AB de Villiers vs Virat Kohli

[Rssll]

Am I wrong in saying that good chaser is usually valued above other batsmen?? At least this seems to be the perception among majority if not all the fans as chasing is considered to be more difficult task than setting the target.

I didn't think chasing was more difficult that setting at target in ODIs. The conventional wisdom I had always heard was that chasing is marginally better for a day game and worse for a day-night.

Other than that, it seems like setting or chasing is a preference that each team has. For example, in the last 10-15 years Australia has generally preferred batting first whereas India seems to be the opposite, which is probably a function of how confident the team is in their batters' ability to chase a big score relative to their bowler's ability to defend one under pressure.

 

[Victor Ian]

Chasing is easier when you have a weak mindset. It is hard to know how big is enough when you are setting a total and it requires more brainpower and confidence to know where the limit is. That's why I don't think Bevan is all he is made out to be and often prefer Hussey (except when trying to troll Dhoni fans by making him miss atg first selection)

Either way, I think a team's success in world cups is a pretty silly basis to use to pick a best batsmen ever list. If you are choosing Ponting, select him because he won 3 of 5 world cups he played in rather rather than Australia winning 5 of 10.

 

[robbypark]

Currently Kohli is better, no question. Anybody that denies that is an idiot. Current AB is terrible and gets out in the stupidest of ways.

However when both guys are firing, ABD is is the superior player because he is far more destructive. AB is a guy that when on form can single handedly destroy a team in a handful of overs. As good as Kohli is, his strike rate is pedestrian and he's a bit of ***** when it comes to going for shots.

 

[sunilz]

While Devilliers is certainly more destructive than Kohli and if u require 30 runs on 10 ball u would rather have Devilliers on strike , I don't think Kohli's SR has ever been a problem for India.
In won matches Kohli has more 50+ for his team at better average but at a slightly lower SR

Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo

Also adding to above fact India has been involved in 5 of the 12 largest second inning chase in ODI and Kohli has century in 4 of them. So I don't think SR is a problem for him. However once again I will agree Devilliers is more destructive.
Team records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo

 

[vcs]

Both brilliant but Kohli just has more of an impact since he bats up the order. Could be some recency bias there, though.

 

[OverratedSanity]

AB's destructiveness is almost unmatched in ODI history. That, along with his superior WC record is why he gets my vote. Not much in it though, obviously. But kohli does need to step up and dominate (not necessarily win) atleast one WC to be up there with the very very best imo.

 

[Niall]

AB's destructiveness is almost unmatched in ODI history. That, along with his superior WC record is why he gets my vote. Not much in it though, obviously. But kohli does need to step up and dominate (not necessarily win) atleast one WC to be up there with the very very best imo.

Not sure,

Virat was hugely important in the last few t20 world cups. He played a beast knock in the semi final v South Africa to get them to the final and was very good in the final. He also was excellent in the 2016 world cup especially v Australia and the west Indies, while De Villiers did nothing.

India would have likely won either the world cup in 2014 or 2016 if Yuvi and Rahane were not stinking it out.

 

[Prince EWS]

Not sure,

Virat was hugely important in the last few t20 world cups. He played a beast knock in the semi final v South Africa to get them to the final and was very good in the final. He also was excellent in the 2016 world cup especially v Australia and the west Indies, while De Villiers did nothing.

India would have likely won either the world cup in 2014 or 2016 if Yuvi and Rahane were not stinking it out.

>"who is the better ODI player?"
>t20 world cups

 

[Niall]

>"who is the better ODI player?"
>t20 world cups

FFS.

My bad,,,genuinely missed the ODI part of the thread title, doing other things at same time,

Apologies OS and other posters.

 

[RK_123]

Under pressure, who would you want? There lies the answer.

 

[akilana]

Under pressure, who would you want? There lies the answer.

AB. Thanks

 

[Isura]

Virat Kohli. If someone had to bat for my life in a run chase I would undoubtedly choose Kohli

 

[Isura]

AB. Thanks

So you choose the guy with a much worse track record in that scenario??

 

[Daemon]

I thought Kohli would have significantly more motm awards than AB but it turns out they're both pretty much equals on that front as well.

 

[Prince EWS]

For me it kind of depends how I interpret this question.

- I think Kohli is a better player now in that if we were to do a big current player ODI draft I'd pick Kohli to join my team before de Villiers.
- I think de Villiers has had the better career so far though, so if both were retire today I'd put de Villiers down as the better of the two
- .. but I think that'll change by the time they're both done, as Kohli is younger and can make up ground.

Taking the question extremely literally - "who IS the better ODI player" - it's Kohli for mine as there's a sense of present tense in the phrasing. De Villiers is more destructive, especially if he comes out in the slog overs, but Kohli has a greater capacity to just own an entire batting innings consistently. De Villiers might be better in a really good side, but Kohli would improve most sides more than de Villiers would IMO.

 

[stephen]

Pews nails it. Absolutely agree 100%.

Both are amazing players but Kohli's star is rising while de Villiers' is waning.

 

[akilana]

So you choose the guy with a much worse track record in that scenario??

I didn’t pick Virat.

 

[Rssll]

Chasing is easier when you have a weak mindset. It is hard to know how big is enough when you are setting a total and it requires more brainpower and confidence to know where the limit is. That's why I don't think Bevan is all he is made out to be and often prefer Hussey (except when trying to troll Dhoni fans by making him miss atg first selection)

I don't see how chasing is easier if you have a weak mindset. The pressure is different in both cases and I imagine a lot of batsmen find it less stressful batting first. There is the uncertainty of knowing what a par score is but there is also a lot less direct pressure on the batsmen because you can salvage a win in the second innings.

 

[Victor Ian]

Chasing a target mostly requires skill and nerve. Setting a total involves a lot more thinking about the future. You have to think about your bowling power and whether you need to do more and be risky or whether you're on target for enough and need to stabilize. The unknown is harder to fight than the known. That's all I meant.

 

[shifty_eyes]

Its always fun to watch AB score quick high runs and I felt really bad for him when he missed out double ton vs Bangladesh last year (saw that game live). Comparing Kohli and AB would be comparing oranges and apples. They both have their own unique way of batting, they bat at different positions and both have a different role in their respective teams. Kohli looks to stabilize innings in early to mid overs while AB is there to carry forward an already stabilized innings to a great total. If they both switch roles, they will fail to play their roles more often than not. If openers don't give a stable start to South Africa then AB might fail, similarly Kohli might struggle to accelerate the innings if he comes down the order. AB mostly used to open till around 50th innings. Here are some head to head stats, draw your own conclusions.