It is not about the century anymore. The Test century has not come in over three years but it is not the concern anymore, especially on Indian tracks. The impactful knocks have dried up. Once hungry for match-winning Test knocks, Virat Kohli is starving for them while donning the whites. Whether the captain, coach and teammates continue to back the once in a generation player in press conferences, one thing they can’t deny is statistics.
Kohli used to lead the Fab Four, reach milestones and break long-standing records with every match-winning knock. With Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson scoring big, Fab Four does not seem to justify its name but looks more like a Big Three of tennis which had Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.
Here is a look at the stats of the four batters in last three years
Joe Root
Matches: 37
Runs: 3349
High score: 228
Average: 54.90
100s : 12
Steve Smith
Matches: 22
Runs: 1517
High score: 200*
Average: 48.93
100s: 4
Kane Williamson
Matches: 12
Runs: 1311
High score : 251
Average: 69.00
100s: 5
Virat Kohli
Matches: 21
Runs : 990
High score : 79
Average : 27.50
100s: 0
Former England skipper Root has been exceptional with the bat in last three years even though his side has failed to qualify for WTC final. He has even adopted the Bazball under Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum regime and scored at brisk rate, often employing unorthodox shots which have led to him getting dismissed. Root's 95-run knock under pressure in Wellington proved that he is in sync with what the captain and coach need from him.
Smith’s average has dropped but he is still ahead of Kohli who has had an extended dismal run. As Marnus Labuschagne has emerged as a great batter, Smith has pulled his side through with his unorthodox technique to counter challenging conditions.
Former New Zealand skipper Williamson has struggled in the shortest format but in Test cricket he has the best average among the four. Recently, he proved his mettle with a match-winning 132-run knock while following on against England to help his side register a historic win at Wellington.
In the last three years, Kohli's best knock came against South Africa in Cape Town Test in a losing cause. He scored a gutsy 79 against lethal Proteas attack. His last half-century on Indian soil came against England in Chennai. In December 2022, Kohli had a chance to score big against Bangladesh but he could not cross 25 runs.
In the current series, he managed to score just 111 runs from five innings. The best he looked was in Delhi Test scoring 44 runs where he fell victim to an unlucky dismissal. But not every dismissal can be called an unlucky as his shot selection has faltered. The opposition has found holes in his defense that have resulted in an extended poor run which has prevented India from dominating with the bat.
Note: The statistics mentioned above are from March 1, 2020 to March 3, 2023
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