Gill v Kohli: The spooky Test symmetry between ‘The King’ and ‘The Prince’

Archie Starkey
The only two Indian Test captains to have made centuries at Edgbaston.

Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill. The King and the Prince of Indian Test cricket.

The former Indian Test captain represents an era that’s helped define modern cricket, and the young prodigy is at the helm of a new one.

There’s a striking resemblance between the two – not just in technique, captaincy and the batting order, but in temperament and impact on their side as well as the nation.

Is Shubman Gill the rebirth of Kohli’s dominance with the bat and leadership?

Their head-to-head records already hold an eerie similar resemblance. Cricket365 takes a deeper look at how the two compare after 138 innings across all formats for India…

Gill v Kohli: 16 international centuries each in the same number of innings and striking batting statistics

  • Innings: Gill: 138 Kohli: 138
  • Runs: Gill: 5670 Kohli: 5503
  • Average: Gill: 46.07 Kohli: 45.46
  • Strike rate: Gill: 80.86 Kohli: 77.60
  • Centuries: Gill: 16 Kohli: 16

Shubman Gill’s incredible career best 269 at Edgbaston and second century of the Test series against England has helped him reach 16 all-format hundreds for India at just 25 years of age.

Batting at number four and in his second match as Indian Test captain, Gill exhibited his trademark blend of technique and mental fortitude to reach the milestone in his 138th innings for India.

Strikingly, Virat Kohli also brought up his 16th century batting in the same position as captain against Bangladesh in 2017.

He scored a classy 204 off 246 deliveries to bring up his 16th hundred in Hyderabad and like Gill, high scored in the first innings, where India batted first.

And it’s not just their 16 centuries in the same number of innings that bear immense similarity.

While the recently retired Kohli, who captained his country in 68 Test matches and racked up 9,230 Test runs, had remarkably similar statistics.

Gill has 5670 runs, averages 46.07 and has scored at a strike rate of 80.86 after 186 innings for India.

Whereas Kohli collected 5503 runs at an average of 45.46 and a strike rate of 77.60, highlighting the closeness in their journeys for India.

Only two Indian captains have scored Test hundreds for India at Edgbaston

Gill’s 269 was a true captain’s knock and set the tone for India’s first innings in the second Test against England in Birmingham.

India lost the toss and were put into bat for England in favourable batting conditions, with Gill making opposite captain Ben Stokes potentially regret his decision with a big total.

Desperate to turn their fortunes around after a tough first Test defeat at Headingley, the double ton was only the second century by an Indian captain at Edgbaston and the first since 2018.

And the first captain to score a Test century for India at the venue? None other than Virat Kohli.

Kohli was simply unplayable in India’s 2018 tour of England, leading the run scoring charts with 593 runs across 10 innings at an average of 59.30.

The then Indian captain led the way for his side, scoring 149 off 225 balls before being removed by Sam Curran.

He was the only player to score over 30 runs in the first innings, with the in-form bowling duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad unable to find a breakthrough in a series where they struggled to get Kohli out.

Captain Gill eyes a historic win: can he succeed where Kohli didn’t in England?

It’s been 18 years since India last won a Test series in England, their last being a 1-0 victory in the 2007 three-match series where Sachin Tendulkar starred with 374 runs.

Despite being 1-0 down in the five-match series, Gill’s side came close to victory in Leeds and have played a perfect first innings at Edgbaston.

Virat Kohli captained India in five-match tours of England in both 2018 and 2021 – losing 4-1 in the former and then drawing 2-2 in the latter despite his individual brilliance.

While Gill’s performances have been consistent with the great career of his idol, winning a Test match series in India will see him accomplish a rare feat that the man who preceded him never managed to achieve.

If India can turn it around in England or if Gill continues to follow the Test career of Virat Kohli remains to be seen…

READ MORE: Who are the only 4 England stars in the best England-India combined Test XI since 2000?

 

 

 

 

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