Is Virat Kolhi India’s Batman?
Virat Kohli could be India's Batman
By Sudatta Mukherjee
Jim Gordon had said in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, “He’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”
It wouldn’t be far from now, when someone from the Indian cricket board or team or even the management comes up to call Virat Kohli the guardian of the team. Over the past couple of years, the man has delivered whenever the team has needed him to. Even when the skipper MS Dhoni had faltered, he has stood firm and has guided India out of dire straits.
In the period since the ICC Champions Trophy in England, India has played five One-Day International (ODI) series outside India. Kohli has scored 1,391 runs in the last 12 months, whereas Rohit Sharma is the second highest scorer with 1,254 runs. The difference between their averages is vast. While Kohli’s average is 60.46, Rohit’s is 48.23. The only other person in India who has a better average than Kohli in the last 12 months is Dhoni with 71.54. However, Dhoni has played lesser matches than Kohli and Rohit.
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Apart from Dhoni, none of the Indian batsmen had clicked in South Africa. If one takes into account the just concluded ODI series against New Zealand, where India lost four matches and tied one, Kohli’s scores are – 123, 78, 6, 2 and 82. While Rohit’s scores are – 3, 20, 39, 79 and 4.
Here is the list –
| Players | M | I | NO | R | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s |
| Virat Kohli | 12 | 10 | 5 | 607 | 115* | 121.4 | 114.52 | 3 | 3 |
| MS Dhoni | 8 | 4 | 4 | 106 | 45* | – | 100.95 | 0 | 0 |
| Suresh Raina | 12 | 8 | 3 | 182 | 65* | 36.4 | 98.37 | 0 | 1 |
| Rohit Sharma | 11 | 11 | 2 | 555 | 141* | 61.66 | 81.02 | 1 | 5 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 11 | 11 | 1 | 646 | 119 | 64.6 | 98.62 | 3 | 2 |
In the all-time list, Sachin Tendulkar leads the table for being the batsman to score most of runs fielding first in ODIs. Among the current players, Kohli has played the least no of matches and has a better average than skipper Dhoni and even Tendulkar. This showcases Kohli’s stature and weight in the team.
| Players | M | I | NO | R | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 242 | 232 | 26 | 8720 | 42.33 | 17 | 52 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 158 | 147 | 15 | 5209 | 39.46 | 7 | 37 |
| Rahul Dravid | 172 | 149 | 19 | 4566 | 35.12 | 3 | 34 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 178 | 157 | 37 | 4469 | 37.24 | 2 | 30 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 154 | 132 | 26 | 3853 | 36.34 | 3 | 28 |
| Virender Sehwag | 129 | 124 | 8 | 3815 | 32.88 | 7 | 14 |
| Virat Kohli | 78 | 72 | 15 | 3616 | 63.43 | 12 | 20 |
| MS Dhoni | 133 | 106 | 38 | 3557 | 52.30 | 2 | 25 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 81 | 78 | 10 | 3093 | 45.48 | 6 | 21 |
| Suresh Raina | 108 | 85 | 25 | 2398 | 39.96 | 1 | 15 |
Just like Bruce Wayne, the flawed but self-sacrificing character at the heart, Kohli himself has set out a tone and presents the kind of hero he was born to be. In a world where you are expected to be noble and a good guy, Kohli stand out as a man, who wants to keep winning and is ready to avenge for all the loss. One can surely hope that one day Kohli’s feelings of insecurity and loss will lead India to don the No 1 badge across all formats against those who threatened it to take it away.
(Sudatta Mukherjee is reporter with CricketCountry. Other than writing on cricket, she spends penning random thoughts on her blog and produces weekly posts on new food joints at Whopping Weekends. She played Table Tennis for University of Calcutta. When she is not writing, you will catch her at movie theatre or watching some English serial on her laptop. Her Twitter id is @blackrosegal)