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Stats show Virat Kohli may have been India's worst batter and major reason for team's low scores in WTC 2021-23
In Tests involving Kohli in this WTC cylcle, his No. 4 counterpart scored 1337 runs at an average of 49.51. While Kohli managed only 932 runs an average of 32.
Warning: If you are a blind fan, the following may trigger you. But still, read on to test it, maybe? Numbers, especially in a sport like cricket, are funny. They can be interpreted in a lot of ways. And each time, they narrate a story. Whether a discomforting one or the one that brings an instant smile depends on how the numbers are presented and of course, how they are interpreted.
Take Virat Kohli's numbers in World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle as an example. He ended up as India's highest run-scorer with 932 runs. Despite all the criticism, he still, somehow scored more runs than all Indian batters in the recently-concluded WTC cycle. True, but how much did it help India? Not much, to be honest.
Let's dig deeper. To score 932 runs, Kohli took 17 matches. The only other Indian batter who played as many matches in this WTC cycle was Cheteshwar Pujara. How much did he score? 928 - the second-most. Kohli and Pujara's averages respectively were 32.13 and 32, which is considerably lower than Rishabh Pant's (868 runs in 12 matches with an average of 43.40), captain Rohit Sharma's (758 runs in 11 matches at an average of 42.11) and even Ravindra Jadeja's (721 runs in 13 matches at an average of 36.04).
The quality of opposition and spin-friendly tracks at home can be the major factors that may have led to the disappointing numbers of Indian batters in this WTC cycle. The trend pretty much continued till the final against Australia at The Oval, where India managed to score only 296 and 235 on a pitch where Australia pummelled 469 and then declared their second innings at 270/8.
Another crucial aspect here is the performance of India's top-order. India have lost four wickets under 100 runs as many as 15 times in the last couple of years. It's their lower-order, namely Pant, Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and to a certain extent Axar Patel that has carried their innings to a respectable total on most occasions.
Virat Kohli the reasons behind India's batting failure in WTC 2021-23?
Further introspection about batting position leads to another telling stat. Despite the grim numbers of India's top-order, they have still done better than their opposition counterparts (on average) for every batting position except No.4, where Kohli bats. India's openers (Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill for the better part) averaged 35 in this WTC cycle while the opposition openers averaged 30.4 against India.
At No.3, where Pujara bats mostly, the average for India is 31.68. For the opposition, it's 30.79. Mind you, the current No.1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne also bats at No.3 (mostly) for Australia. Although Labuschagne's numbers are better than Pujara's while batting at No.3 in matches between India and Australia, in overall comparison, India's No.3 has fared better.
The No.5 position has been mostly shared among Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, the average for India there is 37.18. The opposition's No.5 has an average of only 30.5 against India. India's No.6 and 7 averaged 30.5 and 31.1 in this WTC cycle while their counterparts averaged only 27.56 and 16.7 respectively.
Then what's the problem? How come are we blaming the Indian batters for underperforming? Here's the catch. All the difference has been made by the batter at No.4, generally reserved for the team's biggest star. That is where Virat Kohli has faltered. As highlighted in the chart shared by Soham Sarkhel, India's No.4 has averaged 31.96 while the opposition's No.4 has averaged 45.58. The massive difference of -13.62 has nullified all the little gains by the Indian batters batting in other positions.
Virat Kohli way behind Steve Smith and Joe Root
In Tests involving Kohli, his No. 4 counterpart scored 1337 runs at an average of 49.51. While Kohli has managed only 932 runs an average of 32. If we exclude Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from the equation, the opposition No.4 averaged 61.63 overall in this WTC cycle.
Kohli's Test form has been a major concern for India in the last four years. He averaged only 19.33 in 2020. Since then, has shown gradual improvements every year, scoring 536 runs in 11 Tests in 2021 at an average of 28, and 265 runs in 6 Tests in 2022 at an average of 27 in 2022. But it was still way below his lofty standards. No Test batter who has scored 8000-plus runs has ever had two back-to-back years averaging less than 30 after crossing 50 Tests apart from South Africa's Hashim Amla in his final two years in international cricket.
Kohli has started 2023 on a good note. He has scored 360 runs in 5 Tests so far. His only Test century since 2020 also came this year, albeit on perhaps the flattest track to bat on in Ahmedabad against Australia. He showed signs of greatness in the second innings of the WTC final but got out playing a rash shot.
What about Joe Root, Babar Azam, and Steve Smith?
Babar Azam, who also bats at No.4 for Pakistan, has the highest average (69.10) at that position in this WTC cycle. He has scored 1313 runs in 20 innings with four centuries. Second on the list is Joe Root, who has amassed 1849 runs batting at No.4 in 22 matches at an average of 57.78. Steve Smith, on the other hand, scored 1385 runs batting at No.4 in 19 matches at an average of 55.40. Sri Lanka veteran Angelo Mathews notched up two centuries in 16 innings and averaged 48 while batting at No.4 in this second edition of WTC.
Kohli is still far from his best and also some distance away from his counterparts Joe Root and Steve Smith but India would be hoping that changes from the West Indies tour.
