Kohli Stands Miles Ahead: Parthiv Patel on How Virat Faces Unmatched Pressure
Virat Kohli in action Vs Bangladesh [Source: PTI]
Virat Kohli, currently has the most centuries across formats amongst the active players. He is the epitome of success and has been India's saviour for the last 16-years at the international level. Such is the level Kohli has set that even his 60s and 70s look like failures in the eyes of the people.
However, he is not the only great player in this generation, there are three others who have defined this era - Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Collectively, the four are touted as the Fab 4 of international cricket, meaning, they are the best in the business at the moment.
Kohli has fallen behind in the Fab 4 race
However, in Test cricket, Kohli has somewhat fallen behind in recent years. In the last 4 years, he has only slammed 2 Test centuries, and in the same period, England batter Joe Root has scored 16 Test centuries, showcasing his domination. At the start of 2020, Kohli was the leading Test centurion amongst the four batters, but now he has fallen to the 4th position.
Ahead of the 2nd Test match against Bangladesh, India batter Parthiv Patel, and Bangladesh great, Tamim Iqbal asserted that the rest of the fab four don't face the same pressure as Kohli, and they don't go through what the Indian star goes through on a daily basis.
"I don't think he's feeling that kind of pressure. And as you rightly mentioned that, I don't think Smith or Joe Root or Williamson can even think of the type of pressure he must be feeling."
"The pressure of expectation, that is huge. He has set his standard so high that even if he scores 60 or 70, that comes across as a failure. Because every time he walks in, we expect him to score 100. We expect him to play with that kind of intensity, which he has always been playing," said Parthiv.
Kohli's white-ball record is impeccable!
Comparing their white-ball record, Tamim asserted that the other three batters, Root, Smith and Williamson don't even come close to Kohli, as the former India skipper has won countless matches for his side, almost single-handedly.
He added that in Test cricket, it is impossible for a batter to win games single-handedly, since there are two innings. He feels that in Tests, it is a close contest between the four players, but in white-ball cricket, Kohli is miles clear.
After a failure in the first Test match against Bangladesh, Kohli will aim to bounce back in the Kanpur Test, which has begun on Friday.