Getting Virat Kohli out is a hellish job for any bowler in Cricket!
It is always difficult for a bowler to get a batsman out when the batsman is immune to making a mistake.
Notably, among the current generation top-order batsmen, Virat has the most not-out innings in all formats combined – 44.
Overall, he ranks third after the legendary Ricky Ponting and Desmond Haynes, and by Indian standards, he tops the list already.
Most importantly, 35 of these 44 came while chasing. No surprise, he is called the chase master.
Overall, Virat Kohli has
- the 2nd highest runs tally in ODI while chasing
- the best batting average in ODI while chasing &
- the highest number of ODI centuries while chasing
Amazing, isn’t it?
You can find here about the updated table-charts of Virat’s complete chasing records in ODI Cricket!
So, we can now come to a conclusion- it is extremely difficult to get Virat out in ‘you can name the format’.
While this may be true, there are bowlers, who have been successful in more than a few occasions in getting the master batsman out for their country.
So do you want to know, “Who is the best bowler against Virat Kohli?”,
Well, read ahead!
In Test Cricket:
Here is the list of bowlers who have successfully achieved the feat of dismissing Virat Kohli more than twice in Test Cricket.
| BOWLER | DISMISSALS | INNINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Nathon Lyon (AUS) | 7 | 32 |
| James Anderson (ENG) | 7 | 36 |
| Moeen Ali (ENG) | 6 | 17 |
| Ben Stokes (ENG) | 6 | 20 |
| Pat Cummins (AUS) | 5 | 12 |
| Peter Siddle (AUS) | 5 | 13 |
| Kagiso Rabada (SA) | 5 | 19 |
| Stuart Broad (ENG) | 5 | 23 |
| Todd Murphy (AUS) | 4 | 6 |
| Lungi Ngidi (SA) | 4 | 10 |
Stats-watch
I see Pat Cummins of Australia, so far the best bowler against Virat Kohli in Test even though Nathan Lyon (Australia) currently holds the record for dismissing Virat Kohli, the most number of times in Test Cricket – 7 times.
Cummins has dismissed Virat 4 times in 8 innings the duo have played against each other!
Likewise, Virat Kohli vs James Anderson has always been a key battle, whenever India and England play against in Test cricket.
When Indian team toured England back in 2014, Virat was made a walking duck by Jimmy, who dismissed him 4 times in that series.
It was Virat’s first tour to England.
In 5 test matches in that series, Virat came back scoring a streak of flop-scores – 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6 and 20; a total of 134 runs in 10 innings at an average of 13.50.
Luckily for India, that stayed as the only off-series for Virat in his Test career!
In 2016, when England came back to play Tests in India, Virat Kohli was in a sublime form and smashed 655 runs, as India clean-swiped that series 4-0.
And, when India travelled back to England in 2018, this time under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, for a tour including 5 Tests, James Anderson could never pick a single wicket of Virat Kohli.
Interestingly, James Anderson was the leading wicket-taker of that series – 24. Although he could never pick a single Virat Kohli wicket, who ended up the leading run-scorer of that series.
Even though there were times when Anderson was able to threaten Virat in that series few times, it was a battle won by Virat, even though when the series was lost 4-1 by his team.
In ODI Cricket:
| BOWLERS | DISMISSALS | INNINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Ravi Rampaul (WI) | 6 | 10 |
| Tim Southee (NZ) | 6 | 17 |
| Josh Hazlewood (AUS) | 5 | 8 |
| Jason Holder (WI) | 5 | 19 |
| Thisara Perera (SL) | 5 | 24 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 5 | 11 |
| Adam Zampa (AUS) | 5 | 12 |
| Suraj Randiv (SL) | 4 | 8 |
| Morne Morkel (SA) | 4 | 18 |
| Jhye Richardson (AUS) | 4 | 6 |
Stats-watch
Without any doubt, ODI is the best format of Virat. We have plenty of proofs for that too. You can also say that by looking at the numbers above.
He has 38 not-out innings in his 200+ ODI innings, which is relatively a good figure for someone who walks in at No.3, most of his career.
Looking into that table, Ravi Rampaul’s number might be a little camouflaging, as the dismissals have happened mostly in the early stage of Virat’s career.
We know how Virat has evolved over the years.
Even the others in that list met Virat mostly at his early days, except Jhye Richardson and Jason Holder, who are, to me, the successful bowlers against Virat, when he is at his best. I also can feel that one of these two might top this list in the coming days.
Thisara Perera picked him out 5 times in the 27 times they met, which is again a sub-standard ODI stat on the bowler’s side.
In T20 Cricket:
| BOWLERS | DISMISSALS | INNINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Ish Sodhi (NZ) | 3 | 7 |
| Chris Jordan (ENG) | 3 | 9 |
| Adam Zampa (AUS) | 3 | 12 |
| Peter Chase (IRE) | 2 | 2 |
| Stuart Meaker (ENG) | 2 | 2 |
| Kesrick Williams (WI) | 2 | 4 |
| Hamish Bennett(NZ) | 2 | 4 |
| Sheldon Cottrell (WI) | 2 | 5 |
| Adil Rashid (ENG) | 2 | 8 |
| Kagiso Rabada (SA) | 2 | 4 |
| Daniel Sams (AUS) | 2 | 4 |
| David Willey (ENG) | 2 | 3 |
Stats-watch
Sheldon Cottrell of West Indies, Peter Chase of Ireland and Stuart Meaker of England, have dismissed Virat twice in the 2 T20s that they have bowled against Virat, so far.
Do you know, Virat Kohli is the only batsman to have more than 2000 runs in T20 International cricket with a batting average of 50+.
In fact, he is one of the only 2 batsmen to have a batting average more than 50 in International T20s; the other being Babar Azam of Pakistan, who have played fewer games than half of what Virat has been played so far.
That and few more stats can convince you that Virat, the most committed T20 player.
The Bottom Line
Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson from Australia are the two bowlers who have really struggled Virat Kohli in recent times.
As we all know, Virat Kohli can be someone who thoroughly diminishes his weakness in a very short time, and that thought is sufficient enough to make their future meets more intriguing.
Contrarily, the numbers do lie sometimes. There are other bowlers, who have also been successful in stopping Virat to score as he does always.
Kagiso Rabada is one that I can think of, who is a world-class bowler himself.
Even though Virat managed him well in the 2018 Test series in South Africa, the Proteas bowler has been successful more than a few times against the master batsman. He has got Virat out twice each in Tests and ODIs so far.
And, on top of that, Virat Kohli once named Mohammad Amir, the toughest bowler he has faced!
There are also few others – Lungi Ngidi, Stuart Broad and Trent Boult who have been competitive against Virat a few times in their favourite formats.
Still, Virat is able to succeed against most of them by putting a big price on his wicket, whenever he walks into bat.
Cheers!!!
Now, I need you to tell me in the comment section, whom do you think is the best bowler against the mighty Virat Kohli?
Will you?
