Following India’s decisive 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday, AB de Villiers, the esteemed South African batsman, praised Virat Kohli for his exceptional contributions to Indian cricket. De Villiers, who played alongside Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, stated that Kohli has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar in raising the standards for Indian players in overseas conditions.
While acknowledging Tendulkar as a pioneering figure who demonstrated that subcontinent batsmen could excel in seaming and bouncy pitches, De Villiers highlighted that Kohli has taken this achievement to new heights, showcasing an unparalleled level of performance abroad.
But he averages only 34 away from home. Because that first-ball duck and getting out to the newish ball is always around the corner, he has to get bigger scores once he gets in and not just get a 100 but make it a 180.
Virat took that forward and raised the bar,’ said de Villiers on his YouTube channel. So for him, the name of the game will be to make the big scores even bigger,’ said de Villiers. Evaluating the Legend Comparison The remarks were shared via his YouTube channel shortly after India’s triumph. ‘I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar way back, who started that trend for India. Yet, he wasn’t as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better. But Sachin was the first guy to show that as a subcontinent batter, you can do well in bouncy and seaming conditions. ‘KL is a guy with a sound technique and is a big asset in that Indian lineup. So you’ll expect more and that is one area where he has to work on.
