Virat Kohli's batting reminds me of Federer: AB de Villiers
South African legend AB de Villiers hailed Virat Kohli and Steve Smith for their batting style. In an Instagram Live session, the 36-year-old stated the duo reminded him of Tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. ABD also believes Kohli has been more effective in run-chases as compared to Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Here is more.
"If you look at natural ball strikers, Virat is like Federer. Smith is more like Nadal, he's mentally very strong. He's figured out a way to score runs. Virat though has scored runs all over the world and he's my pick," said ABD.
The number one Test batsman, Steve Smith, made a blistering comeback in the 2019 Ashes. He finished the series with a ground-breaking tally of 774 runs from four Tests at 110.57. The 30-year-old also piped Virat Kohli to reclaim the number one spot that year. However, the Indian captain leads the overall runs tally with 7,240 runs in 86 matches at 53.62.
AB de Villiers lavished praise on Sachin Tendulkar for scaling mountains during his career, but termed Kohli the master of run-chases. "Sachin was amazing in all formats, all sorts of situations but Virat tops him there when it comes to chasing under pressure," he said. He added. "Kohli stands up and he does amazing things. That's what Virat does under pressure."
Notably, Kohli outruns Tendulkar in successful run-chases (ODIs). In 89 ODIs wherein India have won while chasing, Kohli has amassed 5,388 runs at 96.21 with 22 tons. Meanwhile, Tendulkar averages 55.45 in 127 such ODIs, scoring 5,490 runs with 14 centuries.
Steve Smith presently averages 62.84, having racked up 7,227 runs from 73 Tests. He also owns 26 tons in the format. However, Virat Kohli has slammed most number of international centuries (70) among active players.
