Published 11:34 IST, May 12th 2020
Virat Kohli, Steve Smith are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal of cricket: AB de Villiers
Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are arguably two of the best batsmen in the world at the moment who have led their countries from the front.
India captain Virat Kohli and former Australia captain Steve Smith are arguably two of the best batsmen in the world at the moment. Over the years, both batsmen have set a plethora of records and have enthralled the cricketing community with their batting. The rivalry of Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith has quickly stood up to the stature of Sachin Tendulkar vs Brian Lara. There's a constant debate which has divided the cricketing community as to who is the better batsman between the two players.
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AB de Villiers uniquely compares Virat Kohli and Steve Smith
Recently, South African great AB de Villiers had his say on who is the better batsman among Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. AB de Villiers, who is known for his unconventional shots, had an equally unorthodox answer to the question. In an Instagram chat with former Zimbabwe pacer, Pommie Mbangwa on Sports Hurricane, AB de Villiers said that it is a difficult choice, but Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the more natural ball-striker.
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AB de Villiers had a tennis anology by claiming that Virat Kohli is more like Roger Federer whereas Steve Smith is more like Rafael Nadal. AB de Villiers went on to say that Steve Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs, even though he doesn't look pleasing to the eye. He ends up writing records and play shots which are hard to believe.
He further said that mentally, Steve Smith is one of the best he has ever seen. AB de Villiers also said that Virat Kohli has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure.
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Steve Smith is currently at the pinnacle of ICC rankings for batsmen in Tests followed by Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper is No.1-ranked batsman in ODIs and he finds himself at No.10 in T20Is. Virat Kohli averages over close to 60 in ODIs with 43 hundred and 11,867 runs. In Tests, he has 7,240 runs in 83 matches with 27 hundreds.
IMAGE COURTESY: ICC-CRICKET.COM
Updated 11:34 IST, May 12th 2020