Kumar Sangakkara Vs Virat Kohli in Tests: Stats comparison, who has a better record as red-ball batter?
Maestros in the longest format of the game for their respective countries, the Sri Lankan great and India's latest retiree, were run machines. A deeper dive into their red-ball stats may reveal whose batting career was better.
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Kumar Sangakkara and Virat Kohli are two huge names in international cricket. Having been the stalwarts of their respective nations in every game format in their playing days, they have left an indelible mark on the current and future generations. Both have been outstanding, prolific, and a cut above the rest. Their elegance was unmatchable, and the world was awestruck when the ball hit the sweet spot of their bats and raced towards the boundary. Their competitive nature added an extra bit of spice to the India-Sri Lanka encounters, and their camaraderie off the pitch was worth every bit of appreciation. Their batting prowess, coupled with immaculate leadership skills, elevated them to a legendary status. Records and statistics are genuine proof of that.
Kumar bid adieu to Test Cricket on August 24, 2015. His last match in the longest format of the game was against India in Colombo as part of a two-match series. He was given a fitting guard of honour by the Indian side, and the entire moment was very emotional for him. His family was beside him on that occasion, and the whole of Sri Lanka and the cricketing world were proud to have seen a player of his calibre grace the field for as long as he did. This brought curtains to an illustrious international career and one that will inspire the next crop of budding cricketers for a very long time.
Kohli, on the other hand, just recently announced his test retirement, leaving millions of cricket fans across the globe surprised. The news caught everyone off guard and was highly unexpected. The Indian veteran always loved to don the whites and was nothing short of an ambassador for the purest format of the game, even in the current T20 era. His passion, seriousness, and intrusive playing style made test cricket attractive again, and hence worth loving by fans of all ages. Under him, India excelled extremely well and made a name for itself on foreign soil. Virat has been a part of the cricket's 'Fab-4' for a long period. And his test records, including the number of tons and double tons he scored, made him arguably one of the greats in the five-day format.
See Also: List of all Virat Kohli centuries in Test cricket
Curiosity arises among fans as to who has been a better red-ball player for their nation and between themselves. Virat or Kumar? A deeper dive into their test cricket statistics may help one answer that question. An interesting thing here would be their performances in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries, and that shall conclude and reveal the better batter.
| Parameter (Overall) | Kumar Sangakkara | Virat Kohli |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 134 | 123 |
| Innings | 233 | 210 |
| Runs Scored | 12,400 | 9,230 |
| Balls Faced | 22,882 | 16,608 |
| Highest Score | 319 | 254 |
| Average | 57.4 | 46.85 |
| Not Outs | 17 | 13 |
| Strike Rate | 54.19 | 55.57 |
| 100s | 38 | 30 |
| 50s | 52 | 31 |
| 4s | 1,491 | 1,027 |
| 6s | 51 | 30 |
Virat Kohli vs Kumar Sangakkara in SENA countries
The Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batter and the Indian batting great have played a similar number of matches. The stark difference is in the runs they scored overall. The former leads the latter by around 3000 runs. Sanga's average is also better than Virat's, above the golden 50 mark and nearing 60. The Indian could accumulate 30 hundreds in his flamboyant career, eight less than Kumar's tally.
Virat Kohli has scored more test centuries (19) in SENA countries than in India. In 84 innings, he scored 3,591 runs with an average of 43, making him the 3rd Asian batter with the most test runs there. For Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara is the highest run scorer in the SENA countries. In 59 test innings, he scored 2,526 runs with an average of 45, amassing 11 centuries as well. While Virat might have struck more runs and centuries on foreign soil in a greater number of innings, his average is yet just a tad less than that of Sanga's.
| IN SENA COUNTRIES | KUMAR SANGAKKARA | VIRAT KOHLI |
| INNINGS | 59 | 84 |
| RUNS | 2526 | 3591 |
| AVERAGE | 45 | 43 |
| 100s | 11 | 19 |
The left-handed Lankan batter retired ten years before the right-handed Indian talisman. The statistics give a slight edge to the former, but no one can deny the evergreen presence of both players on their respective sides. Sanga mostly played in an era when T20 cricket was still setting foot on the stage, while Virat excelled in a time when the game became fast-paced and less patient. Both have been great servants for their nation, and the game desperately needs more legends and icons like them.
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