Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: How the batting superstars have fared in Asia Cup 2022 so far

Virat Kohli played a sensational knock against Pakistan to become the batter with the most fifty-plus scores in T20I cricket on Sunday. While Kohli is dominating the batting charts in the Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan's Babar Azam has struggled to live up to his reputation in the continental tournament.

Returning back to scoring ways in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup, former India skipper Virat Kohli has lived up to his ‘run-machine’ tag in world cricket's only continental tournament. On Sunday, the talismanic batter of the Rohit Sharma-led side roared back to top form by slamming a sensational half-century against Babar Azam-led Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2022. The 33-year-old has dominated the batting charts so far in the Asia Cup.

Virat Kohli; Babar Azam (Reuters/ANI)

Over the years, the cricket fraternity has remained divided on the never-ending Kohli versus Babar debate. While veteran Indian batter Kohli has been the face of Team India for more than a decade in world cricket, Babar has stamped his authority as one of the best batters across formats in recent years. Dubbed as the next big thing in Pakistani cricket, Babar entered the Asia Cup as the No.1 batter in white-ball cricket. Interestingly, both Kohli and Babar have showcased contrasting performances in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup.

Former Indian skipper Kohli is the second-highest run-getter in the Asia Cup 2022. Kohli has amassed 154 runs from the first 3 matches of the continental tournament hosted by Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Kohli is the all-time leading run-getter in the history of the Asia Cup (T20I format). Overall, the former Indian skipper has smashed 307 runs in 8 matches from 2016-2022. Making the most of his month-long break in the build-up to the Asia Cup 2022, Kohli played his comeback match against Pakistan. Kohli scored a gritty 35 off 34 balls against Pakistan. The batting maestro was unbeaten on 59 off 44 balls against Hong Kong. The 33-year-old smashed 60 off 44 balls in match No.2 of the Super 4 phase at the Asia Cup on Sunday.

Averaging 76.75, Kohli has a strike rate of 118.07 in the Asia Cup. Babar's partner-in-crime Mohammad Rizwan is the leading run-getter for Pakistan in the Asia Cup (T20I format). Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar scored 156 runs in the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup which was played in One Day International (ODI) format. Babar, who is the No.1 batter in T20I and ODI formats, has only accumulated 33 runs from 3 matches at the Asia Cup 2022. With an average of just 11.00, Babar's forgetful 14-run knock off 10 balls against India was his highest score after playing 3 matches at the Asia Cup 2022.