In a recent interview, Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli opened up about the bowlers who have challenged him the most throughout his illustrious career across all three formats of the game. Here’s a breakdown of his insights:
Test Cricket:
Kohli unequivocally named England’s veteran right-arm fast bowler James Anderson as the toughest he has encountered in Test matches. He emphasized the added difficulty of facing Anderson in English conditions, highlighting it as the most challenging aspect of his Test career.
- Kohli on Anderson: “In Test cricket, James Anderson in England was by far the toughest.”
- Head-to-head: In Test cricket, Anderson has dismissed Kohli 7 times in 36 innings, with Kohli scoring 305 runs at an average of 43.57 against him. Six of those dismissals occurred in England. Despite these stats, Kohli acknowledged the relentless skill and high quality that Anderson brings. Notably, in 2020, Kohli lauded Anderson for reaching 600 Test wickets, calling him “one of the best bowlers I’ve faced.” Interestingly, Kohli once admitted to imitating Anderson’s bowling action during his academy days.
One Day Internationals (ODIs):
For the 50-over format, Kohli picked two bowlers:
- Lasith Malinga: The former Sri Lankan right-arm fast bowler, known for his slingy action and lethal yorkers, was named as a very difficult bowler to face.
- Adil Rashid: The English right-arm leg-spinner was highlighted as the toughest spinner Kohli has faced in ODIs. Kohli admitted to consistently struggling to pick Rashid’s variations.
- Kohli on Malinga: “In ODIs, I think Malinga was pretty good. He was difficult to face.”
- Kohli on Rashid: “Adil Rashid is very good. He’s probably the toughest ODI spinner that I’ve faced. He’s very, very good.”
- Head-to-head: Against Malinga in ODIs, Kohli has a strong record, scoring 225 runs off 218 balls and being dismissed only twice. However, he acknowledged Malinga’s overall quality. Against Rashid in ODIs, Kohli has been dismissed 5 times in 120 balls, averaging just 22 against him, indicating the difficulty he faces against the spinner.
Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is):
In the shortest format, Kohli chose West Indies’ mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, as the most challenging bowler to pick. He emphasized the consistent difficulty he has faced against Narine over their 15 years of encounters.
- Kohli on Narine: “I think Sunil Narine, for a consistent amount of time. Fifteen years. He’s still very difficult to pick. This guy hits him for fun, but I can’t. I can’t pick him.”
- Head-to-head: In T20s (including IPL), Kohli has scored 136 runs off 129 balls against Narine, with a relatively low strike rate of 105.4, and has been dismissed 4 times. In T20Is specifically, Narine has bowled 39 balls to Kohli, conceding only 35 runs without dismissing him, highlighting Narine’s ability to contain Kohli in this format.
Kohli’s candid revelations provide insight into the challenges even the greatest batsmen face against world-class bowlers across different formats of cricket. His choices reflect the unique skills and consistent quality of Anderson, Malinga, Rashid, and Narine.
