a gamechanger on his day and that is a proven fact.
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In this piece, we will analyse the two cricketing stalwarts and will also present their records in 2017. An assessment of what could be in store in the early part of 2018 will also be made.
Virat Kohli:
Tests: 10
Runs: 1059
Average: 75.64
50/100: 1/5
Highest Score: 243
ODIs: 26
Runs: 1460
Average: 76.84
50/100: 7/6
Highest Score: 131
T20Is: 10
Runs: 299
Average: 37.37
50/100: 2/0
Highest Score: 82
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The two players also have Royal Challengers Bangalore common between them.
AB de Villiers:
Tests: 1
Runs: 53
Average: 53
50/100: 1/0
Highest Score: 53
ODIs: 19
Runs: 773
Average: 59.46
50/100: 5/1
Highest Score: 176
T20Is: 7
Runs: 304
Average: 50.66
50/100: 2/0
Highest Score: 65*
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Bottomline: In terms of numbers, Virat Kohli is way ahead of AB de Villiers, be it Tests, ODIs. Yes, in T20Is the South African has pipped the Indian. But before delving deep into the stats, one also has to take into account the fact that de Villiers has not played a lot of Test cricket. In fact, he made a comeback against Zimbabwe after a 23-month long hiatus in the fag end of 2017 but has struck form straight away. He scored a 65-ball 53 against a lacklustre Zimbabwean bowling attack, but that should be good enough to see him make the cut for the Newlands Test on January 5.
Statements ahead of the Newlands Test
Virat Kohli on AB de Villiers says,
“It’s not like only two guys are playing in this series. AB is a great friend of mine. I respect the way he plays the game and I’ve always respected him as a person as well. But when we’re playing against each other — it’s not that we cross the line with each other, we’re just not like that, we can’t — it’s just that we want to get AB out and the opposition will want to get me out or Pujara or Rahane.”
Earlier, the South African wicket-keeper batsman AB de Villiers was quoted while talking to The Citizen about India’s preparation on Green Strips due to the shortage of time,
“It might help them but India have got to remember that they won’t face the same bowlers. They’ll face guys that come from here and know in which areas to bowl. It’s easy to overthink these situations. In the end, it’s just about getting onto the field and achieving results.”
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