Virat Kohli & Babar Azam: these two batsmen have made a great name for themselves, and taken cricket for their nation to new heights. Both can be called as the backbone for their nations, and they will be pivotal to their team’s success in this world cup.
In this blog, we will be comparing the batting stats of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in T20Is.
So if you want to find out which batsman comes on top when it comes to T20I matches, read on below!
Please note: All the stats taken are till 22nd October, 2022.
A. Overall T20I Record
| Stat | Babar Azam | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 86 | 101 |
| Runs | 3231 | 3712 |
| Balls Faced | 2492 | 2688 |
| Dismissals | 74 | 73 |
| Batting Average | 43.7 | 50.8 |
| Strike Rate | 129.7 | 138.1 |
| Highest Score | 122 | `122* |
| Fours | 342 | 331 |
| Sixes | 50 | 109 |
| Fifties | 29 | 33 |
| Centuries | 2 | 1 |
| Dot% | 30.1 | 28.2 |
Talking about Kohli’s and Babar’s overall stats, they both have faced similar numbers of balls and it appears that it is a very close battle. If we had to pick one over the other, Kohli wins the battle marginally by having a better average, higher strike rate and the ability to hit the ball out of the park.
B. Overall T20I Powerplay Record (0-6th Over)
| Stat | Babar Azam | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 81 | 78 |
| Runs | 1231 | 959 |
| Balls Faced | 1021 | 787 |
| Dismissals | 30 | 19 |
| Batting Average | 41.0 | 50.5 |
| Strike Rate | 120.6 | 121.9 |
| Highest Score | 45 | 39 |
| Fours | 178 | 124 |
| Sixes | 4 | 15 |
| Dot% | 41.2 | 40.3 |
Babar Azam is an opener while Kohli mostly bats at the Number 3 position, while occasionally as an opener. The better batsman between Kohli and Babar when it comes to powerplay is difficult to choose as Babar has played a significantly higher number of deliveries. Kohli does have a higher strike rate, and a lesser dot ball percentage which gives him a small edge over Babar in this department.
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C. Overall T20I Middle-Overs Record (7th-14th Over)
| Stat | Babar Azam | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 57 | 79 |
| Runs | 1480 | 1644 |
| Balls Faced | 1144 | 1290 |
| Dismissals | 20 | 31 |
| Batting Average | 74 | 53.0 |
| Strike Rate | 129.4 | 127.4 |
| Highest Score | 56 | 52 |
| Fours | 122 | 116 |
| Sixes | 26 | 39 |
| Fifties | 2 | 1 |
| Dot% | 22.6 | 23.8 |
When needing a reliable batsman for the middle-overs, Babar Azam is ahead of Virat Kohli. He has a significantly greater average along with a higher strike rate and lesser number of dismissals as compared to Kohli.
D. Overall T20I Death-Overs Record (15th-20th Over)
| Stat | Babar Azam | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 37 | 48 |
| Runs | 520 | 1109 |
| Balls Faced | 327 | 611 |
| Dismissals | 24 | 23 |
| Batting Average | 21.7 | 48.2 |
| Strike Rate | 159.0 | 181.5 |
| Highest Score | 40 | 65 |
| Fours | 42 | 91 |
| Sixes | 20 | 55 |
| Fifties | 0 | 6 |
| Dot% | 21.7 | 21.8 |
Even though Virat Kohli has faced way more balls in the death than Babar, he is a far better finisher of the game than the latter. Kohli has an average close to 50, and a whopping strike rate of 181.5. He has also scored 6 fifties in the tail-end of the game, which just goes on to show the lethal abilities of the Indian to kill the game.
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E. Overall Last 12 Months T20I Record
| Stat | Babar Azam | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | 31 | 17 |
| Runs | 1027 | 553 |
| Balls Faced | 805 | 416 |
| Dismissals | 27 | 13 |
| Batting Average | 38.0 | 42.5 |
| Strike Rate | 127.6 | 132.9 |
| Highest Score | 110 | 122* |
| Fours | 111 | 46 |
| Sixes | 17 | 19 |
| Fifties | 9 | 5 |
| Centuries | 1 | 1 |
| Dot% | 34.0 | 31.0 |
Babar Azam has played more T20Is in the last 12 months than Virat Kohli which makes him better equipped. But despite Kohli’s slump in form which has been worrying the whole nation, his recent numbers look good. He has a better average and strike rate than Babar Azam, and also made his first T20I century which must have given him a lot of confidence.
Conclusion
We have discussed and compared the stats of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in T20Is. Talking about ICC rankings for top T20I batsmen, Babar is in 3rd position with 808 points and Kohli is further down the list at number 15 with 605 points.
But despite the ICC rankings, Kohli’s overall numbers are better than Babar in this format. While Babar along with his compatriot Mohammad Rizwan, have made the Pakistani batting attack one of the strongest in the world.
To sum up, if we have to choose a winner on who is the better batsman between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in T20Is, we will go for Virat Kohli if we consider the overall numbers, But in recent form, Babar Azam is better.
