Keeping the on-field swagger and the identical way of celebrating milestones by raining down cusses aside, these guys couldn't get more different from each other in batting if they made a deliberate attempt. One's slogging it out in the middle calls to mind the old "war-horse" ethics of Michael Hussey, while the other's strokeplay resembles the languid, feline elegance of Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Watching Virat Kohli batting is like seeing an architect at work. The cautious approach to batting, deliberate pacing of the innings, patting the ball gently into the gaps, running the hard singles- you could sense him laying a strong foundation that is so important to build the tall innings he has come to be known for. It's this methodical, workmanlike approach to batting that makes him excel at chasing the kind of steep targets that would be considered night terrors by many.
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| Virat Kohli in Sketch: A still head and a non-fussy follow-through |
The intention of this humble blogger is not, in any way, to insinuate that Virat Kohli's strokeplay isn't beautiful, or that Rohit Sharma is loath to take quick singles. It is just an observation about the way I like them batting.
Virat Kohli hitting a cover drive is textbook cricket, but somehow when Rohit Sharma hits one, it looks... magical. I have never seen him look ugly while hitting the ball; you can take a picture of him literally at any random second during his playing a shot and put it on the cover of a magazine.
It's as if he uses all that extra time he has to play his shots in posing for the cameras. Rohit Sharma taking quick singles is like 'Mona Lisa' being painted by a juggler. You can compare both the pictures and notice the difference yourself.
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| Now check Rohit Sharma out (in sketch). The same stroke, but with a pronounced, free-flowing style. |