Virat Kohli vs Pace and Spin in International Cricket (All Formats)

Virat Kohli is among the best all-format batters of this generation. He has showcased his skills and temperament to dominate all kinds of bowling attacks.

And that has resulted in him piling massive runs with consistency. Kohli’s remarkable run-scoring has made bowlers sweat for his precious wicket.

But how has he performed against pacers and spinners across formats? What are his numbers against them?

In this article, let’s glance at Virat Kohli’s batting stats against pace and spin.

Virat Kohli vs Pace

Key Insights

Virat Kohli has fallen against pacers quite a lot of times across formats. But he has also scored a big chunk of his runs against them.

Of his 5200-plus runs against pace in Tests, more than 80 percent have come versus right-arm quick bowlers. Kohli averages around 41 runs per dismissal against right-arm pacers in the longer format.

In ODIs as well, the story is no different. The top-order batter averages close to 60 and strikes at a rate of almost 93. And since he has faced right-arm quick more, he has also lost his wicket over 100 times against them in both formats.

In the shortest format, Kohli scored 2186 runs against right-arm pace while getting out 41 times. He averaged 53.31 per wicket while striking at an impressive rate of 147.30.

When it comes to left-arm pacers, Kohli’s numbers aren’t noteworthy. He has scored just above 950 runs in Tests, though he averages slightly better at 47.75.

The right-hand batter’s average falls sharply in both white-ball formats. He averages around 48 in ODIs, while in T20Is, he scored approximately 35 runs per dismissal against left-arm pace.

Read: Rohit Sharma Record vs Left Arm Fast Bowlers

Virat Kohli vs Spin

Key Insights

Kohli has had decent numbers against spinners as well, though he doesn’t attack much against them. He tries to be defensive, pulling down his strike rate significantly.

And since he goes into a shell, it results in him losing his wicket. Kohli has been facing the problem more often in the last few years, especially against leg spinners and left-arm spinners.

Kohli does bat longer against tweakers, but his scoring rate is quite slow in white-ball cricket. Even in T20Is where batters take an aggressive approach, Kohli struck at a paltry rate of around 120 against spinners.

His averages are staggering against them, going above 55 in Tests and above 60 in limited-overs, but it doesn’t trouble the opposition much.

Kohli’s numbers against right-arm off-spinners read good, but he has lost most of his wickets against them. He has been dismissed over 40 times by right-arm off-spinners in Tests while averaging around 49. In ODIs, Kohli has plundered over 2000 runs at 76, while the average jumped to 83 in T20Is, with just five dismissals.

Against left-arm tweakers, he has fallen more than 20 times each in Tests and ODIs, while averaging 59 and 66, respectively. In T20Is, he scored 437 runs off 363 balls at an average of close to 73.

When it comes to leg spinners, Kohli has been struggling to free his arms against them. Leg spin has become an Achilles heel for him in limited-overs cricket where the leggies aren’t offering him much room.

He got out 12 times against leg spin in T20Is, which is the combined dismissals against right-arm off-spin and left-arm finger spin. Kohli hasn’t faced a lot of leg spin in Tests, but it has tested him in ODIs as he has been dismissed more than 20 times.

Check Now: Which bowlers have dismissed Virat Kohli most times in each format?