The splendid form of Joe Root in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s has triggered a good debate in the cricketing circles, comparing him with Virat Kohli. His twin centuries in the match were not only a testament to his excellent form but also earned him a pointed jab from former England captain Michael Vaughan at Kohli. Vaughan, who is quite active on Twitter (now X), said that Root now has 34 hundreds in Test cricket, five more than Kohli, and the fact went viral on social media in no time.
The debate picked up steam when former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist joined in. Asked to pick either Root or Kohli, Gilchrist, while admitting the dominance of Kohli in the two other formats, T20I and ODI, conceded that as far as Test cricket is concerned, Root has had the better run-off-late.
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“In the last short while, definitely. Over a long period of time, Joe Root’s stats are…, well he’s the best England has ever had,” Adam Gilchrist said during an interaction on the Club Prairie Podcast, a thought with which Vaughan disagreed.
Things, however, turned out differently when performances in the Australian conditions came into discussion. Adam Gilchrist mentioned that Root is yet to score a Test century in Australia, whereas Kohli has hit as many as six centuries. He remembered Kohli’s fantastic 123-run innings at Perth and termed it as one of the best centuries he has ever seen. Thus, Gilchrist preferred Kohli over Root for Australian conditions.
Vaughan agreed with Gilchrist’s evaluation but added his own view. “I wouldn’t argue with that in Australia. I would say Virat in Australia against the Aussies, anywhere else I’m going Joe Root,” Michael Vaughan said.
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However, with ten Test matches scheduled over the next five months, Kohli could close the gap on Root’s century count. For that to happen, he has to score six more centuries, a challenge which would be a pretty daunting task to accomplish in the world of cricket.
