Statistical comparison of Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers in ODIs
In this decade, there have been some great batting talents in one-day internationals (ODIs). Some were consistent for a short period and then went out of form, while some were just consistent throughout.
The most consistent players of this decade have been the three batsmen – Virat Kohli from India, and Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers from South Africa. They all have an ODI average of over 50, they all score centuries more often than anyone else and they all frequently win matches for their team. So it’s not a surprise that the fans often discuss about who is the best among these three.
Kohli and Amla play in the top order whereas AB de Villiers smashes runs in the middle order. Before the World Cup begins, let us compare these three modern day batting greats in various aspects.
Comparison of batting averages
Criterion |
Hashim Amla |
Virat Kohli |
AB de Villiers |
---|---|---|---|
Home |
51.58 |
55.29 |
50.74 |
Away |
59.22 |
47.88 |
58.91 |
Neutral |
42.33 |
58.35 |
43.47 |
Away+Neutral |
53.98 |
50.83 |
52.04 |
Against top 8 teams |
50.88 |
50.37 |
52.78 |
Against other teams |
64.25 |
101.42 |
51.00 |
In top 8 countries |
57.78 |
41.48 |
53.81 |
In other countries |
44.82 |
85.73 |
49.14 |
Since 2010 |
54.64 |
53.49 |
66.41 |
Won |
67.98 |
69.35 |
63.41 |
Lost |
30.90 |
33.33 |
34.50 |
Batting 1st |
59.27 |
39.25 |
47.26 |
Batting 2nd |
44.36 |
64.26 |
57.15 |
Overall |
53.18 |
52.61 |
51.50 |
Averages are a good way to judge a player. Kohli has the highest average among the three at home, but Amla has the highest away from home. In neutral venues, Kohli leads but in neutral and away venues combined, Amla is the leader.
De Villiers has the best average among the three against the top eight teams, but against the other teams (excluding the top 8 teams) Kohli has a higher average. When playing at the home of the top 8 countries, Amla has the best average of the three, while Kohli averages higher in the matches away against the teams outside the top 8.
All these batsmen average above 60 in their teams’ winning cause; Kohli has a slightly better average in wins than the other two. All of them average below 35 in losing causes. While batting first, Amla has the highest average of the three, but when chasing a target Kohli is far ahead of the other two.
Since 2010, De Villiers has a higher average than Kohli and Amla.
Comparison of number of centuries and percentage of centuries
Criteria |
Hashim Amla |
Virat Kohli |
AB de Villiers |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of 100s | % of 100s | No. of 100s | % of 100s | No. of 100s | % of 100s | |
Home |
7 |
41.18 |
9 |
42.86 |
6 |
33.33 |
Away |
8 |
47.06 |
9 |
42.86 |
8 |
44.44 |
Neutral |
2 |
11.76 |
3 |
14.29 |
4 |
22.22 |
Away+Neutral |
10 |
58.82 |
12 |
57.14 |
12 |
66.67 |
Against top 8 teams |
12 |
70.59 |
17 |
80.95 |
14 |
77.78 |
Against other teams |
5 |
29.41 |
4 |
19.05 |
4 |
22.22 |
In top 8 countries |
8 |
47.06 |
6 |
28.57 |
9 |
50.00 |
In other countries |
2 |
11.76 |
6 |
28.57 |
3 |
16.67 |
Since 2010 |
16 |
94.12 |
20 |
95.24 |
14 |
77.78 |
Won |
15 |
88.24 |
19 |
90.48 |
15 |
83.33 |
Lost |
2 |
11.76 |
2 |
9.52 |
2 |
11.11 |
Batting 1st |
13 |
76.47 |
7 |
33.33 |
13 |
72.22 |
Batting 2nd |
4 |
23.53 |
14 |
66.67 |
5 |
27.78 |
Overall |
17 |
100.00 |
21 |
100.00 |
18 |
100.00 |
Most of the aspects are similar to the average comparisons in the previous table, but there are some deviations which can be easily inferred from the above table.
Number of innings batted to reach each milestone of runs
Milestone |
Hashim Amla |
Virat Kohli |
AB de Villiers |
---|---|---|---|
1000 |
24 |
24 |
33 |
2000 |
40 |
53 |
62 |
3000 |
57 |
75 |
88 |
4000 |
81 |
93 |
105 |
5000 |
- |
114 |
124 |
6000 |
- |
136 |
147 |
7000 |
- |
- |
166 |
Overall |
4946 runs in 100 innings |
6208 runs in 138 innings |
7210 runs in 169 innings |
Kohli initially got near Vivian Richards’ records of reaching various milestones in the least number of innings, but Amla went on to overcome Richards’ records. He has been highly consistent and has reached each milestone in fewer innings. De Villiers wasn’t consistent in his initial matches but has been extremely good in the last four to five years.
Number of innings for each ODI century
Century # |
Hashim Amla |
Virat Kohli |
AB de Villiers |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
9 |
13 |
37 |
2 |
24 |
17 |
50 |
3 |
27 |
32 |
51 |
4 |
29 |
33 |
88 |
5 |
30 |
43 |
91 |
6 |
34 |
61 |
92 |
7 |
41 |
63 |
93 |
8 |
43 |
68 |
99 |
9 |
52 |
79 |
100 |
10 |
57 |
80 |
111 |
11 |
64 |
82 |
112 |
12 |
81 |
83 |
120 |
13 |
83 |
86 |
121 |
14 |
84 |
103 |
131 |
15 |
86 |
106 |
147 |
16 |
94 |
110 |
153 |
17 |
98 |
112 |
156 |
18 |
119 |
159 |
|
19 |
124 |
||
20 |
133 |
||
21 |
138 |
Kohli broke all previous records of scoring centuries in the least number of innings, but Amla has now overcome Kohli’s records. De Villiers started scoring centuries on a consistent basis a little later than the other two.
Make your own decision based on the data provided.