Decoding Why Kohli's 2018 England Tour Was Superior To Gill's 2025 Series

Kohli vs Gill in England [Source: AP Photo, @AbhijitVK18/x.com]

This is a generation where social media tends to dominate the proceedings, and every player of the past gets mocked for their achievements in cricket. Anything that gets posted on the internet becomes the truth, while the reality is often different. This is the case with Shubman Gill, and his idol, Virat Kohli.

In the ongoing England tour, India captain Shubman Gill has dominated the proceedings and has racked up 722 runs in four Tests, including 4 centuries to his name. Meanwhile, Virat slammed 593 runs during the infamous 2018 England tour, and had amassed two centuries.

Many fans believe that Gill has surpassed Kohli's legacy in England, but the reality is different, and it hits hard.

Kohli, the lone warrior in 2018

In the 2018 tour, India lost the Test series, 1-4, and Kohli was blamed for the embarrassing Test defeat. However, no one would tell that Kohli fought a lone battle, and one person cannot win you a Test series.

Most runs in IND Vs ENG 2018 Series

As the table suggests, Kohli was the only batter from both teams to cross the 500-run mark, suggesting that batting was not easy on the tour. The two teams had some of the greats of the game, and yet, only one batter had 500-plus runs, while others were nowhere close to him.

Runs galore in 2025 tour

The ongoing Test series in England has turned out to be a run feast, as batters have enjoyed their outing. So much so that every Test match on the tour is witnessing 3-5 hundreds. The last Test in Manchester had 5 centurions from both sides, showcasing the dip in quality of pitches.

As the table suggests, as many as two batters have crossed the 500-run mark, with captain Gill closing in on 800-runs. KL Rahul already has 511, while Jadeja, Pant, and Smith are getting closer to 500-runs, and could reach the milestone in the Oval Test match.

Difference in quality of pitches

In the 2018 tour, Indian batters had to play on green tops, with the ball doing enough on all five days to keep the batters on their toes. Those were typical English conditions, and as per ESPNCricinfo, 2018 was the toughest year to bat in Tests, and Kohli dominated the proceedings with utmost ease.

Whereas, in the ongoing series, the wickets have been opposite of what England used to dish out. The surface seems more like sub-continent wickets, and taking nothing away from Gill's run-feast, batting has been a lot easier on this tour.

Difference in quality of bowlers

Kohli had to endure facing two of the best Test bowlers of all time in James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The pace bowling duo were in the top 5 leading wicket takers list in 2018, and dominated the Indian batters.

As the stats suggests, Anderson, and Broad were the two best bowlers in the 2018 tour, and scalped 40 wickets between them. However, in the ongoing tour, only Stokes is fighting hard for England, with 17 wickets, and the next best is Josh Tongue (11 wickets), and he hasn't played in the last two Tests.

Conclusion

Gill is having the series of his life, and he might break more records in the fifth Test, and he deserves every bit of applause. However, what Kohli did in 2018 was the batting of the highest order. He not only scored runs on tough pitches, but also kept India in the hunt almost single-handedly.

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