Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma - who has scored the most 90s in international cricket?
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - perhaps the greatest batters India has produced in this generation - are closer to the end of their respective careers than at their beginning. Both have entertained cricket lovers in the country over the years.
While Kohli is known for his stroke-making as well as his willingness to put everything on the line while seeking glory, Sharma's quiet elegance and mystic style with the bat in hand has won him several accolades.
Sharma, despite being a year older than Kohli, started out in Test cricket much later than the latter and also struggled for a while to come into his own in the middle order. It was only after he was turned into an opener by former captain MS Dhoni that he began to flourish and give the world glimpses of his talent.
Kohli, on the other hand, made his international debut in 2008 and has etched his mark across all three formats of the game. Sharma, however, has been dominant only in white-ball cricket, and has not quite lived up to his hype - perhaps owing to a late start - against the red ball.
It is only in one-day cricket that these two players can be compared with each other since they have thrived in it and raised standards for others to follow. For starters, in this format, Kohli has amassed 13,906 runs in 295 matches at a godlike average of 58.18.
Sharma, meanwhile, has piled up 10,866 runs in the 265 ODIs that he has played so far at an average of 49.16, which is exceptional given that he has spent the majority of his time at the top of the order fending off the new ball.
Virat Kohli has scored more 90s than Rohit Sharma
If it comes to the debate of who among the two has amassed more scores in the 90s throughout their career, it is Kohli hands down. The Delhi batter has 11 scores in the 90s while Sharma is a distant second with seven across all formats.
The former scored seven of these nineties in ODIs while Sharma got out five times in those digits in this format of the game. Kohli also has a couple of 90s in T20I cricket, with another two coming in the longest format of the game.
Sharma, on the other hand, has not got out in the 90s ever in ODIs, despite having a couple of such scores in T20Is. Overall, Kohli has more scores in the nervous nineties than Sharma does across all formats.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking score in the 90s from Kohli was the 96 he bagged against South Africa in a Test at the Wanderers in 2013 while the only other time he did so was against England in Nottingham in 2018.
The current India captain's finest moment - while scoring a ninety - came against Australia in Gros Islet in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup earlier this year when he bagged 92 in the first innings to set up a massive win for the Men in Blue.
Kohli has been dominant in all three formats of the game and is undoubtedly among the best batters in the world. Sharma too is rated highly for his elegance and stylish batting, but numbers-wise, he is yet to catch up with the former.